I’m really not suggesting that the changing things of life aren’t fulfilling, of course they are, but they can’t be relied upon as our core sense of certainty and stability that is going to see us through any storm. They don’t meet that need, no matter how wonderful they are.
Sam Harris (of Waking Up, the book and app fame) says, and I’m paraphrasing, that there really isn’t any separation between your meditation practice and the rest of your life. But, that you do have to learn how to meditate first. You’re not going to learn how to meditate hang-gliding, playing soccer or rock climbing. However, once you’ve learned how to meditate you can take those skills into all of those things. In fact, into every thing. So, what is it that we’re learning to do when we’re meditating? We are working with our mind to shift the scales so [...]
Peace, love and oneness – that’s my daily mantra. Boy, is that hard to live during these times of global pandemic! I fundamentally believe in equality. It is an absolute for me. Irrespective of status, wealth, health, gender, sexuality, race, culture, ability, age, body shape and size – we all fundamentally have equal worth. I know that’s not how the world operates. So, I’m used to feeling ‘on the outside’. I don’t buy into dominant narratives easily, and in fact, I’ve spent a great deal of my life disentangling myself from them. I’m going to talk about the dreaded vaccination [...]
A lot is said in mindfulness circles about living in the present moment. I think the concept could use some consideration and exploration. Sometimes I notice when I’m doing something that isn’t engaging me in the way I think it should be, or that I would like it to, that I’m distracted, day dreaming. It’s good that I’m noticing right? I’m recognising that my immediate presence is being crowded out by random memories, thoughts, flotsam and jetsam. And, I feel a little guilty. Warts and all I’m not sure that’s helpful. The guilt I mean. Being distracted, daydreaming is part [...]
Let go! How much easier is that said than done? And how do you know when you need to let go anyway? And what to let go of?
I notice that when I observe others who have achieved amazing things in their lives, that I have a great tendency to compare myself to them. Which, inevitably leaves me drowning in a mire of inadequacy. The truism ‘comparison is the thief of joy’ is confirmed. And yet, I seem to fall into this tendency very naturally. Of course, it is natural for us to compare, to help us make sense of our position in the world, to identify our strengths and weaknesses, to define ourselves. But when I notice that my mood is affected, I know I need some [...]
There is mystery in our lives. Where do we come from? Where do we go? Somehow, we all need to find a way to navigate this. This is mostly the business of religion. For many of us though, and in some stages of life, we become so identified with our role/s that there simply isn’t any time or space to contemplate the before and beyond. These questions only erupting to the surface at times of tragedy and loss. Religion I have been attracted to religion; the reverence, the sacredness. But never have I been able to slip into what [...]
There was a time when we knew ourselves as nature. We understood ourselves as connected to the earth, the sky, the birds, the trees. We understood, we respected the sacredness of our part in the magnificence of the life we found ourselves in. I feel that ancient connection. There is something in me that knows. A wordless knowing. Not mine alone. I am ancient, and modern. To survive I must perform. Follow the rules. Fit in. Get that job. As if, that were the only way I can know my worth, my acceptability. A superimposed identity of who I am, [...]
We become many things in life. Some just happen. Some we follow arduous routes to achieve, only to find they don’t feel as comfortable as we thought they would. Others are like a home coming. Becoming a yoga therapist feels just like that for me. An arrival. The completion of a lifelong pursuit to fulfill my personal mission. A true expression of my essence. My calling. I am passionate about honouring the worth of all life. I believe that our life challenges are always our opportunities. I believe that everyone matters and that we’re all ok. Serving the relief of [...]
I live within a context. A particular time in history within an external environment that has an inevitable impact upon me. The timespan between my birth and death is not a blank canvas upon which I paint my life. It’s a story that I’ve been born into. Somehow, I need to make sense and meaning of my life within that story. I exist at the centre of a multitude of circles. Family, friends, skin colour, ethnicity, gender, country, political leanings, intellectual prowess, physical ability, postcode, hobbies, interests… endless categories that I belong to and identify with to varying degrees. Each [...]
