I was given privileged access to the Ards Friary Walled Garden in Ards, County Donegal during a one-week stay with the Capuchin contemplative community. Brother Ade brought another man and me through the five-acre land one day and it was a sheer delight in discovering its secrets. After the initial visit, Ade gave me a loan of the keys letting me wander around on my own. I felt like I was given permission to a secret paradise.
Continue reading “Keys to a secret garden”A deeply peaceful Christmas
A mental health professional recently told me that while most people have their ups and downs in life, they don’t normally have to worry about being unbalanced. It got me thinking… if people don’t really worry about being unbalanced, do they care enough to be deeply balanced?
I had good reason to explore deep peace and balance in my own life as I participated in an 8-week wellness course organised by Aware, the Irish mental health organisation. Here are eight tips I learned from the course. I believe they may help us all live well this holiday season:
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Taming our ox-mind
In this video, I share a personal experience of anxiety and connect with a common humanity of stress and suffering. I summarise important points from psychological research and highlight a contemplative story about the journey of a boy with his ox. I also offer an image of autumn that speaks of renewal and positive change.
Continue reading “Taming our ox-mind”Flourishing in the face of anxiety
Sadly, few of us know what it is like to be in harmony with our minds. We are so often subject to our thoughts, feelings, and impulses. We get dragged around as if by an ox, when it is the ox that ought to be following us.
Thankfully, there are ways to ‘tame our ox-mind’ as we transition back to ordinary living. One is to separate unproductive worry from productive worry. In the case of someone who is returning to the office on a regular basis, unproductive worry focuses on the ‘what ifs’.
Continue reading “Flourishing in the face of anxiety”Facing anxiety of the ‘new normal’
Have you recently noticed a nervousness in the air? Something you may not have been aware of before? We may feel tension in our bodies as we try to live in a ‘new normal’ world. There may be a tightness in our heads, chests and bellies as we return to our physical work buildings and meet our colleagues or go shopping again on a busy street or socialise more with our friends.
Research shows that even positive change can lead to anxiety, and it can take time to readjust to things we have not done for a while. Although feelings of post-lockdown anxiety are likely to pass, it’s important to take care of our mental health.
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Mutuality meditation
A six-minute stillness exercise expressing our thoughts and feelings toward a person we are having difficulty with. An invitation to a reciprocal warmhearted relationship.
Continue reading “Mutuality meditation”A time to heal
Our job is to move away from the inner critic or inner condemner and move toward divine love and compassion.
We all have a desire to be happy and free from depression, anxiety and trauma symptoms. These challenges were particularly common during the intense period of the pandemic, and many of us continue to struggle with its residue.
Continue reading “A time to heal”The power of outstretched hands
Do you ever find yourself getting stuck in negativity after a challenging interaction? Or perhaps you’re not conscious of your inner dialogue but find that you dip in mood afterwards? I had the opportunity to face such demons head on with a kind hearted and wise man.
Like the open-armed statue of Francis of Assisi at Ards Friary in County Donegal, I’ve been able to let go over the last couple of weeks. I’ve let go of my plans, I’ve let go of my dreams, and I’ve let go of my stress for something much bigger and warmer.
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Loveliness in the Haze
Can you embrace uncertainty? I invite you to ponder a fundamental question on self-compassion based on personal experience of finding beauty in the confusion. It may help you navigate the haze as you partly transition back into your physical workspace.
Continue reading “Loveliness in the Haze”Giving voice to the elderly
Can we imagine feeling alone, unappreciated, forgotten, with the news of peers dying from Covid-19?
A new toolkit is being promoted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to help older people during the pandemic. Called Living with the Times, it contains five illustrated posters with key messages on how to maintain their wellbeing, while supporting those around them at the same time.
Poster four encourages older people to get help if they need it. It shows several colourful scenes with a person or group of people doing the following:
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Gratitude In All Things 