William Deresiewicz  has written an interesting article with study details conducted by a team of Stanford researchers that's available here. Below is my reflection:

Basically I am a mono-tasking person. When someone talks to me I want to be fully present to the person. I do not want my mind divided between here and there. I want to be connected and engaged with the other person. Paying full attention to the person is conducive not only for cultivating cognitive function but also for cultivating social and emotional learning, for cultivating effective and positive relationships. As a learner and a teacher, I see the value of focused attention. Our personal experience and research studies show that multi tasking has a strong and adverse effect on cultivating cognitive, emotional and social skills. Sadly, smart phones, laptops and video-games have been powerful distracting factors in our schools and families.

When I am reading, writing, listening, communicating, eating, walking, driving and meditating, I make it sure that I am fully attentive and focused on what I am doing. This is mindfulness practice. When my mind goes astray by an external stimulus or internal stimulus, I become aware of it and do not get trapped by it. Practicing mindfulness helps me to be free from my temptation to to be engaged in more than one task. It frees me from multitasking. When we eat we pray together. Praying together creates sacred and peaceful environment. We put our smart phones and laptops beyond our sight. When we study or communicate we follow the same helpful rule.
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Namaste!

Jack Kornfield is a meditation teacher, and author of various books. Excerpt from his book, The Wise Heart is published in the awaking.org website that can be found here. Here is my reflection to it:

Knowing and accepting the fact that the cup of my life is going to be broken one day and not to get hung up or chained by the fear of uncertainty is the way of living fully. This is my understanding of the "wisdom of uncertainty". Because I know the fate, I accept it without denying or resisting it. This way of thinking and knowing creates a weather of freedom and openness in my mind. Such a mindset helps me live fully.

We all have been going through the uncertainty at this time in our life. The arrival and the spread of the corona virus has caused fear, worry and anxiety in our mind. How do we deal with these huge clouds of fear, worry, and anxiety floating in our mind? This is a big existential challenge to all of us. My daughter runs a private Montessori School in Phoenix, AZ. The virus situation has been causing a lot of worry and anxiety in her and my mind. We are not sure about how long the corona virus will last. Instead of worrying about the uncertainty, we mindfully processed our fear and anxiety and came up with a well thought out plan for opening and operating our school. One week is gone smoothly and we are confident that we will be able to run the course smoothly. We are sailing the boat with the winds of compassion and cooperation of all the people involved in this endeavor.

Doing the best we can do without worrying about or attached to the outcomes of our efforts helps us live in the "Trusting Mind." When doubts or worries arise in our mind we mindfully process them, let them come and go. The "Free Mind" is the "Trusting Mind".
Namaste!

Krishna Das is a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba, a world reknowned musician who has chanted Sanskrit verses at the Grammys. An excerpt from his autobiography, Chants of a Lifetime is available here for you to read. Below is my reflection to it:

Clear version is created by clear vision. As I was growing up, I learned many valuable lessons of life from my father, by his words and by his actions. I remember one wise saying he used to say, " Yahtadristi, tatha sristi". As is my vision so is my world. If my vision is colored by my prejudices, judgments, assumptions, and expectations, I am going to create my mental, emotional and behavioral world by my vision. The same way the other person relates to me by his vision. Our versions of each other is created by our vision. Clear version is created by the clarity of my vision. My mother used to say that when your eyes are affected by jaundice, you see everything yellowish. Buddha uses the word sati for clarity with no clouds of prejudice or selfishness floating in the mind. It is difficult to be free from prejudice and judgments which have slipped into our unconscious mind. As a result as Krishna Das says. we "create the movie of me... we write it, direct it, produce it, and star in it."

Creating clear vision is a life long project. Our life is created, shaped and sustained by the illusory perceptions of who I am and who others are. When we mindfully relate to our own illusory world and work on it, our vision of ourselves and of others changes for better. We wake up from the sleep of illusion and see the light without any walls created by our ignorance. This illumined clear vision frees us from the bondage of ego. In this state we see oneness in manyness. This is the journey I am going through. I see more light than darkness and I feel free from my self-created bondage.

Daily practice of mindfulness meditation and living mindfully has been very helpful to me. Self-knowing and self-acceptance has created wholeness in me. I do not feel the need to see myself better than others or worse than others.
May we create clarity in us to relate to others like ourselves.
Namaste!

Pema Chodron is an author, meditation teacher, and an excerpt from her book When Things Fall Apart is published in the Awakin.org Here is my reflection on the article:

If we want to live life fully, we need to let go and free ourselves from the grip of the past and the grip of the future. We need to release the grip of holding on to the past as well as future and live fully in the present moment. In order to fill the cup of my life fully I need to empty my cup. We need to be thrown out of the old nest. Otherwise I live a life unfulfilled. It is by letting go I receive the gifts of living fully. These kind of paradoxical sayings come from most of the wisdom traditions. Pema Chodron represents the Buddhist perspective of living Mindfully.

I have been learning how to embrace life fully by throwing out of the old nest. Every morning I wake up I practice mindfulness that helps me to live fully in the present moment. I try to maintain mindfulness in taking care of my everyday tasks. I live fully in the present moment. There are times when the old habitual or conditioned patterns of behavior take over me. I fly back to the old nest. I wake up and realize that I had imprisoned myself by not being mindful of my mind. It takes time and practice to walk on the path of mindfulness. I patiently and compassionately embrace that path.
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Daily formal practice of Mindfulness Meditation and daily informal practice of Mindfulness in everyday tasks of my living help me to live fully in the present moment. This is an awakened perspective of living fully and harmoniously. And I love it!
Namaste!

The short and crisp message from the Discipline of Tao by D.T. Suzuki is a must read, and here is my reflection to it:

How to discipline ourselves in Tao is a question that every Mindfulness meditator asks the master and himself. The answer the Zen master Hui-hai gives to Yuan, the questioner, is simple and profound: Be Here Now: not to conjure up all kinds of imaginations and and varieties of idle thoughts; to empty the mind clouded with idle thoughts. In my Mindfulness Meditation practice, I let whatever arises in my body, mind and heart come and go. Letting in and letting go is my way of emptying the useless and harmful stuff. It helps me to stay in the present moment. This daily Mindfulness practice helps me in my daily tasks and transactions. Emptiness is Fullness.

Last night I had a very helpful and fruitful talk with my 23 years old grandson. He wanted to learn how to be his true self-genuine and authentic self with his friends when they have a different take on Black Life Matters. We had a dialogue between two of us. This was a good opportunity for practicing Mindfulness. He observed me how I had kept my mind and heart open and non-judgmental while listening to him and responding to him without judging him. Both of us felt deeply connected with each other and understood each other's position on this hot and burning issue. It was a cool and enriching experience for both of us.

Practicing non-judgmental existential awareness of what is happening in me in my daily life helps me to deepen my presence with me and with others. Non-judgmental self-awareness and open-mindedness enrich and deepen my understanding of myself and other people in my life. Beginner's mind is an open, empty, receptive, and a wise mind.
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May we all learn and practice what Hui-hai taught Yuan.
Namaste!

There are many ways in which we can use mindfulness practice for working on our relationships. One of the ways for cultivating relationships is to understand the relationship between our feelings and emotions with our needs. Our feelings are indicators of our met or unmet needs. When our needs are met, we feel happy, joyful, content, peaceful etc. If our needs are not met we feel angry, upset, sad, confused, irritated or sad.

Reflect on the following statements:
I’m feeling hurt because I wanted to be included.
I’m feeling confused because I need more information.
I’m feeling irritated because I want things to go more smoothly.
I feel angry because I wanted to be treated with respect.

Our feelings stand for what matters to us. Rather than getting in the way, we consider our feelings and emotions revealing information about ourselves. We consider as a reflection what matters to us. In relationships we need to recognize that my feelings are about my needs and your feelings. We take the responsibility of our feelings and needs and do not attribute to the other in our relationship.

We understand our feelings as pointers to our needs and learn to express them in statements. How it is met or not met. If it is met or not we take responsibility for what we feel and what we need. We act mindfully for taking care of our needs. We do not engage in blaming games. Sadly and unfortunately many people are caught up in reacting to each other and finding fault with others. Such transactions result in unfulfilled and unhappy relations. Life is lived superficially and joylessly.

When we learn and understand the fact of connecting or linking our emotions to our own needs and to communicate with the other mindfully, our relationships start changing for the better. When we recognize and become aware of what is going inside ourselves without reacting and blaming.

Below is a recording from August 8th,2020 Satsang mindfulness meditation session after reading the above article:
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What an interesting read of the Excerpt from the book, "Total Freedom" by  author- J.Krishnamurthi. My reflections to the article is below:

Internal change and external change are interconnected. If I focus my energy in participating in the mass movement or collective action blindly and compulsively, I will not be the true participant or agent of change. The change will be on the surface and superficial. The wheel of suffering will continue. Deep, true, inward, and voluntary change happens when I deeply, honestly, intelligently and freely explore what fundamentally needs to be changed and how I can be an active and dynamic part of this change. Deep and lasting change takes place when there is an alignment among Head-intelligent, honest and clear thinking, Heart-love, courage, and compassion, and Hand- action. The three H's need be harmony-the fourth H.

I recall two mass movements in which I had participated-one in India and the other in the USA. The first mass movement was the freedom movement called Satyagraha led by Mahatma Gandhi. It was based on two fundamental principles: Truth and Non-violence. It became a national movement against the unjust British rulers. Gandhiji was an earnest truth seeker and peace maker. He embodied his message: " Be the change you want to have in the world."

The second mass movement in which I participated was a movement against Vietnam war. I was very clear about the goal of the movement. The problem I had in fully participating in the movement was some of the means that were employed by the leaders of the movement. There was no alignment between the means and the end. I am against using verbal and physical use of violence for attaining justice and peace. I could not fully and whole heatedly participate in the movement.

We all are witnessing mass protest in our country against the injustice inflicted by the brutal power used by some police officers against black people. I fully support the mass movement against racial and social injustice. I believe in taking a stand for justice and equality. I do not want to standby as an observer. I have spent a good amount of time reflecting on what I can do to be a part of this ongoing movement. I am an educator. My work is to educate parents, students, and community about this long standing systemic problem affecting all of us and encourage them for taking action.
Namaste!

Excerpt from "Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything." by Viktor Frankl is available here. Here is my reflection to it:
There is an existential approach or standpoint when it comes to asking the question what is the meaning of life. The meaning of life is not static and so is the question. Life is dynamic. Life is changing. How do I relate to this truth of life? By using the past frame of reference or by planning for thee future? My response to life is relating to life as it unfolds. The unfolding life presents specific challenges in the concreteness of here and now.

We all are aware of the challenges we are facing at this time. We see the cruel face of mankind, the hurting heart of mankind, the angry outburst of mankind. This is an existential challenge to all of us. How do I relate to this existential challenge? I do not believe in remaining indifferent or quiet. I also do not believe in taking it in piecemeal or in a fragmented way. It is a systemic problem and it needs to be tackled in a systemic way. I am examining myself and becoming aware of my own biases and prejudice. Is my mind static? Am I hiding myself from myself? These self-examining questions are very important to me for understanding and relating to what is happening in our society.

I am helping myself by allowing what arises in my consciousness. It is like welcoming the unwelcoming, those parts of myself that I do not want to look at, sense or feel. It is liberating myself from myself to have a clear vision of what is and how can I relate to that is-ness.
Namaste!