I started to take little pleasure-inducing and stress-relieving breaks during my workday to try to shift my mood. Soon after my morning meditation, a sense of gloom often came over me. My meditation practice wasn’t translating into a calmer and gentler way of being.

But a few years ago, I began questioning my daily meditation practice because I didn’t seem to be reaping the benefits I kept reading about. Mindful teachers are self-reflective, that is, they test their actions against their beliefs about teaching, learning, and human behavior.Ĭatharine: Why did you decide to focus on mindful moments?īarbara: For more than a decade, my meditation practice consisted of a daily meditation as soon as I awoke, in fact, even before I got out of bed to make sure I did it before the day got crazy. When inner ideals and outer actions are in harmony, then you are truly mindful. “Mindfulness encompasses having mindful awareness, holding mindful intent, and taking mindful action.”įor me, mindful teaching brings a teacher’s core values and actual behaviors into authentic alignment. I conceive of mindfulness as having three levels. Acting mindfully takes it to another level. I contend that being mindful involves awareness, attention, and intention. My definition of mindfulness incorporates the conscious consideration of how our behavior affects others. In this interview, Barbara discusses her approach to mindfulness with Catharine Hannay, founder of .Ĭatharine: What does ‘mindful teaching’ mean to you?īarbara: My application of mindfulness goes beyond being present and nonjudgmental, taking the position that action should be at the heart of mindfulness. Her most recent book is A Daily Dose of Mindful Moments: Applying the Science of Mindfulness and Happiness.

Mindful moments