Tag: health
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Dawn is coming…
There is no denying it. I can definitely feel the days starting to stretch and lengthen. With the building of this increase in light, there has been the slightest whisper of warmth that has started to gently seep in when that north wind is not looking. These are the days described by the great Mary…
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Slow down, you move too fast
As many of you know, and those who have been reading my blog will know, the last few years of my life have been difficult ones (to say the least). Life turned upside down with the illness and death of my beloved. And before that, I was working a lot. Too much, some might say.…
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Quietude
One of my favourite times of the day is the early morning in which I surrender into quietude, or what the Cambridge dictionary calls a state of calm and peacefulness. This is especially true during December as we approach the solstice. Usually at this time of year, I feel a pull between the noise of…
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The peace within
I am just home from a personal retreat in Donegal, where I spent 3 days dropping down into practice. It was just what I needed: reconnection. Reconnection to a deepening of meditation, to my dear friends and colleagues who joined me, to the land of Donegal and to that part of myself that is never…
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To flourish…
A few Novembers ago, I was travelling through Scotland when I heard a BBC radio show called ‘The Susurrations of Trees’. It took my breath away. In particular, Bob Gilbert’s description of the sound of rain on the leaves of a copper beech transfixed me. It completely transformed my relationship with my neighbour’s great big…
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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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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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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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Sympathetic joy
It’s funny, I don’t talk about mindfulness that much with my inner circle of friends. Maybe they would say different but it’s rare that I espouse the benefits of mindfulness, or wave the flag. Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of friends who I work with or practice with in which I do talk…
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What’s your prescription?
Recently, I have been delivering a programme on Rest and one the practices that we do is setting our personal prescriptions. What does this mean? To begin with, it’s an exercise taken from Claudia Hammond who is a BBC radio presenter and delivers the podcast ‘All in the Mind’. It’s the practice of what she…
My Silent Place 