We had a quick update by Herb about the district grants that he has been working on. He completed a project that delivered 5 tons of food and a scholarship program in Kenya. Then Steve Weitzen reminded everyone about the 7-way District meeting on Thursday January 17, 2019. This meeting will replace the regular Friday meeting on Jan 18th.
 
 
Following that we had a brief talk by Charlotte Jones about her 3 important things in life. She said that there were 3 books that made a difference in her life. She grew up in Moscow, Idaho and is a voracious book reader. She uses Audible to listen to books during her commute and walks.
1. "The Brothers K" by James Duncan: It's a coming of age story about a family. This touching, uplifting novel spans decades of loyalty, anger, regret, and love in the lives of the Chance family.
2. "QUIET" by Susan Cain: This was a book that taught Charlotte the power of introverts. The book outlines the strengths of many famous introverts, such as, Rosa Parks, Steve Wozniak, Dr. Seuss, etc. Charlotte says that she is sort of an introvert and this book helped with leadership skills.
3. "Overwhelmed" by Brigid Schulte: This book tackles a very critical issue with most people - can working parents in America—or anywhere—ever find true leisure time? Overwhelmed is a map of the stresses that have ripped our leisure to shreds, and a look at how to put the pieces back together. A very interesting and informative book as per Charlotte. It touches on the elements of culture. kids, aging, etc.
 
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"Mindfulness and Positive Change" by John Allcock
John Allcock has been a student and teacher of mindfulness for over 15 years and a certified mindfulness instructor all over the world. He has given interviews on over 50 radio and television stations across the country, including many in San Diego. He graduated from Boston College and Harvard Law School. He is currently a practicing trial lawyer with DLA Piper, where he specializes in the trial of complex patent cases.
 
He met his wife Cheryl about 5 years ago. She was running a school for challenged kids for almost 20 years. The school is called Sea Change Prep and is located in Del Mar, CA. It is a WASC accredited school. They cater to kids from 4th grade to High School. Some of the key teaching principles of the school are as follows --
  1. Don't be ruled by tyranny of events
  2. 905 of your worries are wrong
  3. Thinking is overrated -- it seems a person goes through 30,000 to 70,000 thoughts each day and 70% of those are repeats!
 
 
 
John teaches a lot of his meditation techniques to the kids at the school. His theory is that a person can "control what action one takes on the thoughts", but the thoughts itself cannot be controlled. Mindfulness buffers you from bad actions. For example, if a driver cuts you off on the toad then mindfulness teaches you how to change your mind's state. Mindfulness teaches you to pay attention to our present moment experiences without judgement, with curiosity and openness.
 
 
 
He talks about how Koby Bryant uses meditation techniques. Watch his video here. John says that you can control your thoughts by noting it but let it go. He says to choose responses, intentions and actions that promote a healthy outcome. He cited the recent horrific event of the 12 Thai kids that were trapped in a cave after massive floods in Thailand. They survived those 18 days using meditation techniques guided by their soccer coach! Famous celebrities vouch to 20-30 minutes of daily mediation techniques that help them in their success. John also highlights these principles in his own book "40 Things I Wish I'd Told My Kids".
 
 
In the end DMSB Club President Ken Barrett presented the speaker with the Joshua certificate that represents our club DMSB donating school supplies to schools in Malawi in the name of the speaker.
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