Change Your Mind, Change Your Health

I just read a fascinating article by Ellen Langer on how our perception can change our health. She describes studies that show how our surroundings–and specifically, the triggers around us–can alter the way we feel and perform physically. In one study, she put a bunch of 70 to 80-year-olds in a space that had been designed to look and feel as though it was built and decorated many years earlier.  The subjects were instructed to remember how they felt and moved at that earlier age, but not to dwell on memories or specific thoughts of that period.

The result?  The participants not only reported feeling younger but actually exhibited “younger” behavior as indicated in tests measuring flexibility, dexterity and memory.

I am currently working on a book about those who decide to live in a place that makes them happy–and I’m not talking about retirement communities.  One thing I am finding is that many people in their later years are moving abroad because it is stimulating.  These individuals are going beyond the warm weather choices and finding places that engage and excite them daily.   By learning a new language and culture and creating a whole new group of friends of all ages from around the world, these seniors are finding that they feel younger than they have in many years. Many have renewed energy to dive into projects or even vocations that they’d never attempted before. Most find a new sense of what it means to really LIVE while their co-horts back home focus on their general decline.

Langer’s work and the research I am doing highlight the importance of where we choose to live and how it affects our health and well being.  And it’s not just for seniors–at every age, we can improve our physical and mental health by being mindful of our choices regarding place in terms of our home design (simple and small is best), the diversity of our social circles and community, and the culture and climate in which we live.

How are YOU choosing to be healthy?

A Bold and Intentional Approach to Education

I’ve been busy talking to all kinds of people about my book, The New Global Student:  Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education, which was published in May by Crown/Three Rivers Press (Random House) and is already in its second printing. (Hooray!)

The book offers a bold and intentional approach to giving our kids the kind of education they really need to be able to seize their most thrilling and fulfilling opportunities in the 21st-century global economy–no matter where they choose to live.

It’s not about a relentless quest for meaningless test scores.

It’s not about obsessing over grades or the college admissions process.

You see, the new American global students have their eyes wide open.  They are laughing at the lunacy of the current college-prep mindset, diving into the learning they love, and gliding into the global economy at 19 or 20 with:

**a red-hot U.S. or Canadian college diploma

**sizzling 21st-century skills (including fluency in a foreign language–or two or three)

**outrageously relevant experience

**a blazing sense of direction

**and NO DEBT.

How?  By focusing on rapture in addition to rigor.

By paying attention to what lights them up so that they can learn and leap forward.

By stepping away from the old four-by-four model (four years of high school followed by four years of college) in order to build momentum and excitement about what they are learning.

By seeing the world and their possibilities in it.

The world of education is going through a tremendous shift brought about by financial failures and a new awareness of what is truly valuable about an education.  Rather than chasing impressive credentials, savvy students are pursuing a path that allows them to get a ragin’ education on campus, online, on the road and on their own terms and time lines.

Because after all, an education should prepare students for their future, and the only thing we know for certain about the future is that things will continue to change!  An education that intentionally incorporates and develops flexibility, collaboration and self-direction is the ONLY kind of education that will give students the skills they need to thrive no matter what the future may bring.

Racing alongside others without questioning the value of what you’re learning or your own engagement in it is precisely what leads to unfulfilling work and unsatisfying lifestyles.  We must help our students develop the ability to slow down and PAY ATTENTION to what matters most to them.

I invite you to read the stories in the book from students who are thriving by doing things differently–and the families that have created their own ideal lifestyles despite their fear and the naysayers who tell them it can’t be done.

Learn more about the book at http://www.NewGlobalStudent.com

Paul, Ringo, David Lynch–and You? A Hot Week for Mindfulness

Mindfulness is in the news in a big way this week with the  announcement of a reunion of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr at a star-studded concert to benefit David Lynch’s Transcendental Meditation campaign.  The David Lynch Foundation is raising  funds to teach one million at-risk children to meditate — giving them life-long tools to overcome stress and violence and promote peace and success in their lives.

Bravo!

Now…what about YOU?

Are you meditating?  Are you finding ways to be more present in your life?  Are you using the news all around you as a personal cue to slow down and pay attention to what’s going on WITH YOU?

When times are scary, we tend to focus on the bad news all around us.  We’d be much better off watching how the bad news affects us emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually.  We can learn a great deal about what boosts our own stress levels and how we adjust to change by using the news to see ourselves and our responses more clearly.

Want to be more mindful?  Great.  But remember this:  you don’t have to meditate to become more mindful!

Meditation can be powerful–no doubt about it.  But the emphasis on meditation sometimes obscures what we’re really needing–MINDFULNESS!

If the meditation part just isn’t appealing to you or you’re looking for a simpler way to bring more awareness into your day, I hope you’ll consider stepping away from the “working on mindfulness” effort and dive into the “playing with mindfulness” games that characterize my Real-World Mindfulness Training approach.

Kids are naturally mindful.  They know how to be in the moment.  After all, in order to play a make-believe game or see animal shapes in the clouds or make up a new dance step in your bedroom, you’ve got to be present.  As they get older, however–and more immersed in the world of adult expectations–they lose their ease and have to make a greater effort to pay attention to what’s going on right now.  Once they are old enough to have regrets about the past and worries about the future, they need to be reminded to be calm, clear and creative.

Just like you.

Don’t make mindfulness hard. Don’t turn it into a big project that you have to wake up early for.

Instead, begin simply and have a little fun with it.  After all, mindfulness isn’t rocket science, and it doesn’t have to be done with a serious expression or painful posture.  It’s the most natural and potentially joyful thing in the world!

If you’re looking for some lighthearted tips and triggers to remind yourself to be present to the wonders around and within you, I invite you to take a look at some of the surprisingly fun ways you can stir up more mindfulness every day.

Book Update: The New Global Student to hit bookstores May 19th!

That’s right–the book is written and in production at the fine offices of Three Rivers Press (a division of Random House) and I’m busy preparing the new website(s) and contacting blurbers and all of the other wonderful things you get to do when you write a book.  I’m loving every minute of it (well, almost every minute).

The title has been changed since my last post–it’s now The New Global Student:  Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education.  You’ll be able to learn all about it when the new website launches next week at www.NewGlobalStudent.com

Anyway, I couldn’t be happier with the way things are turning out.  I hope to update this blog on a fairly regular basis (once a week or so) once things are going smoothly.

Thanks so much for your patience!  Oh, and don’t forget to check out my prettified website (also up next week) at www.Real-WorldMindfulness.com

Paying Attention To What Matters Most: I’m Writing A Book About Creative Education For Random House!

You’ll notice that I’m not posting here very frequently. 

It’s not because I’ve lost interest in mindfulness!  In fact, I’m more passionate than ever about teaching people how to pay attention in order to get calm, clear and creative.  I’ve just got a very specific audience to focus on right now.

You see, I’m writing my book about creative options for getting a no-angst, global and outrageously relevant college education that doesn’t cost a fortune. 

I’ve got a book deal with Random House for my first book.  W00t! 

So, I’m still paying attention to what matters most.   Right now, it’s doing a lot of research and writing so that I can offer help and hope to parents and students across the US who are struggling with the typical hypercompetitive GPA/SAT/AP path to college admissions.

Please excuse my absence here while I focus on helping parents and students get calm, clear and creative about their education options!

Catch me over at my blog about the book at http://www.TheWorldIsYourCampus.com

Interview With Dr. Jeff Brantley, co-author of Five Good Minutes™

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Brantley, MD.  Dr. Brantley is a consulting associate in the Duke University Department of Psychiatry in Durham, North Carolina.  He’s also the founder and director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at Duke University’s Center for Integrative Medicine and the author of Calming Your Anxious Mind. 

 I wanted to talk to Jeff about his series of books on mindfulness called Five Good Minutes™.  He collaborated with Wendy Millstine on this series, and I was interested in how the whole thing got started. 

Here are some highlights from our phone conversation:

Maya:  Jeff, can you tell us your story about creating this series of books? 

Jeff:  Well, Maya, it’s really been something.  I’ve been interested in mindfulness meditation for many years, and back in 1998, I started the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program here at Duke.  As you know, this is a model developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn that focuses on mindfulness meditation as a way to recognize and release the physical and emotional stresses that affect our body and mind. 

And then around 2003, I  published a book largely based on the MBSR work at the Center called Calming Your Anxious Mind.   Well, that book seemed to help people, and of course, I was happy about that.  And then, one day I got a call from Tesilya, an editor at New Harbinger, the publishing company that printed the Calming Your Anxious Mind book.  It seems they had a woman writer they’d been working with named Wendy Millstine and they wanted to come up with a book that would offer some very simple meditation exercises that people could use for just very short periods of time in order to get calm and focused.  Well, I’d never met Wendy, but we sort of started an email correspondence, you know, and we felt like we were a good fit. 

It’s funny, really, because we’re such different people.  She’s a young woman living out on the West Coast, very creative as well as academic, a nutrition consultant with a passion for helping people reduce their stress.  And here I am, this 60-something science guy in North Carolina.  But I think because we represented a range of interests and demographics, we were able to come up with a wonderful combination of meditations, some playful, some more serious, and it just flowed beautifully.  In fact, there were times when we’d be going over the various exercises we’d written and I’d think, “Man, I can’t tell which ones  are mine and which ones are hers!”  So we have a very similar style and voice and I just couldn’t be happier with the way the whole process worked.  It’s been a joy to work with Wendy and I feel so fortunate.

Maya:  So, you started with Five Good Minutes™:  100 Morning Practices To Help You Stay Calm and Focused All Day Long.

Jeff:  Well, yes, and I’ve got to tell you, we never went into this thing expecting that there’d be a series!  I mean, we put the first book together and it just seemed like if you spent five minutes in the morning getting calm and focused, well, maybe you might like to spend five minutes at the end of the day. 

You see, the purpose of all of this is to help people step out of the rush of the day, the constant activity, and take a few minutes to focus on three things:  1) PRESENCE, which is nothing more than paying attention right now, in this moment, 2)  INTENTION, which is a clear focus of attention and energy right now, and 3)  WHOLEHEARTEDNESS, which is acting fully and deeply with a sense of kindness toward yourself and the world. 

Really, it’s about inviting people to dive into attention with a spirit of curiosity and generosity of spirit.  It’s looking at that present moment with a sense of wanting to investigate it, to fully experience it.  We believe that the power of mindfulness is allowing people to connect with the deepest part of themselves and their innate kindness and compassion.  This kindness is what opens us all, opens our spirits wholly to others and to the good work we can do in the world. 

And so, we followed up the morning book with Five Good Minutes™ In the Evening:  100 Mindful Practices To Help You Unwind From The Day and Make the Most of Your Night. 

And it wasn’t long after that that we decided it would be helpful if people had some exercises they could do at work.  I mean, it’s a long day, right?  So, giving some specific tips for people who are feeling stressed in the middle of the work day seemed like a valuable thing.   We published the third book, Five Good Minutes™ At Work: 100 Mindful Practices to Help You Relieve Stress and Bring Your Best to Work.

Maya:  Are you writing another book now?  Is this going to turn into a “Chicken Soup for the Soul” kind of thing? 

Jeff:  (laughing)  Well, we never set out to be famous or rich or anything!  We just started with the one book and now they are doing very well, being translated into other languages.  We’ve got the books printed in Japanese, Korean, German and I think there are some contracts for other ones coming up.  And actually, Wendy and I are just finishing the fourth book in the series, which should be coming out in February of 2008, just in time for Valentine’s Day.  This newest book is focused on ways to become more aware in order to deepen your relationships with loved ones.  The book is going to be called, Five Good Minutes™ With The One You Love:  100 Mindful Practices to Deepen and Renew Your Love Every Day.  It’s for partners and spouses but also for parents who want to connect with their kids, be really present with them, or kids who want to connect with their older parents, or really, it can help in any relationship. 

The key, really, is kindness.  And in order to get to that place of kindness, of wholehearted attention and intention, we need to slow down enough to really notice what is going on inside our skin and outside it.   The books offer ideas that anyone can use for just five minutes to create greater awareness of their inner life and the outer world.

Maya:  Jeff, who did you write this series for?  In the beginning, were you developing the idea for those who were brand new to meditation or as a supplement for those already familiar with it? 

Jeff:  Well, to be honest, I think we just really wanted to create lots of different doorways for anyone to use to reconnect to the human spirit.  And Wendy came up with some really beautiful practices, and I think we managed to put together a good combination of things to appeal to lots of people.  And listen, we figured that out of 100 practices in each book, if the reader could take just one of those and make it a regular part of their day or a practical tool for them to use on a consistent basis, we’d be thrilled.  You don’t need to try all 100.  It’s more important to choose the ones that sort of call out to you.  We wanted that range, and we wanted to have something for everyone. 

And yet, I have to say that meditation isn’t for everyone, so we did try to include some practices that are, like I said, a little more playful.  Some focus on movement, for example, more than visualization.  We know that people do respond to different things, and we hope that even if someone isn’t into meditation that they will view these with curiosity and openness and approach this concept of spending five good minutes with joy and a sense of seeing the possibilities.  And of course, people might be inspired to change things a bit and come up with their own perfect practice.

Maya:  Tell us about the process of promoting the books.

Jeff:  Well, it’s been really interesting.  When I first started doing radio shows and such for the morning book, I was on all kinds of programs, from the crazy morning drive jocks to the more thoughtful commentators.  It was really an experience and I learned a lot from those who interviewed me and especially the callers who had questions and comments.  And the theme was really about the stresses of life.  No matter what kind of town I was in, what kind of audience was listening, I was getting the same kind of questions:  “How can I get through the day when I feel like I’m ready to scream all the time?”  You know, just a lot of worry and tension and anger. 

And people responded so positively to the message in the book that you can use five good minutes a day to really help you connect to the best part of yourself.  They needed to hear that.  They needed to know that they didn’t have to devote hours to meditation, that they could use these five minute practices and get some wonderful benefits. 

Well, things kind of took off.  Oprah’s magazine picked the morning book as one of its five Best New Health books, so that really got things going. 

But I have to tell you that the most recent tour, the one for Five Good Minutes™ At Work, was on a whole different level in that there seemed to be so much more stress, so much more pain, really, in the callers and others who talked to me.  It was palpable.  I guess it took me a little by surprise since I’d been out promoting the previous two books and thought I knew what to expect, but honestly, the level of angst was so much greater this last time.  And so I felt more resolved than ever to get out and speak, to continue to come up with ways to get this message out to people.

Maya:  Jeff, in view of that, do you have any plans for new projects? 

Jeff:  Well, yes.  In fact, I’m busy now working on a companion book to the Calming Your Anxious Mind book.  This one will have some specific meditations, some quite a bit longer than five minutes, to help those who are suffering with this stress and tension I saw all around me.  We’ll work with different themes and approaches in this book, which I think is coming out in the summer of 2008. 

Maya:  Jeff, are you using the books with any particular group?  Have you seen others using it in settings such as prisons or with at-risk youth, for example? 

Jeff:  Well, Maya, those are great ideas and I would be delighted to help someone take the books into various communities.  I think that any facilitator with some experience with meditation and a connection with a particular group could find ways to help others with the Five Good Minutes™ series and I’m certainly open to that and would encourage it.  I know, for example, about a local church that is using one of the books with its youth group.  I think that is a wonderful way to help kids deal with the stresses of their lives. 

I also think that the work book could be very helpful in any workplace setting.  I know there is an executive health program here in town that has been recommending the books to their clients.  These business people might not have time to attend an eight-week MBSR series, but they can take the book home and find five-minute periods in their day to practice these exercises.   I mean, I’ve used some exercises myself as part of our morning staff meetings and I know people really appreciate the opportunity to take a moment in the day to focus and reconnect. 

Maya:  There are so many possibilities!  And people really need to hear this message again and again in various ways so that eventually they find a practice that really helps them.  So, what’s on your schedule these days?

Jeff:  Well, a number of things.  Next week I’m heading down to Miami.  I was one of several  people invited by the folks at Oprah’s magazine to come down and do a presentation at their gathering of over 4000 participants.  I’m going to be talking to about 500 people from Hyundai about the Five Good Minutes™ concept.  And I’m excited about that.  You know, I think there is so much value in helping people see the power of the human spirit.  When we get caught up in frightened and dangerous thinking, we’re not able to be kind or open.  We can’t connect with any kind of compassion unless we develop the skill to be mindful.

And what I’d like to say to everyone, really, is that this skill is something anyone can learn.  We need to teach it to kids, to everyone.  As kids we have it naturally and though we all tend to lose it over time, we can strengthen our ability to be present, to be intentional and to be wholehearted in what we are doing. 

People need to know that it is accessible, that they can get a whiff of their own capacity for presence.  They can get a taste of the fullness of their own heart.  It’s really much closer than you think.

Paying attention on purpose is such a simple but beautiful and profound premise.  We don’t have to make it into something huge, something that takes up a great deal of our time.  We don’t have to go off and live in a cave for a year, though that has its value.  We can do the simplest things.  Pay attention to the breeze on your face.  Feel the warmth of the coffee cup in your hand.  Notice things. 

Maya:  Thank you so much for your time and your terrific work, Jeff.  I truly appreciate it and I’m happy to steer my blog visitors to your site, www.FiveGoodMinutes.com, for more information about your wonderful books.

Jeff:  Thank you, Maya, for getting the word out and for doing your good work to help others see the value of incorporating mindfulness in simple, playful ways. 

Dr. Jeff Brantley’s Five Good Minutes™

Morning or evening? 

Whether you’re looking for ways to spend Five Good Minutes™ calming yourself each morning or each evening, Dr. Jeff Brantley has a hundred or so suggestions for you. 

I’ll be interviewing him later today so watch for my next post on his simple mindfulness techniques you can use morning, night, at work, or to enhance a loving relationship.

Five Good Minutes™ To Calm Your Mind

Next week, I’ll be interviewing Jeff Brantley, MD, author of Calming Your Anxious Mind and the series of books on mindfulness called Five Good Minutes™.  

He published the first one, Five Good Minutes™: 100 Morning Practices to Help You Stay Calm and Focused All Day Long, which offers exactly what the title says–practical advice for using a five minute period each morning to pay attention and bring that sense of awareness to whatever you’re doing during the day.

Dr. Brantley is the founder and director of The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at Duke University’s Center for Integrative Medicine and he’s got plenty of tips to share. 

In fact, he followed up his Five Good Minutes™ morning book with one to help soothe people in the evening, followed by another to help people stay calm at work, and he’s offering another one next year with tips for being present with the one you love.   

On his website, www.FiveGoodMinutes.com, he offers this description of his approach:

These 100 simple practices are designed to help even the busiest person start the day right. Using just five minutes of mindfulness, relaxation, or imagery techniques during your morning routine, you can set your intention and greet the day feeling calm, centered, and energized.

What difference can five minutes make in the crazy, nonstop course of a sixteen-hour day? If you feel overwhelmed with responsibility, bored with the same tired routine, or frustrated about how to create meaning in your life, a little time well spent can lead to extraordinary changes.

The concept is powerfully simple: Take the time each morning to be fully present, set a clear intention for yourself, and really engage in any of 100 fun and easy-to-follow practices. Soon you will discover that amazing things can happen in just five minutes a day.

So, now you see why I like him.    And I can’t wait to share more about his approach in this blog in the next few days.

I’ll be posting more about him and the Five Good Minutes™  technique and tell you how you can make this method work for YOU.

Sarah Susanka Talks About Her Not So Big Life

Yesterday, I had the privilege of sharing a delightful hour-long phone conversation with Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House series and her latest, The Not So Big Life. 

I talked to her about her own way of keeping her life not so big, what she does (and doesn’t do) each morning at 11 am, her favorite activity to engage in at 30,000 feet, and how her book can inspire individuals to support each other through the process of remodeling their lives.

Here are some highlights:

Maya:  Sarah, you mention in this book that even though you wrote the Not So Big House books before this one, you really crafted the concept of the Not So Big Life idea first.

Sarah:  Yes, that’s true.  In fact, I couldn’t have written the NSB House books without first recognizing what I needed in my life which was the time to pursue my writing.  I was working as a managing partner of an architecture firm with 45 employees.  I had a lot going on, I was very busy, and one day it became obvious to me that no amount of financial success would fill the void I felt in terms of not having the time to pursue what was most meaningful, what was calling me.  And so, I decided to carve out time for “a meeting” with myself every Tuesday and Thursday morning so that I could write.  It seemed crazy at the time–how could I possibly spend several hours twice a week on writing when I had so much work to do?  How would the partners and employees react?  But once I made the decision to do that, everything shifted to support what I had stated I wanted.  

Maya:  So by creating the intention to make time for your writing, you opened up the possibilities for yourself. 

Sarah:  That’s right.  I often say that the most sustainable thing you can do for your heart and the planet is to do the thing you truly want to do.  And the signs were all around me–I felt that I needed to write and once I started paying attention to that, everything opened up. 

Maya:  Sarah, you’ve done a number of book tours and presentations for your Not So Big House books, and now you’ve just completed three months of touring for The Not So Big Life.  How was the experience different for you?

Sarah:  Well, it felt like a really amped-up version of the NSB House tour in terms of what people shared.  The stories were extraordinary.  Astonishing, really.  And what people expressed to me over and over again was a sense of gratitude and profundity about what they’d discovered about themselves and their lives.

Maya:  Was there a common theme in their comments on gratitude?

Sarah:  Really, it was about being grateful for being given permission to do things differently.   We often think we have to wait forever to get what we’re longing for, but this book encourages people to do a recasting of the way they see their lives so they can open up to their own possibilities.

Maya:  Tell us what this recasting looks like. 

Sarah:  We tend to view the world in such a linear way.  Things look impenetrable.  Our schedules, our responsibilities, the way we look at the course of our lives–it all looks impossible to change.  This becomes a huge obstacle, at least in our heads.  But we need to know that this process is not about logic.  The intellect believes that things are linear when in fact there are more directions and options and possibilities than we can imagine.  Once we see this, the world opens up and those signs that are all around us, showing us what we need to notice, become very clear and obvious.

Maya:  Sarah, can you share some tips about shifting to a Not So Big Life based on your own experience? 

Sarah:  Sure.  Well, an important one for me was recognizing that I could not do the creative work I longed to do while engaged in my work at the architecture firm.   My time was chipped up into teeny pieces.  I mean, I was asked a question about a project every three minutes!  My time was fragmented, and it was impossible to get into any kind of flow.  I also recognized that I wanted the firm to be healthy and sustainable.  Leaving the firm was the best solution because I would have the time I needed to devote to my writing and I would not be forcing the company to go in any particular direction.  And though this was very scary at the time, it also felt very true.  It allowed me to be much lighter on my feet and go where my life was leading me. And one of the things that happened was that I had the time to pay attention to the projects that had a resonance.  The ones that called out to me were the ones that showed up on my doorstep.  So, instead of having to go out and pick the right thing to do next, the work begam to appear naturally and I was free to focus on the most meaningful projects without being overwhelmed by other tasks that weren’t such a good fit.  This is something I’ve carried over to my work today.  Right now, I have only two employees–Marie, my personal assistant who helps me take care of a lot of administrative stuff, and Barbara, my business manager, who helps me choose the projects that are the best fit for me.  I try to keep things as simple and streamlined as I can, and I’m lucky to have these great women who allow me to continue to focus on what my heart longs to do. So, even though it might seem like a pretty big life from the perspective of someone looking at it from outside, it feels very healthy and sustainable to me.

Maya:  Once you started to shift the way you were working, how did your response to the work change?

Sarah:  Oh, I found I was far more effective despite the fact that I was spending less linear time working.  I worked with more flow, fewer distractions, and more focus.  But it’s important to note that there is a need for discipline in order to live this way, at least initially.  First of all, you have to be aware of your own tendency to over-extend yourself, to try to pack more into each day.  And second, you have to build in patterns of behavior that help you create the time and space for a different approach.  I found that I approached my work with greater joy and excitement once I established some clear ideas about what I really wanted to do.

Maya:  So what does your work day look like, Sarah?

Sarah:  Well, for me, work starts at 11:00 am.  That means that I can get up, eat, talk with my husband, go putter in the garden, meditate or whatever and then at 11:00, I head upstairs and start writing.  And my writing time is quite focused right now since I am working on a book about remodeling.

Maya:  Do you check email or anything first or just start writing?

Sarah:  Oh, no, that is key.  I try not to respond to any emails at all.  I might go in and check, make sure there are no emergencies and maybe respond with something quick like, “I’ll call you at 3 today.”  But once we open that inbox, that sense of urgency tends to control us!  Open the lid and we get sucked in.  So, I’ve learned to do a quick scan of email and then dive into the writing for the next three hours.

Maya:  And then what?

Sarah:  Well, I take an hour lunch break from 2:00 to 3:00, then work for another three or four hours, finishing up around 6:00 or 7:00.  It’s a later start, but it works perfectly for me. 

Maya:  That’s your work schedule when you’re home.  Tell us how you keep it together when you’re on the road.

Sarah:  Actually, I’ve found that I really enjoy writing while I’m on the plane!  Honestly,  there is something about being at 30,000 feet–there is less white noise perhaps and I feel very creative.  I often catch up on my blogging while I’m flying and I actually look forward to settling into my seat for a flight.  Whenever I’m experiencing a bit of writer’s block, my husband jokes that I should hop on a plane and fly across the country.  But I also find that I experience a noticeable wave of exhaustion when I return home from a trip.  I mean, the first 24 hours are just not conducive to creative work for me!  As long as I keep that in mind and schedule around it, things turn out fine.  For this most recent book tour, I scheduled a week of touring and then a week of rest, and I’m so glad I did.  It made it so much more enjoyable for me.  It’s much easier to be present if you’re not exhausted.

Maya:  Sarah, I know you have an interest in young people and an idea for a book you’d like to write for them.  Can you tell us more about that? 

Sarah:  Well, when I was 14, I started writing letters to my future self.  They were questions, really, things I wanted my future me to consider.  And years later, when I read those questions, I found that they allowed me a certain amount of clarity about what I saw for myself when I was younger.  It was stunning to see how much I knew about myself and what I wanted at that age.  I think there is a great deal we can learn by reconnecting to the ideas and ideals we had when we were younger, and I find it interesting to think about ways to help students see clearly what it is they truly want in life.

Maya:  For students who are just graduating from college and about to dive into the world and jump on the fast track, what advice can you offer? What can you tell a 20-something who is feeling overwhelmed by college debt and who is feeling unsure about what they want to do in life?

Sarah:  That’s difficult, but really, I know that for me, the most important advice was (and still is) to follow your heart.  Instead of getting caught up in worrying about the best job you can get in order to pay the bills, you need to focus on what fills you, what excites you and go in that direction.  Of course, the trick is to have your sensory apparatus turned on–you’ve got to pay attention to whatever is showing up.  If that’s a credit card bill, then that needs your attention.  But rather than get caught in the urgency of making choices to earn big money, the key is giving yourself the time to SEE what it is your heart is wanting to do.  Every single thing that is brought to your attention is the universe talking to you.  Listen!

Maya:  Sarah, how would you like to see people using the Not So Big Life book?  Do you have some suggestions for ways in which we can use it as a tool for remodeling our lives and perhaps connecting with others who are remodeling theirs?

Sarah:  Absolutely!  You know, there is a woman in my neighborhood named Alice, and it turned out that she had read my Not So Big House books and was really excited that I was living nearby. She was in the process of trying to understand how to live her life in a more meaningful way, as we all are, and I asked her to be an early reader of the Not So Big Life book.  In fact, Alice was basically the guinea pig for this book, and she gave me such wonderful feedback.  For example, one of the exercises in the book calls for spending twenty minutes eating a brownie.  Alice called me up and said, “Are you kidding?  I eat my entire dinner in less than twenty minutes, just like every other mother I know!” So Alice was great about giving me those reality checks.  And it turned out that Alice was a member of a book club, and the group decided to read my book as one of their selections. Well, one of the things that came up right away was the fact that this book needs more than a month. I mean, you can read it quickly, but it’s really about a process. It’s a blueprint for making changes in your life.  So, instead of getting together to analyze the plot or discuss the author, like they would with other books, the group was finding that they had an opportunity to share their own stories about their process, their discoveries, their glitches along the way.  For those who were naturally really open, it was  a great setting for sharing, but it was also powerful for those who were skeptical, hesitant about telling personal stories, or normally not interested in anything related to self-help stuff. I’d love to see more of that happening, and on my website, I provide some guidelines for groups–whether they are traditional book clubs or just small groups of friends, family or co-workers–to go through the Not So Big Life book together.  I even include some tips for a yearly ritual to celebrate what they’ve discovered about themselves. 

Maya:  That’s a great idea!  You could encourage people to start informal Not So Big Clubs across the country for those who are interested in finding greater meaning in the way they use their time and space.  It would be a powerful way to connect with others and develop a sense of community with those who are longing to feel more “at home” in their lives. 

Sarah:  Yes!  Please invite your readers to join in.  I think it fits perfectly with the great work you are doing on mindfulness, paying attention, and having fun. 

Maya:  Don’t you love it when things end perfectly? 

Sarah:  I do!

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To learn more about Sarah’s book, The Not So Big Life, visit her website at http://www.NotSoBigLife.com 

You’ll find all kinds of information and tips for getting started on your own Not So Big Life remodel.

Thanks so much, Sarah!

The Not So Big Life: Making Room For What Really Matters

Later this week, I will be interviewing Sarah Susanka, author of the Not So Big House books and her latest, The Not So Big Life:  Making Room For What Really Matters. 

Now, it’s one thing to write a book about the Not So Big Life if you are living quietly, out of the spotlight, just doing your thing in a small but meaningful way. 

But there are a few things you should know about Sarah.  She is an architect, sure.  But things changed for her once she wrote The Not So Big House.  Things got….bigger.  Want proof?

**Fast Company selected her as one of its “Fast 50″ innovators

**Newsweek called her a “Top Newsmaker” for 2000

**US News and World Report called her an “innovator in American culture”

**Builder magazine listed her as #14 out of 50 “Power Brokers” in 2004

**Organic Style magazine put her on its “Environmental Power List”

 So much for staying small.

And yet, Sarah has found ways to focus on what she loves to do most.  You might look at that list of accomplishments above and think, “She’s got the world by the tail!  She must be insanely busy.”

But that’s just it–she’s making sure that she is NOT insanely busy.  She’s doing it in a very intentional way and she has a great deal of insight–and Real-World tips–to share.

Sarah came along and gave people a taste of what they didn’t know they were longing for.  She helped us see that we wanted to feel “at home” in a way that had nothing to do with square footage or designer decor. 

Check in soon to hear what Sarah has to share with us on the topic of paying attention and living the Not So Big Life!