Do you have trouble staying present and being in the moment? I do. The nature of the mind makes it akin to the monkey jumping from branch to branch, tree to tree, hence it is often refered to as the monkey mind. By being distracted by thoughts about the past or the future we simply miss the now and the truth is there is only now. The past is gone, the future hasnt happend so apart from the day to day planning that we all need to do there is no benefit from ruminating in things gone by or what we perceive may happen in the future. Living in the Now takes practice and perseverence. I can do it for a short while but have lots more practice to come. When I do manage to stay present life is less worrying and much more enjoyable. I am learning to even be okay with things that I dont like so much and would prefer not to happen. The way to do this is to not take life so personally, meaning that not everything is about us, it simply is a series of moments that we label good or bad.  A...

 There is nothing like the death of a loved one to remind us to live life now while we can. Recently one of my grandsons died while riding his motorbike. He loved the adrenaline of  riding fast, jumping out of aeroplanes and living life on the edge. He was 28 yrs old when he died. A short life that reminds me and all of us to live life  while we can. I don't advocate living it quite like he did but in my case I have lived more life than there is left to live. Now in my seventies death doesn't seem that far away and I dont feel like I have lived my best life yet. I think about death not in a morbid way but in a factual way. The fact is every living being including humans, die. There is no escape we all have to face our own mortality. I believe in life after death on the spiritual plane but I am still human and have to face the reality of the perceived loss of love and life. Human emotions being what they are take us by suprise sometimes and the depth of loss isn't always u...

 I am in a state of reflection at the moment. With my third poetry book called Heart & Soul about to be published by Deep Read Press I have formulated my writing aspirations for this year. I have written little, other than poetry for a while, but now can see the completion of some other projects coming to fruition this year.  Unlike some writers I find I cannot sit and write daily, rather I wait until inspiration hits. It can be months before something more comes to mind and indeed I have been in somewhat of a writing drought for over a year. At different times over the past year I wondered if my next spiritual book would ever get written at all but ideas have started to flow so this year I have dedicated myself to finishing it and other things. Reflection is a deep part of my life, I often contemplate rather than meditate, it seems to work better for me that way. In a sense I am a loner, needing much time to myself to work out what life is all about and what it means for ...

 I want to say Happy New Year and I do wish it for you all but I am mindful of the deep unrest in parts of our world where thousands won't have food, shelter or safety. These are three basic needs that we all share. I cannot imagine living in such a nightmare situation. While I acknowledge this I am deeply grateful for all the good fortune that I have where those basic needs are met and others besides.  For me this New Year symbolises a new beginning, one where I intend to be the best version of myself. My intentions are to be more open hearted, loving and kind. To value my gifts that can be used to serve others, whatever they may be. I am still unpacking what I have to offer and instead of falling into the imposter syndrome, I intend to value and honour myself more and take more risks even if it means failing.  I hope to be brave enough to take opportunities as they arise rather than fall into the ego narrative that I am not "good enough" or dont measure up to the task. ...

 The law of attraction brings us always what we focus on, so rather than being at the mercy of old belief systems and programming remember that as Spiritual beings we are all Creators. You can either create wonderful things or chaos. Whatever you focus on becomes your reality, so focus on positive and empowering things and create an amazing reality for yourself.  I know it is hard to change how we think but if we don't how can we expect anything different to come into our lives. It is challenging to question what has been burned into our minds about who and what we are but the true power of the mind is that it can be changed with practice and dedication to wanting to have  better outcomes. Life will always bring us challenges but with a creator mind we can get through them with strength and resilience. Most of what we believe about ourselves comes from what we have been told by other people and what we have told ourselves about who we are based on past experiences. Don't ...

 Does comparing yourself to others make you feel better or worse? The answer most probably is both better and worse, depending on the day and how you feel. If you compare yourself to someone you think is more clever, more beautiful/handsome, more financially secure or simply more, more more.....then the answer will be that you feel worse. If you feel superior to others then the answer is that you will feel better. The question is though, how long do you feel better or worse for? Either way your ego will need to reinforce the belief that you have imbedded into your consciousness in order to keep it in place. You will also seek out people who reinforce what you believe about yourself albeit subconsciously. Your worth does not rely on what others think about you, though you and I both know that basically we all seek validation from others to make us feel worthwhile in some way. That is of course unless you/we have understood that whatever anyone else says, thinks or believes about you...