Tag: mental-health
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Turning the ship
My husband Graeme was a clever man. Both as an intellect and as a contemplative. While we both taught mindfulness, he used to claim that I was the ‘better’ mindfulness practitioner. In all reality, he was like an anchor for me. He had an uncanny way of putting things into perspective, whenever I became lost.…
-
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…
My Silent Place 