Living Through Life’s Challenges: An Interview with a Ninja Black Belt

Mindfulness can help us work with our physical, mental, and emotional roadblocks—take it from a fifth degree black belt ninjitsu. 

Life is full of ups and downs. Yes, this is absolutely true. But the question is what can help us live through the difficulties with greater ease and even find the joy in everyday life. Mindfulness is one of those tools, but how about ninja training? Dr. Richard Sears is full-time core faculty member of the Psy.D. Program in Clinical Psychology at Union Institute & University, and is the Director of the Center for Clinical Mindfulness and Meditation. He also has a fifth degree black belt in ninjitsu and once served as a personal protective agent for the Dalai Lama. He’s author of many books and most recently Mindfulness: Living Through Challenges and Enriching Your Life In This Moment.

You can see maybe why I wanted to bring him here today to talk about why mindfulness is helpful for our present day maladies and what we can learn from ninja training to get out of our heads and into our lives.

Elisha: Why is mindfulness so effective in working with our personal mental, emotional and physical maladies?

Richard: I begin to feel like a snake oil salesman when I talk about all the research demonstrating the…