Oct 3, 2024
What happens when you take stock of your day, your life, your purpose? What is the nature of the language you use with yourself? Most of us tend to be harsh and critical of how we are conducting our life. We easily spiral into self-talk of “shoulds:” I should be more...
Aug 29, 2024
THE ROOTS OF MINDFULNESS 2024: Practicing in a Body In August 2024, Mindfulness Northwest teachers Tim Burnett and Carolyn McCarthy co-led a 5-day retreat on the the essentially embodied nature of our mindfulness practice. Tim and Carolyn wove in Buddhist teachings,...
Jul 4, 2024
People often ask me if there’s a mindfulness practice for ….fill in the blank. Is there a practice for anxiety? Or a practice that helps in grieving a loss? Or a practice for improving concentration or mental performance in some way?While my answer is generally yes,...
Mar 27, 2024
Before applying to work at Mindfulness Northwest (MNW), I added up the time I’d spent in MNW programs: over 200 hours, most of those in 8-week Mindful Self-Compassion and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction classes.Ask anyone in my life, and they’ll tell you I’ve...
Mar 1, 2024
When I was younger I was a very judgmental person.Pretty much anything anyone said or did I’d have a strong opinion about how they could have done that better and the many things wrong with their choices and approach. It was a pretty constant grouch-fest with a strong...
Feb 2, 2024
In our classes, when we turn toward difficult emotions, we often say, “This is where the rubber meets the road.” In other words: This is where it gets tough, but also, this is why we’re doing this practice. I have five parents: two in-laws, two birth, one step. In the...
Dec 1, 2023
Growing up near Lake Washington, I was the kid who sat on the dock watching with envy, terrified of getting in the water as my friends had fun splashing about. I suspect that my Dad grabbing my foot in the pool to play “Jaws” when I was little had...
Nov 22, 2023
In March 2021, Mindfulness Northwest Executive Director and Guiding Teacher Tim Burnett led a weekend retreat online focussed on the powerful teachings of beginner’s mind from Buddhism which also form a foundational part of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction as...
Nov 1, 2023
by Tim Burnett, October 2023 In October 2023, Mindfulness Northwest Executive Director and Guiding Teacher Tim Burnett led a weekend retreat at the Samish Island Retreat Center focussed on the ways that the exploration of mindfulness, and thus the exploration of a...
Sep 5, 2023
by Tim Burnett, September 2023 In September 2023, Mindfulness Northwest Executive Director and Guiding Teacher Tim Burnett led a weekend retreat at the Samish Island Retreat Center focussed on the ways that mindfulness supports surprising personal changes in a way...
Aug 31, 2023
I have to admit that I didn’t like loving kindness meditation at first. I took to silent meditation pretty readily. I found it challenging at times, but generally calming and refreshing, and I treasured the simplicity and silence of it. Loving kindness just...
May 6, 2023
My partner and I were on a bike ride. She’s fairly new to town and I had the idea to pass through the university campus to check it out. I remembered a trail that skirts the bottom of the arboretum which would be pretty, so we rode up a neighborhood street and...
