I recently had the pleasure of hanging out with Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche, the author of Living Fully: Finding Joy in Every Breath.

I’ve edited his words slightly or you can watch the video and hear him for yourself. His enthusiasm is wonderful and inspiring — and shows that there’s hope for all of us!

We love this piece by Patricia Monaghan, coauthor of Meditation: The Complete Guide, about finding the right form of meditation for your personality type. It made us wonder what your favorite form of meditation is, and we'd love for you to tell us in the comments section under this post.

In his new book, John Selby offers a new way to quiet your mind, brighten your mood, and set yourself free.

Of course you want the turkey to be done. You'd like the mashed potatoes to keep warm, the stuffing to stay moist and the gravy to taste homemade. You're hoping the pies turn out, the guests turn up and the TV gets turned off. You'll be grateful to have it over with, but can you take a week of hectic cooking and turn it into a mindfulness practice?

The sages did, and still do.

How strong are your presence and attention?

Take the “Presence Quiz”:

1. Do you have a short attention span?

2. Do you get distracted easily?

3. Is it hard for you to focus on one thing for very long?

4. Do you feel overwhelmed from having too many choices?

5. Do you multitask more often than not and consider yourself a “heavy” multitasker?

6. Do you forget some of the everyday tasks you need to do?

An excerpt from The Mindfulness Code by Donald Altman:

Dawn has barely broken this morning when I step out of the house with a solitary goal in mind: to get The Oregonian, deposited each morning in an oblong, yellow container that stands next to the mailbox. This morning I am in a hurry, and my mind churns with I-centric thoughts of future time. What should I eat for breakfast? I need to return those calls from yesterday. What handouts do I need to print for that next class? I wonder how many clients I am seeing today. I’m running late, so I’d better hurry....