We share the same world as our pets, yet we do not perceive the same reality. Both cats and dogs have only 20 per cent of the cone photo-receptor cells of humans, meaning they can only see the colours blue and yellow. All other colours are shades of grey. Dogs and cats also can’t focus on far distant objects. If...
Latest Blog Posts
How we can best help our pet in the seven weeks after death
The weeks leading up to and after the death of a beloved animal companion can be very difficult. In my new book, Buddhism for Pet Lovers, I provide a full account of how we can best help our pet through the most important transition of their life. Here, I’d like to share a passage about how we can best be...
Try this experiment: be mindfully present for your pet
I am happy to share the following excerpt from my new book, Buddhism for Pet Lovers. Sometimes, even the most warm-hearted pet lovers need to be gently reminded that communicating with other sentient beings is a two way street. We may be very good at talking to our pets, but how much do we listen? I hope you find the following...
How our pets have a capacity for spiritual growth
I am pleased to share some of the key themes explored in my book, Buddhism for Pet Lovers. These short excerpts provide a flavour of the book as a whole – I hope you find them helpful! It is my heartfelt wish that this book may be a cause for many people to enjoy deeper and richer relationships with their animal...
Buddhism for Pet Lovers. Read the introduction here!
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 apologies that the quality of...
Mindfulness as a pathway to live like a millionaire
In the Epilogue of my book, Why Mindfulness is Better than Chocolate, I reprise a few insights about the benefits of living more mindfully. I hope you find these useful! Warm wishes, David Epilogue There’s a story I like about a New York merchant banker who goes on vacation to an idyllic seaside village in the Caribbean. After a few...
Quick Video Update on The Dalai Lama’s Cat Movie!
Hi Blog Readers, I’m just back from a visit to London where I met up with The Dalai Lama’s Cat Movie team. What a great group of people and it’s wonderful how well everyone gets along! I know a lot of you are as excited as I am about the movie, and are keen to know what’s happening with it. ...
Introducing the fresh, new edition of Buddhism for Busy People
Dear Blog Readers, I am thrilled to let you know that Shambhala Publications, the world’s leading publisher of Buddhist books, has decided to bring out a new edition of Buddhism for Busy People. First published in Australia in 2004 and USA in 2008, my very first book about Buddhism has had a momentum beyond anything I ever imagined, continuing to be published around the world not...
What happens to our mind when we go into nature?
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 what if we were to...
Too busy for a spiritual life? Don’t sell yourself short!
From time to time we read stories in the media about incredibly successful, high-flying, workaholic uber-achievers, who thrive on relentless deadlines, travel, stress etc, usually getting by on all of 4 hours sleep a night. You can do it too, seems to be the subliminal message. Perhaps even you should do it. If you have an ounce of backbone, entrepreneurial...
Can suffering ever be useful?
I’d like to respond to this very important question by sharing some ancient symbols with fascinating associations from East and West. I first came across the idea of alchemy as a teenager. I think we were studying a Shakespeare play where there was a reference to medieval chemists trying to turn base metals into gold. At the time I thought of the whole thing as a...
Do you manage your thoughts? Or do your thoughts manage you? Two strategies that help.
Whether we are aware of it or not, we are all Thought Managers. Whatever other job title we may temporarily have – Fire Station Superintendent, Chief Executive Officer, mother – our permanent job, the one we’ve had since birth and will have till the day we die, is Thought Manager. The job of any manager is to marshal whatever resources...
