Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean-

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

Edit this entry.

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

Yoga Therapy Ireland (YTI)’s Magazine : Spring 2014

Are you enjoying your life? Did you enjoy the last hour? If not, why not?

Were you worrying about what might happen, some future difficulties that might arise or were you pre-occupied with a drama that happened yesterday / last week? Were you criticising yourself (more…)

The Irish Institute of Training and Development’s Magazine : Spring 2014

Defined by Jon Kabat Zinn as:

…Paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally.

Mindfulness refers to simply being fully present and conscious, giving your attention to what you are doing instead of ‘lost’ in the ‘whirl’ of thoughts and emotions. (more…)

Kristin Neff speaks about: Self Kindness as a key component of Self compassion.

< Back to Mindful Self Compassion

The Art of Being Mindful – Finding peace in a stressed-out, digitally dependent culture may just be a matter of thinking differently (more…)

One of the most important elements of self-compassion is the recognition of our shared humanity. Compassion is, by definition, relational. Compassion literally means “to suffer with,” which implies a basic mutuality in the experience of suffering. (more…)

Now that the New Year has well and truly started, maybe it’s a good time to make time for you – just to BE.

You may have read or heard about Mindfulness and how it helps you become more present, enabling you to ‘live your life more fully. You may be curious; it’s become a bit of a buzzword but there are still so many misconceptions about the practice that act as a barrier preventing people from trying meditation and receiving its profound benefits. (more…)

Comedian and writer Ruby Wax has suffered bouts of depression throughout her life and finally made it public.

She went on to study psychotherapy and neuroscience — and took a comedy show about mental illness on tour around the wards of mental health institutions. She wrote a book entitled: ‘Sane New World’ and speaks here about why our minds can send us mad and how we can rewire our thinking. 

Want to learn more about Mindfulness?

Professor Mark Williams from Oxford University delivers this lecture to the public about the science of mindfulness.

Want to understand how Mindfulness helps us to become more compassionate?

Author and therapist Paul Gilbert explores how awareness of how our own minds work can help break negative thought patterns and help us to become kinder and more compassionate.

I’ve just come back from a walk. It’s a dull cloudy day and I was thinking about the feedback I received from recent courses. It occurred to me that maybe I should share something participants tell me they find a useful analogy for meditation or living life consciously. (more…)

Many of the people who come to my classes are exhausted and longing for rest… longing just to be. Tired of pushing themselves, beating themselves up and the seemingly endless daily struggle. (more…)

This quote by the Dalai Lama is now supported by scientific research which clearly shows that Being Compassionate is good for others and also very very good for ourselves.  Well, we always knew that being compassionate was good for others but good for ourselves? (more…)

often described as Paying Attention … On Purpose… in the Present Moment … Non Judgmentally…   (more…)

There is a reason why Mindfulness has been practiced for thousands of years. The widespread profound benefits to physical health, mental health, wellbeing and our ability to function intelligently and effectively are now conclusively proven. So much scientific research, clinical trials and more recently (more…)