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Fear 2

Many of our reactions to life, our choices and our behaviours are generated by fear. The fear could be fear of not being good enough, fear of failure, fear of a thing, fear of an event, fear of a decision and many more. Fear is the gift of our…
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Fear 1

Fear is very much on my mind. This is a significant week for me and I am aware that there is a considerable swirling of fear swooping in and out of my mind. As part of living through this period with acceptance, compassion and wise reactions…

Non Judging

This is the first in a series of posts exploring the 7 attitudes that underpin mindfulness practice. The 7 attitudes are detailed in Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn and are Non Judging, Patience, Beginner's Mind, Trust, Non Striving,…

One thing at a time

I am often asked what mindfulness is. Yesterday the guy cutting my hair asked. I explained, as he buzzed and snipped, that he should imagine that he was only doing one thing at a time. Only cutting my hair. Not thinking about later, or last…
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Reflecting

This week I have mostly been reading "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari. It is a swashbuckling blast through the relatively brief history of Homo sapiens, the branch of the Homo (Human) genus that we belong to. It sets…
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Retreat and reflection

Today I have escaped to my in law's cottage in Mumbles for a 'retreat'. Normally, when I go on retreat I am avoiding all technological contact, sitting quietly a lot, walking and photographing. I usually stay at a retreat centre in the Brecon…
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Sitting Group

It is all quiet in the house. Beci has taken the hound, Monty, out for his morning walk. Taylor (no.1 son) is off to college and India (no.1 daughter) is asleep in bed, practicing being a teenager who has finished college for the year already.…
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General Election and Mindfulness

We are beset from all sides. All media streams, from the traditional newspapers to the ground breaking social media streams, are awash with General Election stuff. Opinions, rants and justifications abound. Some of it is entertaining. Some of…
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Mindfulness and Change

Change This week I have chosen to reflect on change as I have been both buffeted by the winds of change and I am also making changes to key aspects of my life. It is not coincidental that I used a weather metaphor to describe change. As I started…
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What is Mindful Photography?

Mindful Photography is mindfulness applied to the process of creating a photograph It starts with seeing and extends through the technical and compositional choices towards an encouragement to align one’s eye, one’s mind and one’s heart…
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Mindful Attention

I use photography as a practice for mindfulness. As mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment, creating a photograph can provide many practices that enable us to connect with what we can see, what the camera can see and what we feel…