Here is one of my favorite one-minute practices that isn't in the book: 

Hands + Ears Centering Practice

Go somewhere that you can be undisturbed for just a minute. Rub your palms together until they start to feel warm. Close your eyes, gently cover your ears with your hands, and take a few deep breaths while you concentrate on the feeling of your warm hands on your ears.

I do it on the toilet sometimes. Whatever, I do. Remember this one next week while you are spending time with the fam (or not.) It's quick, quite grounding, and I find it very effective.

I finally read the Tom Hanks profile that's been going around, and oh boy is it as good as they say it is.

I love this parenting / life advice he offers:

“Somewhere along the line, I figured out, the only thing really, I think, eventually a parent can do is say I love you, there’s nothing you can do wrong, you cannot hurt my feelings, I hope you will forgive me on occasion, and what do you need me to do? You offer up that to them. I will do anything I can possibly do in order to keep you safe. That’s it. Offer that up and then just love them.”

If you don’t have a parent that was able to do this (or even if you did!) it’s a great guide for how to relate to yourself.

On a different note, I think the writer is too quick to dismiss Hanks’ sharing of how he uses his genuine niceness as a tool of seduction in his work, that he has come to understand that in part his own power is derived from his ability to be easy to work and make people feel at ease. The writer is a cynical New Yorker, she doesn’t understand what he means—but I’m glad she left it in the piece because it feels important. Others will get it, even if she didn’t.

In fact, she later adds, “it doesn’t matter why you do nice things; all that matters is that you do them” which is true to her, but is not as universal of a truth as she imagines.

Anyways—it’s well worth the read and is a reminder that celebrity magazine profiles can, and indeed often have been, elevated to art. (This Tom Hanks Profile Will Make You Feel Less Bad; Read It Anyways – NYT)

These pics are remarkable: The Desert Is Taking Over Dubai and Abu Dabi (but the headline seems wrong. I'm pretty sure it's more about nation builders and industrialists trying to take over the desert.)

Do you want to hear the sound of earth's magnetic field getting pummeled by a solar storm? It's a little freaky-deaky.

One of the worst things about being in solitary confinement must be the lack of connection to nature. So I'm not sure "plant a tree" or "go on a picnic" was the right advice to give, Department of Corrections. But reading this makes me super grateful to get to breathe fresh air and makes my heart go out to the many people caught in the prison system.

This week I made two free videos for you because they are short ones: the ear pull practice from the book (takes one minute) and nadi shodhana, also called alternate nostril breathing (takes 5 minutes.) The second one is great for a nervous system reset.

New to meditation or want an overview? I wrote Mindfulness Meditation 101 for the publication "Best Ever You". (Weird name for a company, but I like the article I wrote.)

I also offered a few tips to Huffington Post for 13 Ways To Cut Back On Your Smartphone Usage.

When I am in a foul mood, I reach deep: funny pet pictures. Seriously, funny pet pictures are self care and I'll fight anyone who disagrees.

This thread on Twitter asking people to respond with weird pictures of their pets is hilarious. Just click it.

Dr. Smashlove on Instagram is bursting with adorable pictures of doggos.

Also, please enjoy this picture of our elderly dog Eddie wanting food but not understanding how a glass coffee table works. 😂