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Team-Building and Dirt: What’s the Connection?

I propose a twist on the oft-annoying and unproductive team-building retreat. Instead of meandering through a corn maze (ahem, which I have done), take your team on an outing that will really produce some change…through awareness.

Dig in the dirt. Get in there with your hands and on your knees. Plant small plants individually. Plant large shrubs and trees as a group. Dig. Pat. Shake. Rake. Mulch…make it pretty. Perfect for a service project, too. Donate the team’s time to a local Habitat® project.

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The 411 on Walking Meditations

Let’s recap from last week’s Walking Meditation blog. Walking is good for you…mind and body; this we know. However, if you slow your brisk pace to a tip-toe and add some mindfulness, you’re closing in on an official Walking Meditation.

How To:

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The Walking Meditation: Take a Walk along the Seine

There’s something strangely powerful about walking meditations.

While walking along the Seine in Paris, I zoomed in on my feet and videoed myself teetering on the cobblestones. As you’ll see in the video, I’m walking way too fast for a walking meditation; but you will be drawn in by the movement and the sounds…just as I was. The meddlesome thoughts about your boss or your spouse will disappear as you take each step along with me. You’ll hear the captivating Notre Dame bells in the background and my tourist comrades’ voices fading in and out.

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Grab your phone, or equally fun recording device, and make one for yourself and notice how transfixed you become.

**Check out our YouTube channel for more walking meditations.**

Travel by Plane or Brain: Reap the Same Benefits

I love to travel! I’m mindful 89% of my waking hours. I’m acutely observant of others….our differences and similarities. I’m more patient and accommodating. I’m more creative and in tune. I believe this is true of many of us when we travel…that we observe more, are more aware, more in sync, more thoughtful.

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My Living Office: A View from Paris

Hello from the Land of Design, aka Paris!

A Living Office is a high-performing workplace that delivers an elevated experience of work for people and helps organizations achieve their strategic goals. Herman Miller

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The Impact of Design on Health and Wellness

What could be better than creating “Human Spaces: Spaces Designed with the Human in Mind?” Creating spaces for humans should not only be of interest to designers but to people who work, who shop, who live, who go to school in these environments. That’s everybody!

I jumped at the chance to write for Human Spaces. Check out their web site and my blog on The Impact of Design on Health and Wellness (repost below).

The Impact of Design on Health and Wellness

While wellness in the individual is multifactorial, signs point to a distinct link between wellness and design. As we improve the built environment with design elements that include better lighting, more fresh air and the use of materials and products that don’t leach toxic chemicals into the air, it would follow that health and well-being of the occupants should improve.

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Critics of Modern Meditation: What Say Ye?

As much as I preach meditation in the workplace, I would be remiss to not address the criticism surrounding Modern Meditation. In a recent article, a long-time meditator and teacher offers the following insight (see quotes below) into what’s wrong with today’s Mindfulness and Meditation Movement (MAMM, let’s make it official):

“So many people seem to be moving narcissistically — conditioned by our culture, doubtless — into self-centered happiness-seeking and quietism, not to mention the use of mindfulness for mere effectiveness.”

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Learning Calm in a Type A World

I’m a recovering Type A stress ball. I had to learn Calm. Last week, I read They Make Trains Run on Time, but at What Cost? and thought of myself. I fall in the category of The Very Organized and hail my “virtues” (the author knows me too well):

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Are Your Tolerances Too Tight?

What if you’re a surgeon and you sway from your tolerance during open-heart surgery? You could nick an artery. What if you’re a landscape architect and your contractor creates an unintended slope toward the house? Your client will be very unhappy when water pools near their house after each rain. Tolerance, or the “allowed” deviation, is not only vital in the function and success in concrete objects but also in intangibles like our mental health.

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Divide and Conquer: Making a Large Meditation Room Intimate

Sounds like a designer’s dream…to have a cavernous space within which to create. Although, if the goal is to fashion an intimate and relaxing ambience, the task could prove daunting. Here’s an option…

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