In the twenty years that I have studied and followed politics, I would never have believed that I would hear the following in the UK House of Commons. “Mindfulness brought me back from the brink of death”, “Mindfulness becomes kindfulness”, “power and wisdom needs compassion”, “compassion is more powerful than bullets” or “curiosity and kindness…
Compassion in Action – Love and Loyalty This week I have been struck again by the love and loyalty that people have for the Mindfulness Association (MA). So many people help us without asking anything in return – compassion in action. I find this love and loyalty touching and sometimes a bit overwhelming. Here at…
The good news they do not print. The good news we do print. We have a special edition every moment, and we need you to read it. The good news is that you are alive, that the linden tree is still there, standing firm in the harsh winter. The good news is that you have…
I’m a Londoner, born and raised. I love city life, not yet tired of it. Having lived in Cyprus for ten years I know the difference between living in a busy city like London and a quiet, slow-paced place like Cyprus. I know how stressful life can be in London, just a simple train journey…
I am in India again for teachings with Tai Situpa Rinpoche on Mahamudra. Yesterday he was telling us about what it means to be a yogi in the Mahamudra tradition and he made a joke that we were all 5- star yogis, as our teachings are taking place in the 5 star Leela Ambiance Convention…
How can our mindfulness skills help to resource us for making positive change in the world? There may be many things happening today in our world that feel deeply concerning and huge at the same time. These might include climate change, social and political injustice, poverty, animal welfare issues… topics with no easy answers, no…
Following a recent Thursday evening online sit, we started discussing the role of concentration in our practice. Afterwards it was suggested to me that I write a blog about this, as we talk a lot about mindfulness in our training (for obvious reasons), but it’s possibly not always apparent where concentration fits in. The first…
Paul Gilbert is a friend and mentor of mine. I first met him at a Neuroscience and Buddhism conference in Holy Isle in 2008. I remember going swimming with him off the sandstone rocks at the north end of Holy Isle (he loves swimming!). I recall too his energy and enthusiasm, and how he decided…
Today I am travelling from Manchester, via Munich to New Delhi in India. I am just descending into Munich as I write this. I was up at 3.45am to get to the airport for the 7am flight and so when I just did my practice, a lot of it was drowsy, with regular nodding off…