There’s something sobering about watching a small child toss aside a half-opened Christmas present in the hope of finding a more instantly gratifying one in the pile beneath it. Or observing an office manager remove a festive hamper from reception with a frown that seems to say ‘Not another delivery of shortbread and Chardonnay!’ Every year at this time, perhaps...
Latest Blog Posts
Why meditating affects you physically
Meditation has so many physical benefits that even Homer Simpson would be keen to benefit from them, if only he could get off the sofa. I’ve already blogged about some of these (http://davidmichie.com/what-are-the-main-physical-benefits-of-meditation/). But why does meditation affect you physically? How is it that, by attaching the seat of your pants to the seat of a chair, and focusing your...
The Benefits of Mindful Safari in Africa
A recent study conducted by Harvard University Psychology Department showed that 47% of the time we are not thinking about what they are doing. Instead we are in what neuro-scientists call a ‘narrative state’ – i.e. lost in thought, as opposed to the ‘direct state,’ when we attend to our senses. More interestingly, there is a direct correlation between thinking...
Try this fascinating tool to check your own subconscious beliefs
Here’s a fascinating exercise to try out this weekend. I recently blogged about the challenges we face when our conscious goals are sabotaged by our subconscious minds (http://davidmichie.com/is-your-subconscious-mind-sabotaging-your-conscious-goals/) Part of our dilemma, when we’re unable to follow through with an objective we have consciously set ourselves – whether it is to start to meditate; to eat more healthily; to curb...
Is your subconscious mind sabotaging your conscious goals?
Have you ever wondered why you can’t seem to follow through with certain goals you set yourself? Some goals may come easily, but there may be others that, no matter how keen your intentions, you just can’t seem to deliver on them? As a meditation coach, I’m acutely aware that many newcomers experience the same, very simple challenge: they just...
Read the Prologue and Chapter One of The Magician of Lhasa
PROLOGUE Tenzin Dorje (pronounced Ten-zin Door-jay) Zheng-po Monastery, Tibet March 1959 I am alone in the sacred stillness of the temple, lighting butter lamps at the Buddha’s feet, when I first realize that something is very wrong. “Tenzin Dorje!” Startled, I turn to glimpse the spare frame of my teacher, silhouetted briefly at the far door. “My room. Immediately!”...
Mindfulness at Work Seminar: Perth, 12 December 2014
Challenges At Work The challenges we face at work are unprecedented and multiplying. They include technological advancements demanding immediate, round-the-clock responsiveness; increasingly onerous regulation, tougher performance measurements; unprecedented volatility in our external environments and the constant need to do more with less. These challenges are not insurmountable. But they do require a new approach. Sustained stress is enough reason to...
Is meditation the same as hypnosis?
This question sometimes comes up at seminars and is one that interests me having trained as a hypnotherapist before I came to meditation. Since I was a boy I was fascinated by the way that hypnosis provides direct access to the subconscious mind. And so, some years ago while living in London, I learned a few of the techniques in...
What can we learn from Near Death Experiences?
Near Death Experiences, or NDEs, have always been with us, but in the past 30 years as resuscitation techniques have become much more effective – especially after heart attacks – reports of NDEs have become more widespread. The sheer volume of cases has given rise to significant research by eminent medical specialists and researchers such as Raymond Moody, Kenneth Ring,...
Read the first chapter of The Dalai Lama’s Cat!
Prologue The idea came about one sunny Himalaya morning. There I was, lying in my usual spot on the broad, first floor windowsill, the perfect vantage from which to maintain maximum surveillance with minimum effort, as His Holiness was bringing a private audience to a close. I’m far too discreet to mention who the audience was with, except...
Come home to yourself on Mindful Safari
Being born in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia), both the landscapes and animals of Africa were normal, even ordinary to me when I was growing up. We didn’t have herds of elephants wandering through the garden. But nor did we have to drive very far out of town to see them, along with the other ‘Big Five’ game animals – lion, leopard,...
What is the business case for meditation?
In the words of Clare Goodman, my business partner at Organisational Mindfulness most of us aren’t employed for our good looks. We’re employed for our minds. But how many of us consciously seek out ways to optimise our most important asset? (For more about OM see: www.organisationalmindfulness.com) Seems pretty obvious when it’s put that way. And organisations around the...