Mindfulness is about slowing down, being fully present in the moment, and receiving that moment. The exact same words apply to the process of making photographs. 

For me, to photograph is to be fully present in the moment. Because when I photograph nothing else enters my mind. I’m in a state of flow where worries, the past, and the future have disappeared. 

Many creative endeavours will get you in a state of mindful flow. What’s so unique about photography is that it connects you to the outside world. 

Photography and reality are inextricably connected. If you want to take a picture of a tree you’ll have to go outside to do that. 

As a result, mindful photography gets you in an active state, takes you out of your head, and encourages you to connect to the world.

I’ve experienced the power of mindful photography over and over in my life. That’s why I’d love to share these 5 creative ways photography can help you to invite more mindfulness in your life. 

But, before I do that, I want to give you some general tips to make the most out of your experience with mindful photography.

It’s About the Process

The most important thing to keep in mind is that mindful photography is more about the process than the result, a.k.a., your photos. Harshly judging the results is counterproductive in mindful photography.

Instead, let go of attachment to outcome and reflect on your photos with appreciation and gratitude. 

It’s Not About the Camera

Mindful photography is not about taking photos with a fancy camera. You can, of course, but your smartphone camera will work just as well. 

Be Intentional

In mindful photography, you cannot unintentionally snap away. Instead, step away from your busy life for a moment and slow down. Create space to truly observe what you’re about to photograph so it becomes an intentional act. Allow yourself to be so present in the moment you become one with it.

When you keep these three things in mind, your mindful photography practice will be full of joy. So, let’s get started!

Photograph Colour

When you step into your day with a goal for what you want to photograph you’ll align your eyes with your mind. This is a perfect way of sharpening your observation skills, and you become more mindful in the process. 

The funny thing is that, when you decide you’re going to photograph colours, all of a sudden you’ll notice colour all around you. More importantly, you’ll start to notice that apart from the colour itself colour can have many different qualities. For instance, you’ll start to notice a colour can be abundantly vibrant or whisperingly subdued. 

When you’re photographing colour focus only on the colour because it’s not about the things you photograph. Let go of thoughts that the shot should ‘be’ something more than colour. In other words, when you photograph a red bicycle it’s not about the bicycle it’s about red. 

Hone in on the colour and let it fill your frame.

Go on a Mindful Photo Walk

There are many ways to go on a photo walk, but a mindful photo walk is aimed at getting you in a contemplative and meditative state. It is a way of observing your surroundings with appreciation that is free of judgment. 

It is about awakening your senses. Apart from seeing, listen to the sounds around you and notice the smell in the air. Then connect to and engage with the world around you. 

When you go on a mindful photo walk, it’s important to go alone and to let go of any preconceived ideas of where you want to go and what you’ll encounter. This is an exercise in going with the flow.

And please, don’t get caught up in the technical aspects. Select Auto Mode if you’re shooting with a DSLR or just take your phone camera with you. 

This exercise is about appreciation and connection.

Limit the Number of Photos

It might feel counterintuitive but limiting yourself expands your creativity. Because it forces you to come up with a different approach. By removing all the options your mind focuses on what is possible within your self-imposed boundary. 

If you’re allowing yourself to take only five pictures for the day, you better make each of them count. When you’re drawn to taking a photo, first pause, take a clear look at what you want to photograph, and ask yourself if it is worth one-fifth of your daily quota.

You’ll discover that a lot of what you want to photograph is mostly just because you can. With digital cameras, the number of pictures you can take is almost endless, often resulting in a mindless snapping away at the world. This is the opposite of mindful photography. 

This exercise will help you to become focused and intentional.

Examine Different Points of View

Decide on a single subject and examine this subject from every imaginable angle. Then take as many photos as you can from different points of view. Discovering new angles will completely occupy your mind making this a simple yet very effective mindful photography exercise. 

Don’t stop after the first few shots. The fun starts when you think you’ve covered every imaginable angle. 

Get in a playful state and convince yourself there’s another new angle to be discovered, and then another, and another. Until you’re starting to repeat yourself. Only then can you stop.

This exercise will expand your creative thinking, and you can do it from the comfort of home.

Create a Gratitude Journal

It’s no secret that actively practicing gratitude makes you a more mindful and happy person. Collecting and photographing the things, people, and moments you’re grateful for is a wonderful way to become aware of the beauty that surrounds you. It entices you to actively pursue the boundless reasons for gratitude in your life.

Creating a gratitude journal is about being grateful for the little things in your life. The things that are easily overlooked. 

The purpose is to become aware of the little things that bring you joy and documenting them. This is a mindful photography project you can create over a longer period. 

Final Thoughts

If you want to take your mindful photography practice to the next level, print your photos, buy a notebook, and glue in your photos accompanied by a few words. It makes your journey in mindful photography tangible, and it is a wonderful way to look back and reflect. 

What I want most for you is to have fun, to be intentional, and to think process not result!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you tried mindful photography? Is this a hobby that you might enjoy? If you decide to do these exercises, please tell us about the experience!

My interest in the healing power of sleep really began while recovering from bacterial meningitis four years ago. For weeks after leaving the hospital, I slept 15-20 hours per day. Although this alarmed my caregivers, who wanted me to stay awake, I knew instinctively that my healing was down in the depths of sleep.

During the months it took for me to recover, the books on my bedside table included The Brain’s Way of Healing and Why We Sleep, both of which are fascinating reads that include groundbreaking research on neuroplasticity and the power and purpose of sleep. My instincts were right!

Fast forward to last night: I slept well for my usual nine hours. I consistently and naturally go to bed at about the same time each night and wake up without an alarm. I’m usually rested enough that I don’t really need coffee. I’ve switched to decaf and still make a ritual out of that one perfect cup, often taking it outside to greet the morning light.

The time I spend sleeping helps improve my learning, mood and energy levels, regulates hormones, prevents cancer, Alzheimer’s and diabetes, slows the effects of aging and increases longevity. 

Sleep Is the Magic Healing Potion That We’ve All Been Searching For

So, let me tell you why it’s important to get enough sleep for healthy aging. 

It’s a myth that we need less sleep as we grow older. In Why We Sleep, author and professor of neuroscience Matthew Walker explains it this way:

“Routinely sleeping less than six hours a night weakens your immune system, substantially increasing your risk of certain forms of cancer. Insufficient sleep appears to be a key lifestyle factor linked to your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Inadequate sleep – even moderate reductions for just one week – disrupts blood sugar levels so profoundly that you would be classified as pre-diabetic. Short sleeping increases the likelihood of your coronary arteries becoming blocked and brittle, setting you on a path toward cardiovascular disease, stroke, and congestive heart failure.”

Learning to sleep well is probably the best move you can make for healthy living.

If you routinely get less than six hours a night, have a hard time getting to sleep, staying asleep or waking up refreshed, it’s time for you to assess and update your sleep habits. 

Use Light Wisely to Improve Sleep Quality

Both natural and artificial lighting influence brain and body chemistry. Getting outside to view early morning or early evening sunlight is the key to setting your sleep/wake hormones. Bask in the sunlight, without sunglasses, but don’t stare directly into it.

Limit exposure to bright lights of all kinds about two hours before bedtime. This includes phones, screens and home lighting. Try it and you’ll see positive changes within two to three days. Listen to the Huberman Lab podcast #2 for all the fascinating details of how your body will respond to this single change of habit.

If you toss and turn and can’t get to sleep, you’re not the only one. Just get up. Keep the lights low. Read or listen to music. Don’t look at screens. Don’t turn on bright lights. Try to relax with some light stretching, a body scan or meditation to bring your mind into a restful state that can lead you back to sleep.

Train Your Body for Better Sleep

Your spine is naturally much more aligned on your back than on your side, yet, three in four people prefer to sleep on their sides. If your muscles and joints are often tight or sore when you wake up, try this light stretching routine before bed to help you gain more ease for supine sleeping. 

While lying face up on a yoga mat or rug, stretch your arms overhead and point your feet away as you lengthen through your spine. Then relax everything down onto the floor and take note of where the back of your body touches the mat. 

Heels, calves, backs of your thighs. Touching or not touching? Heavy or light?

Ribs, shoulder blades, back of your skull, upper arms, elbows, palms. Touching or not touching? Fully relaxed or maybe still tense and lifted away from the floor.

Breathe in and out 10 times slowly. Relax some more. That is, use less muscle to hold yourself in any particular posture. Even though you are stretched out on the floor in a pretty good relationship to gravity, notice that some parts of you are probably still over-working.

Breathe in and out again, 10 times. And slowly make your way under the covers and off to sleep. Make this your nightly routine and notice what changes in a week or two.

Do You Need a Pillow for Your Head or Under Your Knees?

Your hips may be pretty tight from all those waking hours spent sitting in chairs, cars, even on a bike. So much so, that fully straightening your knees while lying face up is tough on your low back. 

If you need a pillow under your knees to be comfortable, this Psoas Release can begin to lengthen those tight muscles and make it easier to sleep on your back. Don’t wait until tonight to try it. Get on the floor and give yourself a break right now.

Just 10 minutes of Psoas Release before bed may help you get better sleep and deeper rest. It’s also one more way to ease back into sleep if your eyes pop open at 3:00 am. We’ve all been there.

Katy Bowman also suggests that you sleep without a pillow for the best spinal alignment. However, if your chin points toward the ceiling without one, work your way toward a pillow-free sleep by incorporating this Restorative Exercise during the day.

Try this Head Ramp 10 (or maybe 100) times a day to lengthen the muscles on the back and sides of your neck. I guarantee it will go a long way towards a good night’s sleep without, or even with, a pillow.

I invite you to take one step toward a good night’s sleep today. Click any link in this article to find great ideas to help you age well and move better.

Visit Catherine’s Online Studio for more helpful information.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What are your strategies for getting a good night’s sleep? What keeps you up at night? Are you getting enough sleep to stay healthy?

While many may recognize that drafting a will is an essential part of their estate plan, most don’t realize that it is an instrument for communicating your intentions. Although it functions as a statement of your estate wishes, it won’t help your children understand why you made those decisions.

Talking with your family about your estate plan can be an uncomfortable topic. However, putting off these conversations can leave your end-of-life decisions to chance. A lack of clear estate directions can create stress and conflict for your family. Discussing your estate plan will help your family understand your desires for your future.

What Is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is a collection of legal documents that outlines what you would like to do with your estate upon your death or if you are incapacitated and unable to handle things by yourself.

In addition to determining where your property will go, an estate plan can also help:

• Make decisions about your young children and their property
• Minimize income, gift, and estate taxes
• Avoid probate
• Plan your health care during your life
• Make decisions about What happens to your body after death

In contrast to popular beliefs, estate planning isn’t only for the wealthy. Whether you have a little or a lot, we all have one thing in common: we can only take what we can fill in our casket – and even that’s destined to rot. Estate planning ensures that your assets are transferred as you wish and that there’s someone in place who can help you communicate your healthcare directives.

What Your Children Should Know

Where Are Your Financial Documents Located?

You can save your family time and energy by having all your financial documents in one central location. Ensure that your family can easily find necessary documents like health care directives, insurance policies, investment statements, and bank account statements.

When considering a location to store your documents, choose a location that is:

• Easily Accessible
• Safe and Secure
• Waterproof
• Organized and Uncluttered

One way to secure your documents is by holding them in a bank-safe deposit box or an at-home safe. It is important to remember that not all of your documents are physical and that many of your papers will be online. To help your loved ones keep track of all your online documents, make an ongoing list of all your accounts, logins, and passwords.

Whether it’s a key to the safe or a hidden box of your documents, ensure that the right people know where to access your documents. The goal of educating your family isn’t to share your financial picture, but to give your family the place to go to sort things out quickly in the event of incapacitation or premature death.

What Can Your Children Expect When They See Your Will?

One of the most challenging parts of creating your estate plan is the distribution of your belongings. To prevent conflict in the future, consider sharing the details of your will and ensure that your family knows where to find a copy. If you don’t have a will, have one drafted.

Be transparent about how you have decided to allocate your possessions and why your think this is the best choice. For example, if you are not dividing your assets equally, let your children know and explain the reason behind your decision.

What Role Do Your Children Have in Managing Your Estate?

Will your children be expected to run the family business or maintain your rental properties? Let your children understand what they are expected to do in advance so they can perform their roles according to your expectations.

Here are some of the essential roles you will need to allocate to your children:

Trustee

A trustee is a person in control of the trust assets and is in charge of managing trust assets, filing taxes, and making distributions according to your wishes.

Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney (POA) is someone you can rely on to make financial, medical, and other major life decisions if you become incapacitated. For example, if you have a stroke and are incapable of making decisions, a POA can make decisions for you, including paying your bills, signing forms for you, etc.

Executor

An executor is an individual who will be responsible for completing settling your estate and transferring your assets according to your wishes.

What Do Your Advanced Care and Medical Plan Include?

Describe your wishes for long-term care. For example, if you want to age in place, describe what kind of care you would like, how you plan to pay for care, and how you will live your last days at home.

Discuss your medical wishes in case a moment comes when you are not able to speak for yourself, such as the end of life care, ventilation, or life-sustaining procedures. Consider establishing a health directive and sharing these details with your family.  

How Do You Envision Your Celebration of Life?

Prepare and communicate how you want your funeral to be arranged. Write down all your preferences from the invitees to the location of your burial or cremation. If you have prepaid for your funeral expenses, don’t forget to share the details with your children.

Explain the “Why” Behind Your Plan

As you designate your children’s roles, describe your financial and life journey that influenced these decisions. Adding context to your estate plan can prevent future conflict and encourage peace amongst your children.

Talking about your estate plan is difficult. Rather than avoiding the discomfort, try to address it directly. Ask your children to explain their concerns so that you can address the root cause of their worry. Back-and-forth conversation demonstrates that you care and have your children in mind.

Before ending the conversation, ensure you have answered all your children’s questions. If there are no questions, leave the door open to discuss the conversation later. Estate conversations can be draining, so your children may need time to process the information.

How to Start the Conversation

Talking about your estate plan with your children is an intricate topic. Selecting the right time and place for this conversation is essential. Holidays, family gatherings, and family trips are usually some of the best times to start the conversation.

Here are some ideas to start the conversation:

Share Stories About Friends and Family

“I was thinking about the difficulties that (a family member or friend) had. I want to create an estate plan so I don’t become a burden to my family. Let’s talk about how we can work together to prevent this from happening to us.”

Talk About Your Long-Term Care Plans

“I’ve been thinking about my long-term care plan, and I want to ____. I want to share my plans in case they impact you.”

Discuss the Family’s Assets

“I’ve always loved (family asset or heirloom). I have been thinking about what to do with _____ when I am gone. I want to share some ideas with you for my plan with it down the road.”

Think About Your Family Members

“I want to help (a family member) with their education and/or leave some money for charity. I have some ideas on how I would like to accomplish this.”

Estate planning involves more than just putting several legal documents together. An estate plan can serve as a roadmap of your wishes for your next stages in life, one that you can share with those closest to you. A comprehensive estate plan can be daunting, but it is essential to help your family be well prepared for the future.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Are you among the 50% of the US population who have established a will? What parts of your estate plan have you discussed with your family? Based on the knowledge that you have gained from this article, when do you plan to initiate the “estate talk” conversation? What do you fear most about having the “estate talk” conversation?

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, STYLECASTER may receive an affiliate commission.

Bulgarian label By Far has some serious celeb fans. Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber, Bella Hadid and Gigi Hadid wear the brand’s sleek, understated shoes and accessories. It only makes sense By Far would do something a little different for its first-ever fragrance collection, Daydreams. Instead of typical perfume bottles, the It-label made refillable charms you can wear on your By Far bag or just on a belt loop to upgrade any ‘fit. Kendall Jenner is the face of the campaign, directed by Charlotte Wales.

There are seven scents to choose from. Each fragrance oil has been handmade in Grasse in the South of France by three perfumers: Fanny Bal, Jean- Cristophe Hérault and Caroline D. You get the cute charm accessory with a 20mL bottle inside, as well as the 100mL bottle to refill your charm. It’s a great way to travel with your fave fragrance instead of carrying big perfume bottles.

By Far.

By Far is obviously working towards sustainability, too. The 20mL bottles are made from 15 percent post-consumer recycled glass, while the refill bottles are fully recyclable and wrapped in recyclable paper. The fragrance is cruelty-free and free from colourants
and UV filters. Even the blend of rose essential oils are recovered from discarded rose water.

Source: Instagram

What is especially cool about the charms is how customizable they are, which makes for a seriously stellar gift. (It’s never too early to start thinking about the gift-giving season!) There are six charm shades, silver or gold detailing and a carabiner or leather strap for your charm bracelet. Then, of course, you choose your fragrance, such as Daydream of Love Trance (with white florals) and Daydream of Rose Garden (with a blend of roses).

Watch Kendall Jenner dance to Mariah Carey’s iconic Fantasy, above, while rocking her By Far charms to get all the inspiration.

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, STYLECASTER may receive an affiliate commission.

Bulgarian label By Far has some serious celeb fans. Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber, Bella Hadid and Gigi Hadid wear the brand’s sleek, understated shoes and accessories. It only makes sense By Far would do something a little different for its first-ever fragrance collection, Daydreams. Instead of typical perfume bottles, the It-label made refillable charms you can wear on your By Far bag or just on a belt loop to upgrade any ‘fit. Kendall Jenner is the face of the campaign, directed by Charlotte Wales.

There are seven scents to choose from. Each fragrance oil has been handmade in Grasse in the South of France by three perfumers: Fanny Bal, Jean- Cristophe Hérault and Caroline D. You get the cute charm accessory with a 20mL bottle inside, as well as the 100mL bottle to refill your charm. It’s a great way to travel with your fave fragrance instead of carrying big perfume bottles.

By Far.

By Far is obviously working towards sustainability, too. The 20mL bottles are made from 15 percent post-consumer recycled glass, while the refill bottles are fully recyclable and wrapped in recyclable paper. The fragrance is cruelty-free and free from colourants
and UV filters. Even the blend of rose essential oils are recovered from discarded rose water.

Source: Instagram

What is especially cool about the charms is how customizable they are, which makes for a seriously stellar gift. (It’s never too early to start thinking about the gift-giving season!) There are six charm shades, silver or gold detailing and a carabiner or leather strap for your charm bracelet. Then, of course, you choose your fragrance, such as Daydream of Love Trance (with white florals) and Daydream of Rose Garden (with a blend of roses).

Watch Kendall Jenner dance to Mariah Carey’s iconic Fantasy, above, while rocking her By Far charms to get all the inspiration.