Chris Loper has been writing about self-improvement and helping busy adults with habit formation since 2017. He also writes an education blog for parents and students for Northwest Educational Services. Along with Greg Smith, Chris is the cocreator of Parenting for Academic Success, a series of transformative classes that create empowered parents, confident students, and harmonious families. His most recent endeavor combines his academic and habit-formation expertise to help students thrive in college. Visit SmartCollegeHabits.com to learn more. In 2021, Chris published a humorous memoir titled Wood Floats and Other Brilliant Observations, a book that blends crazy stories with practical life lessons. He lives in Issaquah, WA where he is the owner of South Cove Tutoring.
Last Friday marked the three-year anniversary of my sobriety. I was a marijuana addict for about a decade, with phases of alcoholism and pain pill abuse sprinkled in here and there. My decision to become clean and sober for the rest of my life has been a resounding success. Since quitting, my physical and mental health have improved dramatically, and I’ve consistently moved in the right direction both personally and… Read More »The River
As I’ve discussed in recent posts, meditation is the primary method for deliberately cultivating the four skills of mindfulness: presence, curiosity, acceptance, and non-attachment. But let us now answer the question posed by George Leonard, author of Mastery: “Could all of us reclaim lost hours of our lives by making everything—the commonplace along with the extraordinary—a part of our practice?” 1 The answer, as we’ll see, is yes. Meditation is… Read More »Everyday Mindfulness
Last week’s post was all about how to meditate, and the previous post was all about mindfulness and its benefits. Today, I’ll briefly explain the connection between the two. How does breathing meditation develop the four skills of mindfulness: presence, curiosity, acceptance, and non-attachment? Presence Presence is a balance between focus and awareness. In breathing meditation, you try to keep your attention on the sensation of your breath and repeatedly… Read More »How Does Meditation Cultivate Mindfulness?
Meditation is a collection of paradoxes. It is simultaneously the simplest thing to do and the hardest thing to do. It involves sitting and doing nothing, but it requires great effort. It relaxes the mind but also gives it a workout. And you benefit the most from meditation when you’re really bad at it. Let’s unwrap these paradoxes and get you set up to develop a consistent meditation practice. But… Read More »Meditation Made Simple