Mindfulness on the Rocks: Meditation Solutions for Maximum Life Impact

12/24/2025

We appreciate many local businesses that have been kind enough to post our cards for our upcoming Spring 2026 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program! Cheers to Regency Bakery, La Renaissance, Lululemon Sudbury, Kitchen 76, Apex Warrior, Shoppers Plaza 69 Pharmacy, and ARC to name a few! Thank you for helping us to get the word out about this evidence based life changing course! Accepting registrations today at mindfulnessontherocks.ca 😀

12/21/2025

Today, a quiet convergence occurs: the Winter Solstice and World Meditation Day.

The Winter Solstice reminds us of balance—the harmony between light and dark, doing and resting, effort and ease. It invites us to pause, to recognize that cycles unfold regardless of our actions. World Meditation Day gently echoes this invitation, encouraging us to stop, breathe, and reconnect with ourselves.

At Mindfulness on the Rocks, we honour such days not with fanfare, but with presence. We offer community meditation sessions, mindfulness pop-up sessions / events, MBSR programs, and moments of shared silence. These spaces create opportunities for people to slow down, listen inwardly, and reconnect with their bodies, breath, each other, and the land beneath them.

Today is not about achieving mindfulness “right,” but about remembering that even a few conscious breaths can be enough. Enough to mark the turning of the season, enough to soften the edges of a busy life, and enough to remind us that we are already part of something whole.

Wherever you are today, may you find a moment to pause, breathe, and notice the light—both around you and within.

12/19/2025

We’re grateful to have completed a 20-session mindfulness course with the staff at Community Living Greater Sudbury.

Over ten weeks, participants gathered live online, twice weekly, engaging in guided mindfulness practice and reflection inspired by Fearless at Work by Michael Carroll. Each session built on the last, supporting the integration of mindfulness into daily work and life.

Heartfelt thanks to Sherry Salo for her leadership and support throughout this journey.

12/17/2025

The best gift of the season

As you walk out of the office, pause. Notice body sensations, feelings, and the breath. Pay attention to the present moment as you begin your commute home, with full awareness of your surroundings. Take your time. What does this transition look and feel like?

What is it like to arrive home—both literally and metaphorically—to arrive home to the breath? As you make your holiday checklist, can you do so with gentleness? Does this season allow for a soft unfolding, or does it move at full throttle? Can you step back from the urge to control and trust that things will unfold in their own time?

Can you see this time of year with beginner’s eyes?

Go easy. The best gift of the season is one you already possess—awareness, quietly waiting to be unwrapped.

—Gary

Gary Petingola, MSW, RSW
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Mindfulness on the Rocks | mindfulnessontherocks.ca
Certified to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness Center, Brown University School of Public Health / Qualified to teach MBSR, Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, & Society, UMASS. Author ofThe Response: Practising Mindfulness in Your Daily Life.

12/15/2025

NEWSLETTER Why meditation might be the most valuable skill in the age of AI DÉJÀ LEONARD

Special to The Globe and Mail Published Yesterday The Work Life newsletter will be taking a break over the holidays. It will return Jan. 5.

Between rising economic instability and a growing sense of anxiety around artificial intelligence, many people are feeling overwhelmed and under-equipped to handle the pace of change.
“In our hyperconnected world, stress is more of a constant and it is running like a loop because we are so plugged in all the time,” says Ontario-based Scheherzade Rana, a trained teacher in mindful self-compassion and expert in high-performance leadership. “Our neurobiology simply can’t keep up with the sheer volume, pace and pressure of this noise.” Ms. Rana, who combines 20 years of leadership experience with more than 15 years of mindfulness, breathwork and emotional intelligence training, says the modern stress response looks very different than it did even a decade ago. What once arrived in short, manageable bursts now lingers – affecting our focus, sleep and emotional wellbeing.

That’s where meditation comes in. “For me, meditation is a powerful tool that interrupts the stress loop and helps us hit the reset button,” she says. “It stops the noise long enough to give you some space to recalibrate, get grounded and connect with your inner wisdom.”

The power of pausing
While AI offers efficiency, automation and convenience, Ms. Rana says it can’t deliver the qualities that make us deeply human such as empathy, trust or compassion. “These are the qualities that new leadership is demanding today and you can’t code them. They have to be consciously cultivated by going inward with meditation,” she says. She believes meditation builds a kind of “internal operating system” that helps people think more clearly, act more intentionally and stay grounded in moments of stress or uncertainty.

“When people start practicing meditation, they learn to pause in the space between stimulus and response. This is the space where you can make an informed choice in seconds,” she says. “You become more present and less stressed, and you think more clearly and creatively.”Thriving in the age of AI One of the biggest myths Ms. Rana hears is that meditation is about clearing your mind or that it makes you lose your edge. “This is not true and it’s not even possible because we humans cannot turn off our thoughts,” she says. “What it does is settle your thoughts so that we can learn how to work with them in a way that puts you in the driver’s seat of your life instead of looking through the rear-view mirror.”In an era of rapid automation, unpredictable markets and constant digital stimulation, meditation is a quiet, powerful counterbalance. “For anyone who wants to thrive in the age of AI, meditation is an essential skill,” Ms. Rana says.

12/02/2025

The Hummer

I sat recently in a busy ambulatory care facility, awaiting a minor procedure. The ticket dispenser with its numbered tabs looked haggard, but I grabbed number 79 and waited patiently for my turn to register. Every chair was full. I’m sure there were fifty people packed into that contained space, with another fifty spilling out into the hallway.

As luck would have it, just after I registered, a chair became available. It was situated about ten feet from a television playing game shows that no one seemed to be watching. A collective buzz filled the room—people coughing, moaning, talking, and many passing time on their phones. The space felt heavy and dark, even though the fluorescent lights were glaringly bright.

A young man wearing a running T-shirt—trim, fit, his leg shaking slightly, likely from nerves sat next to me. He wasn’t on his phone. His posture was immaculate: strong, upright, young, and hopeful.

What happened next was entirely unexpected.

He began to hum. Very quietly.

It was a soft, soothing hum—almost inaudible—yet unmistakably present to anyone taking a moment to gently listen. I could feel the faint vibration of it, his broad shoulder only an inch away from mine. So I closed my eyes and listened mindfully.

My body relaxed.

I felt my parasympathetic nervous system gently kick in, and I took solace in this stranger’s quiet grace.

When the nurse finally called “Gary” after a two-hour wait, I smiled, stood up slowly, and followed her with calm.

Are you a hummer?

Take a moment in your busy day to notice this kind of unexpected gift. Listen with full intention and attention.

May it bring you peace.

12/02/2025

A Reflection on Giving, Receiving, and Community

On this Giving Tuesday, we’re reminded that generosity takes many forms—and that each act of giving, no matter the size, carries its own quiet power.

At Mindfulness on the Rocks, giving isn’t something we reserve for one day of the year. It’s woven into the way we teach, connect, and show up for our community. We also are so grateful for what we receive from our participants.

We are happy to offer:

• Free monthly online community mindfulness sessions—open to anyone curious about meditation, with participants joining us from across Canada and even some friends in the U.S.
• Free access to our full-day MBSR retreat for all program graduates, for every future cohort—an opportunity to return, refresh, and reconnect indefinitely.
• A library of freely accessible guided practices and resources for graduates of the MBSR program.
• Consistent financial support for individuals who wish to attend our eight-week MBSR program but face financial barriers. No committed participant is ever turned away.
• Talks and educational sessions offered at Laurentian University, NOSM University, and local elementary and high schools.
• Freely offered mindfulness sessions for organizations such as the Canadian Mental Health Association, Sudbury Local Immigration Partnership (SLIP), and Compass/Boussole/Akii-Izhinoogan, including events supporting newcomers and immigrants.
• In-kind virtual mindfulness sessions for teens and adults in 2025.
• A weekly Midweek Meditation blog written for nephrology social workers across the U.S., Canada, and beyond through the NKF’s Council of Nephrology Social Workers—supporting the wellbeing of healthcare professionals.

Sometimes giving shows up quietly, in small everyday gestures.

We share this today to honour something universal:
We all give in our own way.
And in that giving, we discover a profound joy—and a reminder of our deep connection to one another.

May today inspire each of us to notice how we already give, how others give to us, and how generosity—offered freely—helps us all feel a little more human, a little more grounded, and a little more connected.

Remember to take ten minutes today to pause, breathe and give to self. Giving to self is intrinsically related to giving to others.

Warmly,
Mindfulness on the Rocks

12/01/2025

A recent Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction student shared that The Response has been a helpful companion in their meditation practice and in nurturing a mindful way of being.

With the holidays approaching, I thought I’d pass along the link in case you’re looking for a meaningful Christmas gift for someone who might appreciate a gentle introduction to everyday mindfulness.

Gary

The Response: Practicing Mindfulness in Your Daily Life

Non-Fiction Pub Date: February 20, 2020 5.5 X 8.5 in | 256 pgs Trade Paperback: 9781988989211e-pub: 9781988989228 "The Response is a mindfulness bell - to wake up to the beauty, to the joys and sorrows of life and to learn from them deeply - to meet them wisely, with an open, kind, and humble heart....

11/25/2025

Intergenerational Wisdom - Mindfulness

This painting, titled “MADE IN CANADA: ANNIE POOTOOGOOK’S THREE GENERATIONS,” was featured in The Globe and Mail (Ontario Edition) on November 25, 2025. It is part of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario.

The drawing depicts the artist, Annie Pootoogook, alongside her mother, Napatchie Pootoogook, and her grandmother, Pitseolak Ashoona, in Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset) on Baffin Island. These three legendary artists are shown out and about, capturing contemporary life in the North.

This painting reminds me of the beauty we experienced during our recent eight-week Fall 2025 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program at Atikameksheng Anishnawbek in Naughton. We experienced intergenerational participation, sharing and learning. Participants included parent and adult children; community elders; and many from other traditions and cultures learning together.

MBSR may be the best gift this season—mindfulness practices keep giving long after the program ends.

To join our Spring 2026 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program, please visit mindfulnessontherocks.ca or send us an email at hello@mindfulnessontherocks.ca

11/19/2025

International Men’s Day Contemplation

I wake up and gently make my way downstairs to pour my morning coffee. I add cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and give it a quiet stir. This simple ritual always brings me back to watching my father do the same when I was a boy. After stirring his coffee, he would take the hot spoon and nudge my arm when I least expected it. I would jump—sometimes annoyed, sometimes laughing. As I write this reflection, I wonder whether, in his own way, he believed he was toughening me up, preparing me for the world as a man.

It makes sense that my mind goes there today, on International Men’s Day—a day to recognize and celebrate men and boys. When I think of the men closest to me now, I see themes of perseverance, protection, and hard work.

I have two wonderful sons-in-law. They are kind, knowledgeable, and gentle. They work long hours and delight in their families. They show courage in challenging circumstances. They are tired at day’s end, yet always make time to spark play and curiosity in their children. Their eyes light up when they see my daughters.

I have a beautiful young grandson whose kindness and imagination fill me with hope. He slips into role-play with ease, snuggles close when we read, reminds me that I still owe him a watercolour painting, and loves going on treasure hunts. I watch him learning to navigate a world full of expectations, pressures, and fears.

The newest addition to our family—a baby boy—loves to be held, looks into my eyes with trust, and offers the sweetest smiles. Born a couple of weeks early, he carries a quiet resilience that amazes me every day.

There are plenty of “hot spoons” out there for men today. Many face mental and emotional isolation, loneliness, shifting expectations of masculinity, work-related stress, relationship challenges, and a loss of connection and purpose.

Today, take a moment in your busy day to call to heart and mind the special men in your life—the ones whose presence makes this world a better place.

—Gary

Gary Petingola, MSW, RSW
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Mindfulness on the Rocks | mindfulnessontherocks.ca
Certified to teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Mindfulness Center, Brown University School of Public Health / Qualified to teach MBSR, Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, & Society, UMASS. Author ofThe Response: Practising Mindfulness in Your Daily Life.