Mindfulness is being verses doing

“Question for today.. How do you let go of outcomes without giving up on hope?” A very dear friend posed this question on Facebook. She is going through some significant life challenges at the moment and was asking for positive responses from her friendship group. My response was to try to describe my own approach […]

Compassion, Empathy and Altruism; which are you striving for?

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Leo Buscaglia After watching a TED talk from Buddhist roshi Joan Halifax on compassion and another TED talk […]

Depression and Mindfulness

It’s natural to feel down sometimes as life’s trials and tribulations wash over you, but if that low mood lingers day after day, it could signal that you might be suffering from depression. Wikipedia defines Depression as: Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person’s thoughts, behaviour, […]

Mindfulness and the fear of change

If you are depressed, you are living in the past If you are anxious, you are living in the future If you are at peace, you are living in the present, Lao Tzu Life is full of change, I would contend that there are three things in life you can be certain of – Taxation, […]

Mindfulness and the power of non-habit

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” ― Mahatma Gandhi We all have habits; good ones; bad ones; dangerous ones; ones we love; ones we would rather not have. Habits help us […]

NURTURING TEENAGERS AND THE POWER OF REAL AND FALSE MEMORIES

“Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.” ― Steven Wright Working with teenagers is always a challenge, especially if you are trying to help and support them through their own growing pains. I don’t want to use the word, counselling directly in this context, […]