How to practice mindfulness in a busy world

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Mindfulness and the ability to be fully present in the moment builds up resilience. It lowers stress levels and promotes relaxation, and can be considered as a strong weapon in surviving the complexities of today’s fast-paced world. Those who make a living in a high-stress environment can benefit from meditating, and here are some ways to effectively practice mindfulness.


Consider driving as a form of meditation. Traffic brings out the worst in people as it promotes impatience, agitation, and anxiety. While driving, you can switch between being mindful as you have your hands on the steering wheel, making small turns to keep the car centered. Use your breath as your focal point without steering your attention away from the streets.

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Avoid rushing and give yourself time to reach one place to another. It is easy to always rush and limit yourself when you need to be somewhere else. To reduce stress, make it a habit to leave15 to 25 minutes earlier than you have to. Give yourself more time to get ready, walk, or do anything to help you breathe and be mindful.


Turn to imagery. Imagining yourself in a peaceful setting eases physical tension and anxiety. It is different from person to person, but others find peace and mindfulness when they imagine themselves sitting on a quiet beach or walking through a thick forest by the river.


Brooklyn-based parent and teacher Jonah Engler enjoys cooking, meditation, and other healing activities. He practices mindfulness and other teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. Some of the organizations he supports are the Children of Promise foundation, the United Federation of Teachers, and the Buddhist center Nalanda Institute. For more articles like this, visit this page .

How to teach your children effective and fun meditation techniques

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It’s never too early to teach your children meditation. In fact, there has been a growing interest in meditation and yoga practices among children as a means to relax and connect to their inner calm. Even if you are not a certified yoga instructor or meditation expert, you can still teach your child the basic principles of meditation. Here are some ways.


Emphasize the importance of anchored breathing. Those who regularly practice meditation, no matter in what degree, know that its basic principle is breathing. Advise kids to be conscious of their breathing by touching their chest or stomach to notice the body’s movement. By shifting their full attention to their breathing, they can be fully present at that moment.


Teach how to let go of thoughts. It could be a challenge to ask children to clear their minds and thoughts, but you can do it effectively by tapping into their playful imagination. Describe a setting in which they would have to clear things out, or go to a place where they would have to leave something behind. While describing a safe scenario, instruct them that they would have to clear their thoughts and leave their thoughts behind.

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Set intentions and be patient. There could be many questions asked during a meditation session with kids, so be prepared to answer them without losing your patience. Teach them the concept of setting intentions and rid of “end goals,” to ease the pressure off.


Jonah Engler of Brooklyn, New York, is involved in organizations such as the Children of Promise foundation, the United Federation of Teachers, and the Buddhist center Nalanda Institute. For more reading material about mindfulness, parenthood, and meditation, visit this page.

Renouncing attachment: A cornerstone of Buddhist thought

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One of the most famous tenets of Buddhist philosophy is also among the most misunderstood. Taking on many names, the renunciation of attachment is the foundation for the Buddhist’s journey to enlightenment.


To the casual layperson, this tenet and others related to it seem almost discouraging, a far cry from the joy associated with following the path. They must be framed in the context of the noble truths of Buddhism before the notion of detachment can be understood.


The first of these truths is that life is suffering. The word used in the original Sanskrit, “dukkha,” could also be translated to “dissatisfaction,” which carries the same weight. The second truth reveals that life’s sufferings come from attachment, detachment, and hatred. We are unsatisfied with our lives because we separate our identities from the world; likewise, we feel attached to impermanent material things.

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The third and fourth truths hinge on attaining freedom from suffering and following the path toward it. One of which, therefore is the rejection of attachment. This acknowledgment of non-attachment even includes the ones we have to our own lives. We often separate our identities from the world, clouding ourselves from our true nature and becoming preoccupied with the impermanent as a result.


Often, people see non-attachment as severing ties with our everyday lives. In truth, it is merely acknowledging inherent non-attachment, a recognition of the impermanence of material things and earthly lives. We shouldn’t be preoccupied with keeping these things and should learn to let things go when the time comes.


Jonah Engler is a follower of Tibetan Buddhism and an ardent practitioner of mindfulness and meditation. This blog shares updates on Buddhism, modern art, and the importance of mindfulness.

Parenting 101: The Family Dinner

The most important time of the day varies from person to person.  Some people believe it to be the morning, since it’s the time where they form their mindset for the entire day.  Others, however, believe it’s at night, before sleeping, using the time to wind down and relieve some stress.  For families though, especially those with members who are generally busy doing their own thing throughout the day, there is no time more important than dinner time.

 Fathers work hard to provide for their families.  Mothers do the same.  The kids are busy doing their best at school, enjoying their extra-curricular work, and fiddling with their electronic gadgets (more on that later).  And the time everyone has with each other is dinner.  

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What makes the dining room so significant is that it is a venue of communication.  Through dinner, dads and moms can touch base with their children.  And children, in turn, can converse in a free-flowing manner and air out anything about their lives that needs guidance.   

Today’s technology-obsessed world has somehow thinned the ties among family members.
Children would rather play games or stream hypnotic videos of other children unboxing and playing with their toys, than talk to their parents.  And this habit has to stop.  

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Dinner time represents a sanctuary against technology and the outside world, where family members can simply be honest and converse and just ask about each other’s day, and let them know they’re there for them.

Jonah Engler believes in applying a mindful lifestyle to all areas of his life. He is an educator involved in organizations such as Children of Promise Foundation, the United Federation of Teachers, and the Buddhist Center Nalanda Institute. For more on Jonah’s passions and interests, visit this blog.

More Tips And Advice On Becoming a Better Parent

As parents, we all want the best for our children.  But we often have various slip-ups, as when we get unnecessarily mad and raise our voices as we insist on our teenager to clean his or her room after endless coaxing.  It’s typical, to say the least, to lose our temper now and then.

But whatever it is our children do that triggers fits of anger among us—from tantrums to whining and nagging—it’s important to keep in mind that our own reactions may be manifestations of our own feelings in the past.  These could be the stirring of our own traumatic memories, which we’ve to let go.  Think of it as reliving negative patterns and overcompensating for times we ourselves were hurt.

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It’s crucial to find the core of our own issues and examine them thoroughly.  Often, the way we react to our kids’ misgivings are our unconscious acting out of our own parents’ personalities.  And we’ve to come to terms with this; we’ve to make sense of our own story if we are to avoid playing out negative patterns we’ve kept from our own time as children.

Act; don’t just react.  Take a moment to consider what our kids really need and cultivate more empathy.  Our kids are not simply our extensions but their own individuals.  We can neither pressure them to be like us nor project our own shortcomings on them.  This is the starting point of understanding and true nurturing.

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Jonah Engler is a parent and teacher based in Brooklyn. He looks up to world-changers like Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and the Dalai Lama. For more of Jonah’s writings, visit this website.

The Biggest Challenges Faced By Single Parents

There are a lot of single parents out there, some by choice, others by sheer circumstance. When you’re a single parent, you don’t just assume the role of both parents. The reality is much more complicated than that.

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We celebrate the strength and fortitude of single parents. But before we can praise them, let us look at the biggest challenges they face. 

Obviously, one of the biggest challenges is finances. Not only are single parents expected to take care of their child, they also need to make a living while doing so. Just imagine juggling work and parenthood and all the things in between. 

Another major challenge that other people don’t see often is loneliness. Social life gets a steep decline for single parents. Due to all the responsibilities that need to be taken care of and negative stigma around single parents, life suddenly changes. They don’t get as much phone calls as they used to, going out becomes close to impossible, and their lives simply revolve around raising their child. 

Sickness and fatigue are also major challenges. Being a single parent is a full-time role which often doesn’t allow for sick days. The amount of work single parents put into raising their family is mountainous, and this often becomes proportional to the fatigue they experience. Still, they work their hardest in order to raise their children to the best of their abilities. 

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Jonah Engler is a parent and teacher from Brooklyn, New York. He is involved in organizations such as the Children of Promise foundation, the United Federation of Teachers, and the Buddhist centerNalanda Institute. For more articles on parenthood, visit this  website.

How To Make Long Distance Relationships Work

There are several reasons couples end up in long-distance relationships. Perhaps they met and became a couple while on holiday but live far from each other, or their partner has to relocate for work or education. Regardless of these reasons, long-distance relationships are tough. Here are a few tips on making long-distance relationships work.

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First off, avoid excessive communication. Just because they are now living in a different time zone doesn’t mean you need to constantly know what they are doing and if they are okay. Trust your partner and talk to them as if it was just any other day. Not everyone appreciates a sticky partner.

It’s always good to set ground rules, especially when you and your partner are countries apart. Your lunch break might be 3AM from where they are so considering making a schedule for when it’s good to talk.

When you two are talking, try to do things together. You can share an online game of scrabble, or simultaneously watch the same movie with your webcams on to see each other throughout the film.

Lastly, make planned visits to each other. As romantic as an unplanned visit sounds, it might not be a good time for your partner so plan it together. It can even turn into a short holiday trip for you both when you arrive.

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Jonah Engler is a Brooklyn-based parent and teacher. He enjoys cooking, meditation, and other healing activities. He practices mindfulness and other teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. For more insightful reads on relationships, visit this website.