Last week I saw a small post on social media mentioning that Shannon Harvey was releasing her new documentary/film online ..

My Year of Living Mindfully

I guess in response to the current isolation restrictions, the post mentioned that the Premier was being shown free .. and tonight was the first viewing. So I was prepared. Big cup of tea and big cozy blanket. I turned down the lights and imagined I was sitting in the front part of the cinema .. just like I had for her first offering The Connection (2014) another feature documentary that uncovered the latest science in mind-body medicine and which proved that we have much more to say about our health than we thought possible. 

See the documentary online free for a week from May 27 at www.myyearoflivingmindfully.com, then will be available for rental and purchase at that web site, iTunes and Amazon.

It was great to get an insight into the concept for the documentary and how Shannon juggles not only being a mother (two young boys), wife, and journalist but also an incurable autoimmune disease, and some of the questions that Shannon grappled with. There was plenty of current research shared, and some lovely interviews (very gracious and giving, everyone seemed very on-board) with leaders in the science, research and wellbeing fields, along with many well known (and loved) mindfulness leaders. I enjoyed the Case Studies aspect which brought the discussion back to real life and real lives .. and getting some insight into the level of scientific testing that Shannon subjected herself (willingly) to, for the cause. I believe there is a book coming out and I think this will be the container for more of the data and analysis (if that‘s your thing).

Similar to Shannon’s first movie premiere, there was a great panel discussion at the end hosted by Lynne Malcolm (ABC presenter of ‘All in the Mind’) with Shannon, Dr Craig Hassed and Amit Bernstein Ph.D. (who Shannon visited in the world’s largest refugee camp to view his mindfulness work with trauma). I was happy to stay for the extended discussion .. warm and engaging!

Some takeaways right now .. in this moment:⁣

*mindfulness is now widely acknowledged to be helpful in understanding how our mind really works, how to improve our emotional self-regulation and how to prepare for uncertainty and change⁣
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*mindfulness meditation is not a cure-all for all illnesses but does help us deal better with illness (and pain) – and how to take much better care of ourselves AND make better choices in life⁣
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*I smiled to hear a researcher say, ‘if this is working – where would we notice it?’ .. suggesting that it may not always be biology, but rather how it might positively influence our lives and the lives of others around us⁣
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*If economic success was the marker of happiness and success .. then we would all be happy as many of us live in a time of relative affluence – yet rates of depression and anxiety are constantly rising; mindfulness has been shown to positively assist in the management of depression and shown to make us happier (and it’s free and easy to learn)
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*We can confuse using technology for science and the understanding of phenomena, but they are not always the same thing. Our technologies are still very young and crude when understanding what happens in our ‘inner world’
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*Maybe the real point is simply to better understand ourselves, our life and our world⁣

And .. this film is about A Year of Living Mindfully .. and mindfulness is just one road up the meditation mountain.

But importantly the research, views, and Shannon’s journey all point to – Doing the meditation! Then you will know for yourself what the benefits are, and why it’s important … because it may take science a while to catch up. ⁣

Going forward I’m also excited to look further into the area of Subjective Wellbeing which sounds very much like a field that fits well with my own view on why everyone should start meditating .. doing their own science from the inside!⁣

Highly recommended.