I've always been considered 'sensitive.' At school, my teachers described me as conscientious and shy. I can't remember a time when I didn't observe a situation before acting, or seemed to instinctively 'know' when there was tension between others. It wasn't until a couple of months ago though that I started to understand that my [...]
Mind the gap the sign said! Oops! One torn hamstring later and a sciatic nerve pounding I think I may read the sign next time! I’m sending this blog from an aeroplane high in the sky, rushing home to see my daughter who’s 15th birthday it is this day! 15! When did that happen? Last [...]
Mindfulness: the state or quality of being mindful or aware of something. I’ve tried mindful meditation before and found it hard to get in to. I felt self-conscious and found it difficult to remain calm, without over-thinking every action. I’m curious to know what difference it makes to approach mindfulness from another angle. Whether it’s [...]
Read this guide from Nici on what the signs are that you need to top-up your mental happiness and how to do it.
Ian talks about where to find the “Free” in a society, seemingly bent on charging for everything.
Note to the reader: this is the third part of a series of three articles about my spiritual journey. You can find the first one at this link and the second one here. I was 18 by now and with school over, a world of endless possibilities had just opened in front of me. Together [...]
Most of us will be familiar with various forms of non-verbal communication. Reading people’s body language and facial expressions are key to interpreting a person’s mood, helping us to know how to interact with them. Touch is another form of non-verbal communication that has often been overlooked. Maybe it’s because more typically reserved societies like [...]
“Feel the fear and do it anyway.” That wasn’t a phrase I used to have much affinity with. Afterall, why would we want to feel fearful? Surely scary situations should be avoided at all costs? Last week, I wrote about what happens to us when we’re chronically stressed. One of the most interesting things I’ve learned [...]
I come from a very religious Catholic family, and since I was very young, I was brought up with the idea that the family religion was the right one, the only one. When you grow up with certain beliefs so strongly entrenched in your social and spiritual DNA, it can be quite hard to look [...]
In part one of ‘Living My Life the Okinawan Way’, I spoke about my own nutrition journey and of how I take inspiration from the Okinawan diet, to better my health and the health of my family. Healthy food is without doubt a prominent component of Okinawan life, but Okinawan food culture ‘is intimately linked [...]
