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Mindfulness is a Buddhist-based concept and practice which is increasingly being incorporated into Western psychological and psychiatric practices.

The recent murder of Elana Fric-Shamji in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, to my mind, demonstrates that we still live in a culture that is sexist (inequality of gender), misogynist (a person who dislikes, despises, or is strongly prejudiced against women), and promotes violence, in all its forms, against women.

In a study of 333 mothers and fathers in Portugal, a team at the University of Coimbra analyzed the correlations between mindfulness, mindful parenting, parenting styles, and stress.

There are two ways of being in the world. One is called the "doing mode" and the other is called the "being mode". When we operate in the "being mode", we are usually happier than when in the doing mode, for obvious reasons. If you are in the being mode, there is less of a tendency for you to be excessively angry. Mindfulness, therefore, is an anger management strategy because it is a source of happiness.

"When you get to tell someone off, you might feel pretty good for a while, but somehow the sense of righteous indignation and hatred grows, and it hurts you. It’s as if you pick up hot coals with your bare hands and throw them at your enemy. If the coals happen to hit him, he will be hurt. But in the meantime, you are guaranteed to be burned."

Domestic violence has been in the news, and has been the subject of commentaries and editorials in the media, both nationally and internationally. It is a major social problem in all countries of the world, including Canada.

Many persons believe that in a conflictual situation, they can control others by using excessive anger and that this is a permanent solution to the conflict. This may apply in the short term if the other person becomes fearful as in the case of a child, and caves in to your demands but it is generally not true in the long term.