Matthew Ricard does TED

Everybody loves a TED talk don't they? Here's a fab one by Matthieu Ricard, a French Buddhist monk who was a geneticist and moved in intellectual circles, prior to becoming a popular icon for happiness. If you can't make the time to sit and watch, it's worth playing in the background as you go about your day, just to absorb the message if you can.

image via meme

Nothing is more powerful than the truth

Honesty empowers you to make decisions for yourself. Strip back all of your delusions of whatever you think you are and look at yourself with love, joy and compassion. See the wonderful person that you are and give yourself an enormous hug.

image via Flickr

Laugh at the adventures you've experienced and the stories you've created - even the saddest ones have a funny aspect to them. Dig deep until you find the funny. Heal yourself as you uncover what you've been holding onto all this time.


Now let go of attachment to your stories. Feel the emotions attached to your story drift away.

image via Flickr

When you learn how to do this with consistency, you'll be able to see others with the same eyes - through the lens of love, joy and compassion.

You empower yourself anytime you trust your instincts enough to make decisions for yourself. By investing in stories that other people tell you, you are undermining your abilities to decide for yourself by allowing others to decide for you.

image via Flickr

Free yourself and base your decisions on your interactions with people. Allow the truth to shine through you and share that light with others.

Mindfulness and Depression

St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) can be successful in treating mild to moderate depression. The success and limitations of this herb are certain and clearly supported.

via bob klips

SSRI's are a class of pharmaceutical drug used to treat major depression, but many people are unsure about living with the longer term side effects of these drugs and so look for alternatives. It is this group that have been used as a sample for Canada's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health investigations into mindfulness meditation.

via telegraph.co.uk

The results have been supportive of the cognitive therapy which show it to be "as effective as antidepressant medication in prevention of ... relapse".

Are you practicing mindfulness daily?



NOTE: St John's Wort is not a herb to be self prescribed when someone is taking any other medications, including prescribed contraceptives, or has any other health concerns. Call me or drop in, to ask about the suitability of St John's Wort for yourself, or to enquire about meditation techniques that may also be suitable.

A simple reminder

via global gallery

I attended a fabulous meditation workshop on Sunday at the Self Realization Meditation Healing Centre and was reminded again about the importance of consistent meditation. I attended the Foundation course which was a really simple method in how to reconnect with the internal silence and eternal peace that we all crave.

via wvgazette

What I was reminded of most deeply was how simple it is. There is no need for chanting, or breath work or elongated mantras. Creating a peaceful space is about quietening the mind and in my experience, the most simple methods are the most effective.

via faqs

What we all need to cultivate is the habit. I've again learned the need to return to meditation regularly so that it becomes a consistent source for deep and lasting transformation. So I've set my alarm to build up from my current once daily practice, to increase to three times daily. Yes I'm greedy, but I also know it can be done easily.

via joe-ks

If you would like to learn how to meditate, call the centre and ask how to get started.

Songs for Friday

I have Kathy's Soham on repeat all day today. It's an awesome reminder to reconnect.

Enjoy your Friday!

One for your weekend

Have a happy, healthy Friday!

Monday Musings

Bring on the calm...

via smart escapes

Today we're back to Spring and it's a gorgeous bluebird day where I live, after a fairly feral weekend of snow storms and high winds. It's got me thinking about the need for peace even where there is chaos. 

So how do we achieve or maintain that deep sense of peace that we are each capable of? 

Taking time out for meditation or reflection is essential as it helps to refresh the body and the mind. It quietens the nervous system, and stimulates the immune system to bring about faster healing, which is why I recommend meditation to a lot of my clients. It can be achieved by sitting quietly without distraction and focusing on the breath, or by following a guided meditation. I've linked through HERE to a fabulously simple guided meditation that is a quick ten minute refresher to calm and quieten the mind. The sound of gentle waves is what one of my clients uses every night to help himself get to sleep. But invest this ten minutes in yourself, and you'll feel refreshed and less complicated.

Equally we can use exercise to clear the mind. Exercise decreases cortisol production and stimulates the release of endorphins, seratonin, and dopamine. This produces a relaxant effect on the body and contributes to a sense of wellbeing. Regular exercise is something that most of us are easily capable of but make little time for. When the days are a little longer it can seem easier to wake early but still many of us make excuses about why it's not possible to schedule it in. To make time for everything and everyone else and yet to neglect yourself, can come at a very high cost. So get out and walk up a nearby hill to get your heart rate up, sweat a little and push yourself a bit. In the town where I live there's a gym at the top of the hill with some awesome programs.   When you get to the top you can pause to appreciate the view and reflect on how you've just provided yourself a great foundation for moving toward an abundance of good health (and even consider a class at the gym if you live nearby and are feeling inspired).

What physical activity are you doing at the moment that pushes your heart rate up?