Fear is the mind killer, the eradicator of potential, the eraser of personal progress. And if there’s one thing that will stop you embracing life in the moment it’s. Fear wants you to stay in your house and lock your door, to avoid talking to strangers, to avoid changing job or location because you won’t know anyone, to [...]

The mistake we all make is seeing life in sections rather than a continuous journey.  We box life up and stack it’s sections in an order that’s almost taboo to break, rather than recognising it as a sequence of moments strung together in one seamless episode. We set targets by age, and once past the age we convince [...]

Moments of clarity come at unexpected times, usually when we’re temporarily distracted from the grasping and striving of the daily grind. These moments come upon us suddenly, and for a few seconds or more, everything just seems to fall in to place and make sense, almost indescribably so. One of these moments graced my presence [...]

Who is the actor playing this role Who is the person walking this path Who is the person in my presence Who is the person in my past   Whose expectations will I fulfil Whose opinions will I believe Whose footsteps shall I follow Whose words shall I refuse   Whose arms should I embrace [...]

On the face of it this seems like the most unanswerable question there is, a question that nags our existence from start to finish. And paradoxically, the more we study mindfulness and realise that the only reality we have is the present moment, the more life seems somewhat pointless, particularly if there is nothing after [...]

Earlier this week I was asked how to practice mindfulness. My answer took the asker by surprise because it was simply, “You are practicing, right now”.  Of course the reply was, “Am I?” As you probably know by now, I like to keep mindfulness as streamlined as possible, and while I do occasionally deliver more complex teachings [...]

Stepping Out of Time

In this fast-paced, competitive world we can become incredibly driven and impatient, and that drive and impatience is primarily motivated by time. We live in the worry that we don’t have time to get where we need to go, to do what we need to do and to become who we aspire to be. Seldom [...]

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Impermenance: Remembering That What is Born Will Die

It was only last year that I had the pleasure of meeting the guys who set up The SpringFoundation, an organisation that educates and holds retreats using mindfulness as its approach to coping with cancer, both during treatment and during remission. This week, however, cancer came closer to home. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with cervical [...]

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Mindfulness and the Past: What About History?

Fundamentally mindfulness is about living in the present, accepting the moment and not being controlled by the past or restrained by perceptions of the future. But what about history? History is of great importance because it helps us understand the circumstances that have shaped the landscape we live in today. Not to mention that history [...]

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Why My Mum Won’t Meditate

My mum’s an energetic woman. She’s 65 years young and has more energy than most twenty somethings. She wakes up at 7am every day for a brisk walk round the park with her dog, can talk for England, doesn’t suffer from jet lag no matter how long the flight, and rarely sits still. As many [...]

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