If you’ve recently bought a pot plant for your desk at work, hoping it’s going to turn work into a carnival for you, I’m sorry. That ship has sailed, honey. Move on. Take your pot plant with you, sure, but if things are that bad, it may just be time to figure out what next. Just DON’T do a Hollywood and start packing your box of staplers and ... [Read On]
July Book Reviews: Mindfulness and Thich Naht Hanh
For many mindfulness practitioners around the World, the revered and much loved Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher and activist, Thich Naht Hanh (known by his students as ‘Thay’ which means teacher), is the personification of mindfulness. His practical, compassionate approach to the practice of mindfulness, bringing it into everyday life, has ... [Read On]
How to create a Retreat Day at Home
As we arrive at the winter solstice here in the southern hemisphere, schedules are heating up and busy-ness abounds for many. It’s a good time, before another month whizzes by, to take the momentum by the hand and S L O W THINGS D O W N. How do you do that? As well as all the usual suspects like checking what you’re saying Yes to that could ... [Read On]
Don’t believe everything you think
You've probably had some brilliant thoughts go through your mind today. Perhaps you came up with a great solution to something, or heard yourself articulating an idea with marvellous flair Perhaps you've also had some thoughts today of the more ‘dodgy’ variety – I’m talking about worrying, what-iffing or giving yourself a hard time. Stuff like ... [Read On]
May Book Reviews: The Heart and The Sufi
I’m sure I’m not the only one with a book pile by the bed, although in recent months, with the desire to simplify where possible, I’ve tended to keep just the one I’m reading, perhaps one other, partially picked through, next to the bed. The others wait patiently on the bookshelf in my home office or in the reading corner upstairs. Two books that ... [Read On]
The risky business of ‘borrowed motivation’
For my whole childhood I was a fervent nail biter. And I don’t just mean that you’d occasionally see me with my fingers in my mouth. Oh no. I bit my dear little fingers down to stumpy skin and beyond. As I got a bit older I began to wish I could stop. And of course lots of people in my life had the same wish for me, and would quite incessantly tell ... [Read On]
March Book Reviews: The books behind top TED Talks
Some of the best books I’ve read in recent years arrived into my awareness via some of the best TED Talks I’ve seen, so this month I share some of those books along with their associated TED talks – all of which are rather famous online, and all of which have powerful, fresh messages. You’ll find below my take on the books of Brene Brown, who ... [Read On]
Five things that will bring balance to your day
For those of us in the southern hemisphere at least, we’re at that time of the year where we’ve had a holiday, it’s summer and we’re a little in cruise mode, easing our way into work, and perhaps the workload hasn’t picked up yet. Things feel quite easy to keep in balance. That makes it a perfect time to start putting some simple practices in place ... [Read On]
February book review: Getting your creative groove on
This summer has had me exploring the nature of creativity, what will inspire or cajole me into getting my writing groove on, and boy has it taken me to some delicious places. Here I share five books on creativity, our penchant for procrastination and believing we’re just not that creative – yeah my friend who does all that scrap booking is ... [Read On]
Book Reviews – Must reads for insights & perspectives
I’m excited – this is the first of a monthly book list I’m going to share on the Blog, because there are just so many wonderful books out there! As you know I’m a big advocate for holidays and embracing down-time - and there’s no better way to enjoy that than getting lost in a good book. Taking the time out to read is so delicious, but ... [Read On]