by Dr. Chris Johnson | Nov 5, 2019 | Consciousness, Learning, Mindfulness, Practice, Purpose, Resilience
Packaged up in savory smells, crisp autumn air and bright orange pumpkins, gratefulness is where we turn our attentions as Thanksgiving approaches. Gratefulness is good, and it’s good for you! Yet, there can be a rub. First, the good news. Practicing gratefulness...
by Dr. Chris Johnson | Oct 1, 2019 | Consciousness, Learning, Mindfulness, Practice, Purpose
Our once-a-month Thursday breakfast conversations – coffee in hand – typically result in making great connections, learning something useful, and still getting off to work in a timely fashion. Plus, it’s a totally inspiring way to start the day! Yet, this...
by Dr. Chris Johnson | Sep 1, 2019 | Learning, Mindfulness, Purpose
It was early one Saturday afternoon when I first heard a soft, muffled knock on a window while clearing out the bed of irises in our front yard. Occasionally, my husband will knock on our window and smile at me, or maybe signal that I have a phone call from Mom. Yet...
by Dr. Chris Johnson | Aug 1, 2019 | Learning, Practice, Purpose, Resilience
Ah, August! A prime month for stress-busting summer getaways. Yet, prepping for that relaxing vacation can turn up tension levels for the best of us: bags to be packed, last-minute bills to be paid, late-night laundry to fluff and fold, a schedule to keep. I know it...
by Dr. Chris Johnson | Jul 1, 2019 | Attention, Consciousness, Learning, Practice
Recently, a good friend was in town for an extended visit in the old neighborhood. Exasperated she said, “Doesn’t it seem like nobody has time anymore to get together, to do anything?! Nobody. Has.Time.” “How did it get to be this way?” she mused. While I certainly...
by Dr. Chris Johnson | Jun 1, 2019 | Learning, Practice, Purpose, Resilience
Rifling through old pictures at my mom’s house recently, I had to smile. Grainy images captured our vacation to Washington DC when I was 14, and the college visit out west that landed us in rural Idaho (I thought I wanted to be a forest ranger). Another photo showed...
by Dr. Chris Johnson | May 1, 2019 | Attention, Learning, Mindfulness
Recently, on a phone call with a vendor, while attempting to articulate a situation gone south and deep in the details, I was interrupted mid-stream with a torrent of words – an imagined finger angrily wagging in my face. The voice booming through the speaker on...
by Dr. Chris Johnson | Apr 3, 2019 | Attention, Learning, Practice |
“Be careful what you wish for,” is a phrase we often bandy about. You’ve likely said it yourself. And with good cause. There’s some awareness, on our everyday level, that we have a lot of power to influence what we wish for. Come to find out, we do. Seems that...
by Dr. Chris Johnson | Mar 1, 2019 | Attention, Learning, Practice, Resilience |
With searing pain and teary eyes, my knotted calf screamed out in pain. At the aikido dojo, while practicing a move on my knees, I persisted in sitting back on my haunches and not being up on my toes; something all aikido students know as essential for successful...
by Dr. Chris Johnson | Feb 6, 2019 | Practice, Purpose
Brilliance chose me this year. Let me explain. Each year it’s my practice to pick a word to guide me into the coming year. My Word of the Year for 2019 is Brilliance, with a capital B. As I contemplated and meditated on my word for 2019, I kept coming back...
