Cool Thoughts In A Cool Shade

I must confess I always breathe a sigh of relief when Christmas is over. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the festivities and all that goes with it, but the run-up never fails to take me by surprise, so I greet Christmas slightly exhausted and definitely stressed. How and why...

For most of us, New Year Resolutions don’t do what we intend them to do. They do work – but usually they work in a negative way to make us feel bad that we haven’t achieved them. So stuff the resolutions! Boo hiss!! “They’re behind you!” I say in my...

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there were people whose lives were closely monitored by the gods that created their environment. The gods were benevolent and kindly, but they made the land stony and rough to traverse. Everywhere the people went they encountered stones and boulders and...

These words seem to be constantly echoed on the TV, radio, newspapers and magazines, especially at this time of year when it is traditional to think about resolutions that will improve our lives, our health and our happiness. HOLD ON say I. Our focus on these issues should not be...

Ragwort has been attempting to colonise Kent. And anyone that keeps or cares for horses knows that Ragwort is poisonous and needs to be dug up and burned if found in the vicinity of their grazing. This year it seemed that Ragwort had declared war on us and I’ve never...

I don’t think we do Spring Cleaning in the way it was done years ago. I remember a lovely great aunt, indeed the wonderful lady who rescued my mother and brought her up (that’s a story in itself), who did it all the traditional way. She lived in a very...

Whales have endeared themselves to many people as we have learned more about their incredible intelligence. We marvel at their majestic movements. Whale ‘song’ is listened to as an aid to relaxation and meditation. Now we know something else that separates them from all other mammals except humans. Whales of...

We have 60 – 100,000 thoughts per day and I believe that everything starts with a thought. With so many thoughts we can’t hold on to them all or consciously process more than a fraction of them, but they can still have an impact on our feelings. If we accept...

You’ve probably never heard of Benjamin Libet, but his name is now engraved on my memory. Benjamin Libet is the scientist who inspired a new technique for working with fears and phobias, PTSD and many different kinds of unwanted and inhibiting negative psychological states. His scientific findings have led to...

Unusually for me I was watching the England v South Africa rugby match with a group of friends on a large flat-screen tv. I’m not usually a follower of team sports, but I got into the spirit of the game as I was surrounded by enthusiastic fans. I had to...

We’re all clued up when it comes to self-help. We know the benefits of slow, deep breathing, the benefits of yoga and yoga Nidra, the benefits of meditation and the benefits of healthy exercise. But what have they all got in common that helps us to take control of our...