To my delight, this week I received my 3 author copies of the Mindfulness Based Living Course (MBLC) book that Choden and I have written together. We finished writing it just before Choden did his one year retreat, in October 2015. So it has taken a while! It took time to find a publisher. …
Each morning when I practice I choose one of Pema Chodron’s compassion cards, which accompany her book ‘Start where you are’ (both excellent additions to any Christmas list). I select a card at random and then read the relevant section of the book, which is often just a couple of paragraphs. I take this as…
This past weekend was set aside for putting up the Christmas tree. I have all sorts of wonderful childhood memories of decorating the tree with my family. My mother would make snacks and hors d’oeuvres and there would be carols playing and everything seemed perfect. Although, I am beginning to think I may have had…
At Christmas time, with the night’s drawing in, we can find ourself cooped up in the house. This can feel quite claustrophobic, especially if we are guests or if we have guests staying over the Christmas period. Also, with all the over-eating, alcohol and Christmas telly a good walk in the fresh air can blow…
Many of us struggle with the coming together of old friends and family that happens at Christmas. So how do we bring ourself fully into these occasions? I think first it is important to acknowledge that some relationships are difficult, due to clashes (or more likely similarities) in personality. This is part of the rich…
I did my Christmas shopping yesterday, with my husband and daughter. We had a fun day out, spent enough but not too much money and hopefully bought some nice gifts that will be enjoyed by our friends and family. In general, Christmas troubles me: the unrealistic expectations, the excess, the over-spending, especially in an economy…
This week I am back in my normal work routine. Off to Manchester on the train today to work with my colleagues in MAHQ. For many of us January can be a difficult time, short of cash after Christmas, dark nights, quite a long time until spring or our next holiday and we may have…
Those of you who read this blog regularly (thank you!) will know that I use the lojong cards from the Pema Chodron compassion box. Unfortunately, they are no longer available. However, her book ‘Start where you are’ which forms the basis of the compassion box is still available and contains a list of the lojong…
I woke this morning (Boxing Day) to the news that George Michael had died. As a teenager in the 80s I was a fan and even went to see Wham live. I’ve never been able listen to ‘Careless Whisper’ or the wonderful ‘Don’t Let the sun go down on me’ duet with Elton John without…