10 mindful minutes : giving our children - and ourselves - the social and emotional skills to reduce stress and anxiety for healthier, happier lives

247 Pages·2012·1.3 MB·English

by  Hawn

1100
Mindful

Minutes

Giving Our Children—and Ourselves—the Social
and Emotional Skills to Reduce Stress and Anxiety
for Healthier, Happier Lives
Goldie Hawn
with Wendy Holden
A PERIGEE BOOK
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“Goldie Hawn embodies delight and joy, and 10 Mindful Minutes radiates
these. Her book can help any adult—parent, grandparent, teacher—make
double use of their moments with the children they love and have a ter­
rific time while helping shape that child’s brain for a lifetime of resilience
and happiness.”
—Daniel Goleman, bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence
“Goldie Hawn is arguably the most influential happiness expert of our
time. She not only has achieved true happiness in her life but radiates it in
her family and through the work of her foundation. Now, 10 Mindful Min­
utes offers a guide for the rest of us. This book artfully blends the latest
science and quick, easy how-to advice with a rare glimpse into the epipha­
nies that led to Goldie’s happiness work. It’s an engaging must-read for
every parent interested in raising a focused, balanced, and happy child.”
—Dan Buettner, New York Times bestselling author of
The Blue Zones and Th rive
“I saw how quickly the kids—and then the teachers—bought into the
[MindUP] program and practices. The kids just got it right away, and
seemed hungry for something that would help them manage the stresses
in their life. . . . In my twenty years of measuring social-emotional learn­
ing quotients, I’ve never seen a program that works as well as this one.”
—Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl
“Goldie Hawn has given us a beautiful guide to one of our most important
roles—raising healthy, joyful, and resilient children. Rooted in scientifi c
research and chock-full of practical tools and techniques, 10 Mindful Min­
utes will forever change the way you parent, and it’ll change how you live
your own life, too.”
—Greg Hicks, bestselling coauthor of
How We Choose to Be Happy and Happiness & Health
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1100
Mindful

Minutes

Giving Our Children—and Ourselves—the Social
and Emotional Skills to Reduce Stress and Anxiety
for Healthier, Happier Lives
Goldie Hawn
with Wendy Holden
A PERIGEE BOOK
9780399536069_10Mindful_FM_p1-34.indd iii 7/15/11 8:58 AM
A PERIGEE BOOK
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada

(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

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(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

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(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

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South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses

at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or

for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does

not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright © 2011 by Rutledge Productions Inc.

Illustration on page 12 by Steve Karp

Text design by Tiff any Estreicher

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without

permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the

author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

PERIGEE is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

The “P” design is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

First edition: October 2011

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hawn, Goldie Jeanne.
10 mindful minutes : giving our children—and ourselves—the social and emotional skills to reduce
stress and anxiety for healthier, happier lives / Goldie Hawn with Wendy Holden.
p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-101-54148-7

1. Thought and thinking. 2. Awareness. 3. Relaxation. 4. Stress management. 5. Parent and child.
I. Holden, Wendy, 1961– II. Title. III. Title: Ten mindful minutes.
BF441.H325 2011
158.1—dc22 2011008297
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To all parents who want to

let the light in their children shine.

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CONTENTS
Foreword by Daniel J. Siegel, MD xi

One Mother’s Journey to Mindfulness xvii

1
Why We Need to Act Now 1

2
The Wonders of the Brain 6

3
How the Brain Works 11

4
Getting the Most Out of This Book 35

5
Tuning In to Your Child’s Wavelength 42

6
Talking with Your Child About the Brain 52

7
Mindful Breathing 60

8
Mindful Sensing 74

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viii Contents
9
Optimism 103

10
Happiness 116

11
Gratitude 126

12
Anger 134

13
Sadness 142

14
Fear 154

15
Empathy 162

16
Kindness 177

17
Living a More Mindful Life 184

Glossary 195

References 199

Bibliography 203

Acknowledgments 207

Index 209

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To bring up a child in the way he should go,
travel that way yourself once in a while.
—Josh Billings
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FOREWORD

Goldie Hawn’s career in the film industry has spanned almost
four decades. Not only is she a beloved actor, but she has broken
new ground as a producer or director of more than twenty fi lms,
worked in theater, and written a bestselling memoir. Yet with all
of this success, Goldie’s most intense passion has been in pro­
moting the well-being and safety of children. From her early
adult years to the present time, she has worked with various
charitable and research organizations focused on the needs of
children throughout the world. In her private life, Goldie is a de­
voted mother who has raised four children in what she describes
as her most important role. She is now a grandmother, experi­
encing, in her words, the “opening of my heart with more joy than
I can possibly express.”
What I came to appreciate from firsthand experience is that
Goldie is a thoughtful, creative, and intelligent person who is
dedicated to bringing wisdom and warmth into the experience
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