🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter 🧘♂️When “I should meditate” becomes “I did” There is a particular kind of frustration that comes from knowing something would probably be good for us, while also not quite doing it. Meditation often sits in this category. Here's how to make that first step smaller, easier and much more doable. “A small daily task, if it really be daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.” — Anthony Trollope Dear Reader Almost everyone is “interested” in...
14 days ago • 6 min read
🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter 😁 The happiness we keep overlooking—the delight of being. We spend much of our lives searching for happiness in what we can do, achieve or acquire. Yet mindfulness gently reveals that there is another source of wellbeing that has been quietly available all along—the simple delight of being. "The little things? The little moments? They aren't little." — Jon Kabat-Zinn Dear Reader As human beings, we have an extraordinary capacity to experience pleasure....
21 days ago • 6 min read
🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter ⚓ When life feels heavy — lighten your load Sometimes life can feel heavy. We may feel trapped by circumstances, weighed down by uncertainty, or caught in experiences we never asked for. Yet mindfulness offers a surprising paradox: perhaps freedom does not come from escaping these moments, but from meeting them with compassion, courage and wisdom. "I am 83 years old, I will die. The cause of death is birth. The only real things in life are food and love,...
28 days ago • 7 min read
🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter 💗When difficult emotions show up, try this Sometimes the most difficult part of meditation is not becoming aware of what we are feeling. It is knowing what to do when we find it. This week we explore RAIN, a simple yet powerful mindfulness practice that can help us meet difficult thoughts and emotions with greater awareness, kindness, and understanding. "The simple act of bringing attention to our experience is itself transformative."— Tara Brach Dear...
about 1 month ago • 8 min read
🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter 🔧What if nothing about you needs fixing? Beyond the mental health benefits, mindfulness and meditation can deeply enhance our feelings of connectedness, to ourselves, others and life. "Compassion is simply the wish that things be different. Compassion is the wish to give love and attention to that which hurts." — Sharon Salzberg Dear Reader Meditation is one of the most effective practices we have for supporting mental health and wellbeing. Research shows...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter ✋The five foundations of mindfulness (that can quietly change your life) We may be familiar with mindfulness but not be acquainted with the traditional “five foundations” that sit beneath it. These foundations offer a practical way of understanding how mindfulness actually works in daily life. They help us recognise our reactions more clearly, understand the mind more deeply, and become more aware of the habits and patterns shaping our experience. Far from...
2 months ago • 6 min read
🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter ⏳ Why meditation cannot be forced. There are certain things in life we naturally move toward. Not because we are told we should, but because something within us quietly responds to them. Meditation is like this. Less a discipline imposed from the outside, and more a gentle attraction toward something meaningful, true, and deeply nourishing. “We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Dear Reader The way of meditation works...
2 months ago • 7 min read
🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter 💪 Most people overcomplicate resilience. This is simpler. We often think resilience is something we need to find when life gets hard. In reality, it is something we build quietly, in the background, through small daily choices. “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” — Joseph Campbell Dear Reader There are a lot of challenges in life. No matter who we are and what our background is, we have ups...
2 months ago • 7 min read
🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter 💗 What if your sensitivity is actually your strength? There is a quiet strength in our ability to feel. Our softness, our sensitivity, the very things we are often taught to question, are also what allow us to be connected, responsive and alive. Rather than something to overcome, they may be something to come home to. “To be human is to feel deeply, and to feel deeply is to risk being changed.” — Mark Nepo Dear Reader As human beings, we are naturally soft...
3 months ago • 6 min read