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What’s your intention?
There’s a chair that I move around my garden. Sometimes it sits next to the Rowan tree that Graeme planted, other times it sits next to my blackcurrant bush, and this week it has been sitting underneath the tree that has been shedding leaves. The chair acts as a reminder for an intention I have…
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The power of grace and falling leaves
The leaves are starting to turn! They’re also starting to fall. I do love all seasons, but Autumn, or Fall as I like to call it, is truly special. There is a practice that I like to do at this time of year. It is inspired by a post that I once read on my…
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The practice of not knowing
The older I get the less comfortable I am with assumptions and presumptions. I mean, they are not inherently bad, but they can get things wrong and they often lead me astray. In fact, just a few months ago I had assumed that my mother would feel confident in a room full of new people.…
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Hold your seat
There’s a phrase that we use when teaching mindfulness for times when we feel challenged during a teaching session or unsure of how a situation will unfold: hold your seat. For the most part it simply means just that. Stay put. When the going gets tough, don’t run away. Instead, stay embodied, present, compassionate and…
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September’s bloom
Ooh it‘s September… I can‘t tell you how many ‘new‘ beginnings there have been this past week: the return of the Tuesday morning with Jane sessions (alongside the rest of the Sanctuary‘s wonderful drop in meditations), the Being Present course began AND I started back at university. I had been in the midst of an…
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The good, the bad and the ugly
I am not sure about you, but sometimes my social media feed becomes a space for either validating or challenging what it is that I need to hear in any given moment. It’s kind of like shaking one of those old magic 8 balls to see whether I should proceed with the current plan, love…
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Blackberr-ease
I am always torn between two worlds- the Canadian forest and the Irish hills. And just to add, I can‘t deny the privilege of calling these two places my home. They are two breathtakingly beautiful lands that are filled with abundance. So, you can imagine how each leave taking can bring both sorrow and joy.…
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The right side of the bed
I would say that the Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh was my first mindfulness teacher. Now, I have never actually met him. I did see him once from a distance, (at an event), when he came over to Ireland in 2012. Instead, my mindfulness journey began through sitting with a sangha, or practice community,…
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Mind the transitions
A dear friend of mine was visiting me, when I noticed that they were visibly uncomfortable whenever they sat down or stood up. When I showed my concern for their discomfort, they quickly tried to reassure me by explaining that they had hurt their back, but not to worry, the pain only comes with the…
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Resting in the afterglow
Two weeks ago my brother arrived at the cabin, marking a period of action-packed visits. There have been sing a longs, fishing trips, long paddles, camping and plenty of connection time with family and dear friends. Today is the day that the last of the visitors take to the road, leaving behind my love- soaked…
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My Silent Place 