I recently came across the most beautiful poem by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. I was having a fairly stressful day, with work getting on top. As I entered the train, listening to a selection of poems on my iPod, this came on and blew me away. It really is life changing. For me the poem is asking…Read More
Letting Go of the Past – A Story of Two Monks and a Maiden
I am writing this looking out over the winding waters of the Mekong River in Luang Prabang, Laos. As I sip my coconut juice, I allow my mind to become engaged in the array of beautiful sounds emitting from nature’s bounty: the trees subtly whistling in the sunlight, the warm breeze pushing the current downstream, the sound…Read More
The Miracle of Mindfulness
The miracle of mindfulness touches us in different ways at different times, and it naturally catches us off guard, usually in a moment of complete awareness and spontaneity. This week I was touched by such a miracle when I just let go, thought what the heck and did something I should have done years ago. This…Read More
Who Am I? And What Happens To Me When I Die?
Who am I? Who is the “me”, “the I”; this awareness I feel of being this person. And how does it feel for someone else to be them? Do they feel the same things as I feel being me? “Woah!” Your friends say… …”That’s some deep thinking, man. What have you been smoking?” But don’t let…Read More
Will I Ever Be Happy? Stop Waiting for the Perfect Moment
It is pretty hard to feel content in a world that is consistently offering you the “next best thing”. I mean, how can your possibly pay attention to the now when you can’t wait for the future to arrive? Because it will be better, right? It will be bigger, faster, more efficient, more effective, more…Read More
3 Fun Mindfulness Exercises for Kids
This post came about after a reader sent me an email asking whether I have any mindfulness exercises for kids. But before we get into a few ideas, I think it’s important to understand the following… …When it comes to mindfulness and kids, the way forward is creativity and fun, rather than pushing them into seated meditation,…Read More
I Don’t Want to Die & Realise I Haven’t Lived
As cliché as it may sound, when we are old and grey, most of us will look back and think, “I’d do anything to get that time back”. If we know this to be true, then why are so many of us waiting life out in jobs we hate, wishing the clock would strike 5pm…Read More
How to Achieve a Mindful State (Fast) Using Your Breath
If you have a mind that bounces around like a flea, like me, you probably find it hard to settle your mind and be present without thinking about what you will do next, tomorrow or sometime next week. Oftentimes this perpetual thinking causes us to worry, stress and fear things, as we allow ourselves to…Read More
How Going to the Gym Went From Muscle to Mindful
I started going to the gym in my late teens. For the first few years it was sporadic at best, and generally dependent on whether my gym buddy at the time – of which I went through many – still had the motivation to go with me. My enthusiasm was driven by the desire for pecs and biceps…Read More
Why Consumer Culture is Bad for Mindfulness
By definition, consumerism is in total contrast to mindfulness: The preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods, or, put another way; the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable. Consumerism encourages us to be on the lookout for the next best thing, when more often what we have is still in good condition,…Read More