We love our minds and the development thereof. Our jobs require less hard labour and has mostly become office bound. We are expected to use our minds intelligently to get the job done. This often leads us to neglect our bodies and emotions. We forget that our emotions are also housed in our brains. And…
The other day I was scanning through a magazine when my eye caught an advert which immediately took me back five years to when I attended an Imago workshop in Stellenbosch that had changed my life irrevocably. Recently I again met Francois Esterhuizen, an Imago therapist, motivational speaker and mentor based in Stellenbosch, to reminisce…
Our society has become one of speed. “Being busy” is our natural state and “productivity” our highest virtue. We are always racing from the one task to the next. Fortunately, however, more and more people are waking up to the effects of our excessive busyness. And there is definitely a need for more stillness in…
I mentioned in Part 1 that what we suppress works like a pendulum: the more we push it to the one side, the further it will swing to the other. Here is an example. Think of a person who grows up in a home where there is barely enough money for food. This can lead…
Have you ever felt that you are being overwhelmed by a racing mind or that your head is full of thoughts all screaming for attention? Do you go over the same things again and again – your responsibilities and the many things you must still do; your fears and your concerns. Do you seek solutions…
Something I really enjoyed while at a retreat in KwaZulu-Natal in May 2014 (read the full story here) was mindful eating. I am not referring to a floating Buddha with a few soup bowls balancing on his head. Rather, we received hearty, home-cooked vegetarian meals. However, at certain meals we practised noble silence; we spoke…
The world is full of trends. Pick up a magazine and you will know that Kissell plaited coats and fisherman sweaters are quite popular for winter right now. Although I have no particular objection to Kissell, I’ve just never been a big fan of trends. Trends, to me, seem a bit mindless. Something you do…
Have you ever got lost? If you travel you may be familiar with the experience of wanting to return to your hotel (or campsite!) and suddenly not knowing where you are. This is being literally and physically lost. There is also another kind . . . If you are like me, you may like to…
Becoming still will be a rather frightening experience at first. You may find that you lack the ability and that you struggle. You may feel like a child learning to walk and you are going to stumble. I imagine being unable to be still is rather like losing or never having had the ability to…
In May 2014, on the verge of burnout, I decided to quit my job as a book editor in search of a healthier, more fulfilling venture. This did not happen suddenly. Four months earlier I was at a Simon’s Town beach, drifting on the clear, still water while I watched the clouds roll by. I…