When I was growing up, Dr Dolittle wasn’t so much my hero as my role model! Just like him, I could think of nothing better than to be able to talk to the animals, walk with the animals and chatter to a chimp in chimpanzee! Much later in life, my boyhood dreams well behind me,...
A while back I had one of those ‘catching up on the last ten years’ phone calls with a friend who lives in Germany. Jacqui is amazing, amusing and vivacious, a woman of great inner and outer beauty. She had a successful modelling career in South Africa, where we met, as well as in Europe after...
One of the most stress-inducing ideas, when we’re crazy busy, is the one that we just don’t have time to relax. We’d love to push back for a while. In fact, we’re desperate for it. But we put the idea out of our mind because we’ve still got a pile of work to get through,...
One of the most predictable outcomes of any meditation program is that several months afterwards, most people who attended will not be meditating. This may seem a bleak assessment. And although it’s based on personal experience, it is by no means my experience alone. According to Joshua Smythe, a biobehavioral scientist at Pennsylvania State University,...
I’d like to share a chapter from my book Hurry Up and Meditate which explores this intriguing question. I hope you find it useful! Since ancient times, the wisdom of self-knowledge has been held above all other. Some believe that it is the real purpose of our life’s journey. In ancient Greece, when seekers visited the Temple at...
Buddhism is a non-theistic tradition. Whether or not it can be termed a religion is debatable—the etymology of the word ‘religion’ refers to God. Many of us think of Buddhism as a practice-based psychology rather than a belief-based religion. Nevertheless, Buddhism has some of the outward trappings of a religion, such as temples, iconography, prayers...
For the past few years it has been my very great privilege and joy to lead groups of people on Mindful Safaris to Africa. On these trips we combine daily meditation sessions in nature, along with game viewing. None of us has any idea what will happen from one day to the next, but the...
Resonance is a fascinating concept, especially for those who practise meditation–mantra recitation in particular. The term offers a possible explanation for how memory and habit become engrained in nature. It has been shown that actions undertaken in the past become easier and more effective for different living beings to carry out in the future. For...
I am delighted to share the Introduction of my book, Buddhism for Pet Lovers: Supporting Our Closest Companions through Life and Death. This chapter sets the scene for a book that is very close to my heart. In this blog I have also included in a few very personal photos from the family archives – my...
For most of us, the opportunity to spend time in the natural world is rare and fleeting. If we are fortunate, we may enjoy regular walks in the park or by the sea. We may get out of town on the occasional weekend. The very lucky get to go on Mindful Safari to Africa! But...
