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Blog — mindfulness

My Year of Living Mindfully – TEDx Talk

Shannon Harvey

In the midst of a global mental health crisis, millions of people have turned to mindfulness. But does it actually make us happier and healthier? For my most recent project, I participated in a world-first experiment, in which a team of scientists to put mindful meditation to the test. But after a 30,000 kilometre journey from the bright lights of Manhattan to the dusty refugee camps of the Middle East, what began as a self-experiment, transformed into a life-changing experience. The resulting documentary and book inspired a high-school teacher to get in touch recently to see if I could help... Read full article »


Lasting Change: How I Meditated Every Day for A Year And Beyond

Shannon Harvey

It had been 20 minutes of mental agony and as my meditation practice came to an end on the third day of what was supposed to be a year-long commitment to meditate every day, there was only one thought on my mind… it’s going to be a long year.Was I missing something? Far from being “like a bubble bath” for my mind in order to “fight stress,” “think better” and “feel happier,” I was finding mindfulness training really difficult and rather unpleasant. No sooner did I follow the teacher’s instructions to direct my awareness to a point of focus (be it... Read full article »


The New Science of “Overthinking”

Shannon Harvey

“I think it would be really helpful if you could share practical tips for people on how they can just turn their minds off,” said Andrea, who works in the HR department at a multi-national software company.* Andrea was calling because she was providing copies of my latest film, My Year of Living Mindfully to her colleagues and she wanted me to deliver a “behind the scenes and journalistic insights” presentation to everyone via cyberspace.People in Andrea’s company are spread all over the world, from London to Melbourne and Jakarta in between. But although they’re in different countries, in different jobs,... Read full article »


How to Face Chronic Pain: The Art of Being ‘Discomfortable’

Shannon Harvey

I couldn’t stop myself from marvelling at the bright-eyed woman across from me who I knew was experiencing what most people would consider intolerable pain, but was somehow nevertheless radiant, light-hearted and completely present as we sat eating a meal together. The lunch date was both professional and personal. I was profiling Vidyamala Burch in my documentary My Year of Living Mindfully as a case study in coping with chronic pain. She’s the founder of Breathworks, an organisation with a global reach that, among other things, aims to teach people living with chronic pain and illness how to reclaim their... Read full article »


A Beginner's Guide to Starting a Mindfulness Practice

Shannon Harvey

Introduction One of the most frequently asked questions after people have seen my feature documentary My Year of Living Mindfully is: How do I get started on my own mindful experiment? Before you continue reading this guide though, the first thing I’d like to ask you in return is: Do you actually want to start meditating regularly? If your answer is no, then stop reading now and plan to spend your precious time on something that you would like to do for your health and wellbeing. If your answer is yes, read on. The reason I ask this important question is... Read full article »


The New Generation of Scientists Who Will Change the Way You Think About Mindfulness in the Future

Shannon Harvey

I’m often asked why I went to so much trouble to make my new documentary My Year of Living Mindfully. The project took me and my co-producer (and husband, Jules Harvey) almost three years from start to finish. It involved a 30,000 kilometres journey around the world from the bright lights of Manhattan to the dusty refugee camps of the Middle East, included interviewing 18 world-leading mindfulness scientists, and required spending $30,000 towards the lab time needed by a team of six Australian scientists who studied me as I meditated throughout the year.Although the whole endavour was elaborate, the motivation... Read full article »


My Year of Living Mindfully (Book)

In the midst of a global mental health crisis, millions of people have turned to mindfulness. But does it actually make us happier and healthier? In a world-first experiment, journalist Shannon Harvey recruited a team of scientists to put mindful meditation to the test. But what began as a year-long self-experiment soon became a life-changing experience..

BUY THE BOOK NOW

My Year Of Living Mindfully (Documentary)

Buy The Film Now

The Connection: Mind Your Body (Documentary)

The Connection is a feature documentary that uncovers the latest science in mind body medicine and proves we have much more to say about our health than we thought possible.

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The Whole Health Life (Book)

This is a guidebook for anyone who wants to get healthy, find balance, and live better.

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