“Ask yourself if you are happy and you cease to be so.” So said the nineteenth century philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill. Give it a go! As soon as we go to look for it, it proves illusive. Even if we were in some moment of real joy. How […]
embodiment
When we learn to watch our mind, we see just how much distraction it offers us. It is like we are forever open to stumbling from the path as when we walk on unsafe ground. Loud noises, assertive others, physical sensation, bright shiny objects; the list is without end. Each […]
So what is choosing EI all about? I have often written about how Mindfulness lies at the heart of my work, well at the heart of the heart is Emotional Intelligence (EI). There is a great quote from Victor Frankl which outlines the intrinsic benefit within EI, “in between the […]
So why music as meditation? The other evening, I was listening to a piece of music that I never fail to be deeply moved by and started to think of music as a meditation. For the record, the piece: the second movement of Beethoven’s 7th symphony. For me a passage […]
This is a copy of a Facebook post from my "The Mindful Horse" page during the days of Covid-19. I received so many messages of thanks and gratitude for the share that I decided after deliberation to share it here too. I hope that it is equally appreciated. A FEW […]
Outside-in or Inside-out is a reflection on how we see ourselves and our mind. And further, our relationship with what goes on there within. As someone delivering regularly around the topic of mindfulness I am frequently expressing the idea that we are not our thoughts, any more than we are […]
What is Keeping Einstein in the moment? Well the idea here is curiosity, let me explain..... There is more to mind than The Mind and learning transcends being taught. The idea that learning is not simply an exercise in logic or linguistics has always seemed intuitively appropriate, even if we […]
I was listening recently to a podcast by scholar Joseph Goldstein. He talks about the discourses of Buddha as being invitations not instructions, as a conversation not a philosophical exposition (“Insight Hour, episode 53). In more common parlance, “here is an idea, go and try it out”. This subtle distinction […]
I wanted to talk about The Path of The Mindful Horse, what is this? Well it brings together my learning and personal practice over the last 10 years. I have talked about this path before, but with a little more breathing space I realise that this path is also my […]
I guess we are all seeking the authentic. But would we know it if we found it? Those of us who deliver Equine Assisted or Facilitated work often talk about the horse seeing us as our authentic selves. Not the titles or positions, not our qualifications or religions, not our […]