Mindfulness is an awareness of the present moment that arises from paying attention on purpose, with non-judgement. These are my writings that are primarily concerned with the practice of mindfulness.
Children of tomorrow live in the tears that fall todayWill the sun rise up tomorrow bringing peace in any way? There’s a lot packed into these two lines. They come from Children of the Grave, by Black Sabbath. The track itself pulses with urgency, warning, and a kind of longing.… Read More »Disengagement, Doom, and the Courage to Love
The Late-Night Conversation We emerged from the tunnel. It was still dark, street lamps lit the way in the early hours. I was driving a pal home from a late-night party. The friend swayed in his seat drunkenly but talked fluently. I hung on every word. He made a lot… Read More »How to prime your mind for positivity
A few days ago it was the summer solstice here in the UK. I love this time of year. The summer lies ahead of us like a vast canvas, ready for us to elevate our experiences into lifelong memories. Friends will be contacted, good times will be had. May is… Read More »On the employment market: How to mindfully embrace uncertainty
Do you enjoy a good plot twist? Exciting. Enthralling. Entertaining. Most people love a good paradigm shift in their media every once in a while. Like watching the final scene from Planet of the Apes when the destructive potential of humanity is revealed to the protagonist. (Spoiler alert) He finds… Read More »On information overload: Practicing mindfulness in a data driven world
I’ve been thinking a lot about perspective recently. On this day, exactly one year ago we picked up the keys to our new house. With this we increased the hope of a better life ahead for us. Not that life had been particularly troublesome for us up until that point.… Read More »The Power Of Your Mind
Remaining positive despite the relentlessness of it all Upbeat at 5:30am after another night of disturbed sleep. Staying upbeat despite a head pounding with the pressure. Determined to remain positive although I’ve got to keep it together today. I know I’m the one who has to keep a cool head… Read More »Upbeat Thinking – How To Stay Positive By Training Your Mind
Seeing in 2009 Challenging negativity can take many forms. Just over a decade ago I saw in the New Year in a yurt in some woods in Gloucestershire. It was a great party. People danced, drank, smoked and had far out conversations. One conversation has stuck with me all this… Read More »Challenging Negativity
I am now thirty days into the fifty-day introductory daily meditation course on the Waking Up app and the results are fascinating. The app is the product of the neuroscientist, philosopher and public intellectual Sam Harris. Whilst I’m not really a fan of the ardent atheist line of his thinking,… Read More »An Ineffable Experience with the Waking Up Meditation App
The Start of a Young Family Today marked one calendar month since the birth of my firstborn son. It’s been a ride so far, up and down, peaks and troughs, a blur of broken sleep and an overload of chores. The first two weeks were certainly the most challenging –… Read More »Entering Parenthood and a New Mindfulness
There is a deep-rooted idea that human life is separate to nature. It is an idea that’s become popular in many modern ways of thinking. Human Beings left the savannah and jungles long ago. The sweep of time has brought many transitions, from hunting to farming to industrialization. Now, our… Read More »Nature versus Technology – Mindfulness, Acceptance, Peace
Inspiration in Tough Times It seems these days one never has to look far to find a source of inspiration. With so much of the world’s collective knowledge at our fingertips, we can find the biographies of heroes and heroines within minutes. My latest finding is the American poet, memoirist… Read More »Mental Strength in Tough Times
Mental Suffering Alleviating mental suffering is something we spend our entire lives working on. I have previously posted about drawing on ancient philosophies and ideas to write about good mental health practices and this post forms part of that arc. It is my contention here that the Buddhist ideas surrounding mental… Read More »Alleviating Mental Suffering (using ideas from Buddhism)