“The art of living is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging on the other. It consists in being sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive”. Alan Watts.

Buddhists use the practice of sitting mindfully as a fearless presence in the face of sorrows and fears. Such a practice enables the practitioner to feel the flood of emotions, such as anger, grief and fear, that we can experience from moment to moment and to allow them to be released. In this process mindfulness does not reject our experiences it simply allows us to feel and let go. It is in such a state of innocence and vulnerability that we can learn about ourselves and release tensions that manifest physically in our bodies giving rise to dis-ease.

The process of mindfulness transformation is often referred to as “RAIN” –

• recognition
• acceptance
• investigation
• non-identification

Continue reading →

My eldest son was recently chosen to travel to New York with a group of young people to attend the UN Conference on the Millenium Development Goals. One of the speakers at the conference (Adam Braun founder of “Pencil of Promise”) in delivering an inspiring address outlined the following seven lessons: 

1.      Get out of your comfort zone “not all who wander are lost”.

2.     Speak the language of the individual you want to become. “I am the change agent that will give primary education for all children”

3.     Embrace those late, sleepless nights – “Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you’re  separated from the rest of the world”

4.     To achieve unreasonable things, you have to become an unreasonable/delusional person

5.     Just go. Find a way. All you need is a backpack and a handful of courage.

6.     Find your cause that resonates with your soul, and live it.

7.     The single greatest power of human beings is the resounding belief that the impossible can be made possible. BE HOPE-LESS-LY idealistic about the things that make you feel most alive.”

Let these lessons inspire you to create a life that truly resonates with who you uniquely are!

As most of us live our lives on automatic piliot we delude ourselves that we are in touch with reality.

We get up in the morning and travel to work and after completing a full days work we return home by the same route. We do this without registering where we are and what is happening. Sound familiar?

When was the last time you took a break from the frenetic pace you set for yourself and really appreciated the heat of the sun and warmth of it on your skin on a beautiful summer’s day, the splash of rain at your feet, the smell of newly blooming flowers, the sound of the birds in the trees as they announce the beginning of another day? Even more disturbing is that we can often miss the faces of our loved ones as we spend our time being pre-occupied with thoughts of the day to come or the day that has been.

How much of our lives are we really missing as we fall into the trance of delusion? Continue reading →

Did you know that at least 70% of your body is made up of water and that 80% of that is in your head?

This could be just another useless statistic if it were not for the research that has been done into how human emotions can change the structure of water! When water is exposed to positive words and feelings such as love and gratitude the energy level of water not only increases but there are structural changes which make it more harmonious and beautiful. Conversely, when water is exposed to negative words and emotions energy levels drop and chaotic negative changes occur in the structure of the water.

If you extrapolate this information to your body where your cells are made mostly of water you can quickly see how your health can be directly impacted by the thoughts and feelings you are experiencing. Continue reading →

It never fails to surprise me just how much of our unhappiness, stress and suffering is caused by our persistently recurring ability to want to resist what is happening to us and/or to become attached to the way things have been, are now or should be.

I was reminded of this on my way to work this morning. It can be a challenge to get a 7 year old out of bed and ready for school on any morning however today proved to be doubly difficult. As I kept a wary eye on the clock it soon became apparent my timetable was not going to be adhered to today!

The more I focussed on and resisted the notion that I would be late for work the more things appeared to make that come true. My 7 year old became slower and slower and eventually when I did make it to the car the windscreen was frosted over and had to be hosed off.

The traffic on the roads seemed heavier than usual and it seemed like I had to wait for ages at intersections which I would normally just sail through. My irritation and stress grew and grew. Continue reading →