Sunday, December 14, 2014
YOUNGSTOWN
Featured on “60 Minutes” as part of a segment on mindfulness tonight, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan said he was “honored” to have the opportunity to show how the meditative practice “has helped me personally and professionally.”
The 12-minute piece by Anderson Cooper focused mostly on the journalist’s own experiences learning mindfulness, but included an interview with Ryan, of Howland, D-13th. The congressman published a book in 2012 about his experiences with the practice, “A Mindful Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance, and Recapture the American Spirit.”
Mindfulness focuses on “the present moment” instead of worrying about the past or the future, Ryan said.
Ryan, a former high school football quarterback standout, said if he saw people involved in mindfulness in those days, he would have thought to “stay away from those guys,” he told Cooper.
But after seeing the success the practice has had with professional sports teams, the Marines and students, Ryan said, “I am convinced that we can shift the current state of our country if we start developing the fundaments necessary for success: mental discipline, resiliency, grit and high levels of awareness of ourselves and others. Mindful practice cultivates all of these qualities.”
For the complete story, read Monday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com