Returning To Mindfulness When It Matters Most

— You already know what it means to live a fulfilling life. You may have had glimpses of this inner knowing and clarity after meditation or other activities like skiing or playing music that help us to return to ourselves. In these moments we are present, connected, creative, and open to possibilities. However, once we step back into the fast-paced world, our default habits - to rush and react - kick back in. We feel tempted to return to the comfort of what's familiar and easy, even though the outcomes are not ultimately healthy or fulfilling. We know that we're not leading a fulfilling life when we don't have enough energy, time, or whatever it takes to make meaningful choices—be it at home, work, school, or in relationships. Instead, we can train ourselves to return to ourselves – to the field of non-judging awareness within us. In returning to ourselves, we reconnect with what's present, what's important, and our potential. The possibilities that exist in this vast, open field of awareness are endless. Mindfulness empowers us to come back to ourselves, again and again, so we may see more clearly and have the courage to take intentional steps, even amidst chaos and uncertainty.  Valeria Teles interviews Dr. Shalini Bahl — is a mindfulness coach, an award-winning researcher, keynote speaker, and Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Search Inside Yourself teacher. Based on 15 years of research and a cross-disciplinary approach. Dr. Bahl provides customized solutions to businesses, educators and political clients for building essential mindfulness skills to disrupt default thinking and cope with stress, become more resilient, and live with empowered choice for personal and collective fulfillment. Certified at the Center for Mindfulness, UMass Medical School and the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute originating at Google, Dr. Bahl is the Founder of Know Your Mind LLC, a social business with the mission of making evidence-based mindfulness skills widely accessible. Dr. Bahl's understanding of neuroscience, psychology, and management gives her a deeper appreciation of each client's unique journey and meets them where they are. A former successful entrepreneur and business professor, Dr. Bahl's cultural experiences of living and working in three countries—India, Kuwait, and the USA—allow her to engage with diverse audiences including CEOs and executives at Fortune 500 companies, educators, and students. As an Affiliated Expert at the Isenberg School of Management, UMass, Amherst, Dr. Bahl provides her mindfulness teachings via accredited leadership programs to executive MBAs, faculty, and staff. Dr. Bahl is a TEDx speaker and a Town Councilor in Amherst. Her research has been published in premier marketing and public policy journals and won the 'Best Research Paper' Award from The American Marketing Association in 2019. Her guided meditations and programs have had over 250,000 plays on the Insight Timer and Simple Habit app. She's working on a book and accompanying digital app, (tentatively) titled, Return: 8 Mindful Habits to Return to Your Self for A Clearer, Bolder Life. To learn more about Dr. Shalini Bahl and her work, please visit: knowyourmind.training       — This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life through the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well.