Tag: meditation
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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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Making space
For as long as I can remember, I have always been chasing space. Space to read, space to paint, space to watch a sunset, space to meditate, space to write, space to sew, space to sit in a sunbeam streaming through the window. You get the drift. It’s not that I have never had the…
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Keeping it simple
As many of you know, I am currently at my cabin in Northern Manitoba (Canada). There have been a few forest fires up here, to say the least. What’s more is that due to the vast size of the Boreal forest, the fires will be an ongoing concern for months to come. This means that…
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My safe place
There’s a meditation practice that I guide from time to time that is taken from the Mindfulness Association’s Level 2 course: Responding with Compassion. It’s an imagery practice called Safe Place. Pinning down its exact origins can be tricky. For instance, I know that it is a meditation that is also used in Compassion Focused…
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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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Celebrating lost days
A few days ago, I was taking a break amidst a busy ten day stretch of teaching and I had met a friend for a quick coffee catch up. As we shared the highlights of our schedules, I admitted sheepishly that right before things got busy for me, I had spent a couple of days…
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Disturbing the peace
A few days ago, I received a lesson from a duck. I was on my daily walk and I stopped to watch a number of mallards as they appeared to be peacefully swimming along the reeds of a slow moving river. They were casually foraging for food when I noticed this one duck repeatedly pecking…
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Mindfulness of Houseplants
Recently, a friend was in my house commenting on how healthy my houseplants are looking. My jaw nearly hit the floor. I have never been known for the health of my houseplants. In fact, I have been known for bringing them into work so those colleagues of mine, who are fortunate enough to have a…
My Silent Place 