Maureen Garvey - founder, Be Mindful®
E: maureen@bemindful.com

After spending 10+ years in marketing and technology in a fast-paced world of Silicon Valley, it was time for a change. In 2016, Maureen and her family moved to the mountains of Northern CA and opted for a slower pace, a more mindful way of life with more time to enjoy nature and the simple pleasures of mountain life. Maureen enjoys living and practicing mindfulness in Truckee, CA.

Michele Garvey – editor, Be Mindful®
E: info@bemindful.com

Michele has spent most of her career in and around New York City practicing public relations and marketing. She recently returned to her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA to spend time with family and has embraced mindfulness in its many forms, including gardening, cooking, and yoga. 

Although Maureen and Michele are separated by miles, they appreciate the opportunity to share ideas and new approaches to mindful living in their blog.

Your thoughts and feedback are welcome and visitors are encouraged to send email to info@bemindful.com.

The expression "be mindful" is very common though out most of the world. In the west it is often expressed as the golden rule -- do unto others as you would have done unto you. The eastern idea of mindfulness is more inclusive -- mindfulness is a state of being. Be Mindful® is a website that explores wellness, mediation, and living mindfully.  We hope that you've enjoy your visit to our site and that it will help you to arrive at a greater peacefulness and self-understanding.

Our Story

Both my sister and I lost both of our parents to cancer so we try to remain knowledgeable and vigilant about ways to remain cancer-free. Since our mother passed away from ovarian cancer at the age of 42, we both decided to have genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer when we reached our 40s.  The results revealed that we both carried a mutation on the BRCA2 gene, indicating we have a much higher lifetime risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. With our diagnoses came confusion and questions about our options and the best chances for lessening our chances of a cancer diagnosis.

Knowing that you are at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer can be very emotionally confusing and overwhelming. We found that meditation and mindful living have helped immensely to handle the stress and to make decisions about what to do next. Taking care of your emotional and mental health and ways to cope with anxiety is what inspire us to work on Be Mindful®

Ultimately, my sister and I both chose preventive surgery.  Michele had an oophorectomy – a surgery to have her ovaries removed and Maureen had an salpingo-oophorectomy - the surgery to remove our ovaries and fallopian tubes - and we both schedule mammograms and MRIs twice a year.

Having lived with loss from cancer, we created Be Mindful®  to provides resources for anyone confronting stress, and to create awareness, explore wellness, meditation, and living mindfully.