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Mindfulness Mondays 7: Be Child-Like

July 13, 2009 by  

3539117813_41744f348cTo conclude my yoga series, I would like to focus on something that my instructor oftentimes reminds us students (or “sweatmates”) to focus on, which is being child-like.  What does that mean?  It is open to interpretation.

I believe that I have told this story of a patient before but it is worth retelling here. A patient of mine whom I performed multiple corrective procedures for remained somehow still trapped in his own miserable funk.  He is a blessed soul but somehow was ensnared by his own attitude of his situation. I spent a few lunch hours with him to get him to open up and to feel better about his life’s situation.  After 2 sessions, he began to come around.  I suggested that he read The 4 Agreements and the Power of Now.  After reading them, he exclaimed that they had changed his life entirely.

He said to my mother that he could taste his food again for the first time in many years, and he felt like when he was a child at 9 years of age running in an open field with his father in Iran.  That is a beautiful story and it opens vistas in my mind of where we can be if we allow only our attitude and intention to change.  His lot in life did not change, just the way he perceived it.  His depression cleared, and his heart opened.

We all should think back and find ourselves when we were not afraid to learn, to explore, to laugh, before the time that societal constraints compelled us to become “a certain way”.  When like a dog who gets beaten and then cowers and recoils from touch, we in turn become afraid to open our mouths, our heart, and our mind.

My mom engages in a daily “conversation” via computer video chat with my new baby niece Bailey.  She says that she now sees the world through the eyes of a baby, just laughing, crying, smiling, and pooping.  Pretty simple stuff.  Look into a baby’s eyes or into your child’s eyes this week and see where you came from and return there. My mom stimulated me to write this blog since she just finished The 4 Agreements, which she also said has changed her life as it has mine. (FYI:  I did a blog series on The 4 Agreements that you can review in my archives:  first blog, second blog, third blog, fourth blog, fifth blog.)  Set your intention this week toward being like a child.  Open your heart and your mind again, and run through the fields without care or hindrance.

(The photo is of my niece Bailey.)

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15 Responses to “Mindfulness Mondays 7: Be Child-Like”

  1. Nord on July 13th, 2009 9:34 am

    Beautiful suggestions. CUTE BABY! Smart-looking, too!

  2. dr. lam on July 13th, 2009 12:21 pm

    thanks nord. get a fun gravatar if you can. make it something about who you are. okay, i’ll stop pestering you about that. LOL.

  3. Heather on July 13th, 2009 9:43 pm

    So CUTE!!!
    Wow, Dr. Lam, that is amazing that you were able to help that guy so much! A great psychologist there!
    Great blog!
    :)

  4. dr. lam on July 13th, 2009 9:45 pm

    thanks heather! nord, if you choose a gravatar, be careful: heather is stuck with garfield! LOL.

  5. Heather on July 13th, 2009 9:48 pm

    haha!

  6. Nord3 on July 15th, 2009 11:00 am

    Heather, your icon is the yoga woman on this end, too. I have signed up for Gravatar (had to read TOU well first). (Had to change my name, add a 3. That’s fine, as I’m attracted to items in three’s, tend to arrange things in three’s.)

  7. Nord3 on July 15th, 2009 11:03 am

    And may I say again, THAT IS ONE CUTE BABY!!! Can’t look at that photo and not smile, so sweet!

  8. dr. lam on July 15th, 2009 11:17 am

    i like your “old school” non roller blade design. very 70s/80s. love it!!! i am seeing bailey tomorrow. yeah!!!

  9. Heather on July 15th, 2009 7:36 pm

    Wow, Dr. Lam and Nord, you guys sure have an imagination…lol I still see Garfield. :(
    Yeah, Nord, cool pic! I always roller skated in that kind. Never roller bladed.
    I agree with Nord…Bailey is super cute!!!
    Dr. Lam, make sure you take pictures of you and Bailey and post them! :)

  10. dr. lam on July 15th, 2009 7:38 pm

    i think you are imagining things heather. i see a woman on a beach in dancer’s pose. no cats here. okay, i’ll photo myself with bailey. check my flickr thread.
    sml

  11. Heather on July 15th, 2009 7:44 pm

    Hmmm, can’t find the flickr thread for some reason. :(
    I promise Garfield is still on my end! I’m stuck with it! eerrrr!…lol It’s a good thing I didn’t choose surfing Santa..lol

  12. dr. lam on July 15th, 2009 7:47 pm

    ok, it is new on the LFP site. go back to the LFP home page (not blog home page). then click on any of the top nav buttons. slide down on the left menu to the very bottom where it says “social media”. then you will see tabs for myspace, facebook, etc. flickr is the second button with two dots.

  13. Heather on July 15th, 2009 7:50 pm

    Okay, thanks, Dr. Lam. :)

  14. Heather on July 15th, 2009 7:57 pm

    Cool pix! Thanks for sharing! :)

  15. dr. lam on July 15th, 2009 8:07 pm

    !

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