What does it mean for you ? — How many people know the saying , don’t just sit there, do something useful? Or the mindfulness counterpart, don’t just do something, sit there? We can have great intent for productivity, but not give ourselves restorative time, and we can under or over stimulate our minds in ways that lessen…

Why it’s not always possible or safe to access loving kindness and mindfulness. — I have lived through roughly five breakdowns of varying severity, from complete wipe-out for six year to temporary halts for a few weeks. Sometimes it was medication that got me through, especially beta-blockers, sometimes illicit self medication like MDMA and cannabis, and sometimes just time and self care. What each…

What is it and how much does it matter? — I love the woodland garden plant called honesty, the seed heads of which are above illustrated. I love their transparency in winter and their bright purple flowers in spring. They are called honesty for that transparency and that is also important for me. Something happened recently which threw me badly…

In all its various guises — Loving kindness is one of those practices which crops up everywhere, and can be used everywhere too. I have learned it in various forms across a few decades and thought it would be fun to consider these differences and how they have, over time, opened up the practice for me…

How to apply that truth constructively — Recently someone I know started speaking very negatively about something in her life, and I was concerned for how she expressed herself, because it exemplified her various health problems too. I said ‘be careful what you say, if you say something, you will create it in reality’. …

How do I know this? — I am a writer because I can’t not write. It stemmed from being desperate to be understood and heard as a child, but when I said out loud ‘I may be a writer’, I was laughed at. And that was that. I filled my life with jobs that weren’t really…

What would I do without it? — Loving kindness is a meditation and practice in mindfulness and Buddhist theory that wishes the best for another without self regard. It is a delightful practice and the mainstay of much of my life, but I had to learn about it. I grew up without any loving kindness, informally, spontaneously…

How mindfulness allows us to grow from all experiences. — I read recently yet another writer saying that if someone criticises you, or judges you, it tells you more about them than about you. This is true. Our judgments come from our own value system and are not relevant to most cases, are usually born from a mistaken perception or…

How mindfulness frees us, and yet still calls us to accountability. — This is a tricky one. We all suffer from guilt and shame, yet they are two of the most destructive emotions that prevent us learning and moving forwards after life’s mistakes. Let us take it in stages. What is the reality of responsibility? We are a source of energy through our thoughts emotions and actions. They…