Ten reasons

I was recently approached by the editor of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s spirituality journal “Thresholds” to write a piece for their upcoming Ten Reasons: a series that will focus on why therapists chose to integrate their faith as part of their therapy work. It was timely, as I have felt these past …

Switching allegiance

Last week I shared some thoughts on the initial feedback offered by my kalyanamitra on my book manuscript . Crystal asked how my book could itself provide ‘spiritual friendship’ to other aspirants looking to bring together psychological and spiritual journeying. This week I wanted to share a second suggestion from Crystal: to consider the ending …

holiday blues

Back to reality

For as long as I have been writing a blog, each September I say how much more of a “new year” it feels compared to January. September is a transition month for me: return from holiday, but not quite back in to the full flow. When I turned the key in the lock of my …

pinot in pain

Looking on with mixed feelings

Having spent some time recently putting in place a structure to create (and protect) space for my book project, today was the first of several whole days I had planned for dedicated, intensive writing. Ordinarily, this project will be based upon consistent ‘bite sized chunks’: a rate of 500 – 700 words per week and …

bridge over troubled water

Bridge over troubled water

Last week I shared how I had taken the Bodhisattva Vow while on retreat. It is the second vow on the Buddhist path, one that takes a practitioner in to a second ‘vehicle’ (or ‘yana’) and switches focus from working on self to working on self-in-relation-to-others. As a relational therapist, this is in so many …

looking out to sea

Taking the leap

I’ve just got back from a 9 day retreat out in the US at a beautiful conference centre near Maine, New England located right on the Atlantic Ocean. When I say ‘right’, the ocean lapped to the shore just 50m from the meditation hall. An amazing and consistent reminder to awareness to rest and come …

meditation

So what is this thing called mindfulness?

As a mindfulness meditation instructor, I often get questions regarding this new ‘go to cure’ that is mindfulness. Even the government have jumped on the mindfulness wave here in the UK; and there has even been a slow shift in favour toward mindfulness based therapies over the previous NHS treatment of choice Cognitive Behavioural Therapy…a fine victory …