Posts tagged with 'meditation'
Meditation - why bother?
5th February 2026
I've been feeling for a while that my meditation practice has become a bit 'routine'. I sit 'meditating' with Catero, my wife, most mornings for about 15 minutes and then, over the course of the day, I typically 'sprinkle in' another three or so brief walking meditation practices. It's fine. …
The 5 minute 'Health' read - Background
8th January 2024
I read a fair amount of research and thought some people might be interested in recent studies that I've found helpful. I plan to write a brief approximately 1,200 word (5 minute read) newsletter/blog post pretty much every week, highlighting helpful material that has emerged in the previous couple of …
Positive psychology and psychedelics: possible synergies
22nd June 2022
I gave a talk today about Positive Psychology and suggested a couple of areas where there could be helpful synergies with psychedelics. Here is the full downloadable talk and below are a few of the slides ... initially just below are the first three: I've written in the past about …
Breathing
15th June 2022
"As you breathe in, cherish yourself. As you breathe out, cherish all beings." Dalai Lama "When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love." Marcus Aurelius I'm a member of a Book Group. We …
Compassion, wisdom & wellbeing: an 8 week training
1st November 2017
A good friend & I have just been sorting out the practical details of running an 8 week course together on "Compassion, wisdom & wellbeing", starting in January. Some aspects still need to be tweaked, but the basic publicity information runs like this: "If you want others to be happy, …
Upgrading the 'breathing space' meditation, some research-based suggestions (4th post): compassion & implementation intentions
17th October 2017
This is the fourth & last post in the sequence that starts with "Upgrading the 'breathing space' meditation, some research-based suggestions (1st post): mindfulness & naming" and then goes on to "Upgrading the 'breathing space' meditation ... (2nd post): touch & affectionate releasing" & "Upgrading the 'breathing space' meditation, some …
Balanced meditation practice: an overview
22nd May 2017
Taking our attention inwards can be done helpfully in so many ways. We can relax; we can be mindfully aware; we can use visualisations; we can deeply savour present time experience; we can process difficulties from our pasts or prepare ourselves for challenges in the future. There are so many …
Mindful self-compassion: affectionate breathing meditation
18th May 2017
I'm just back from a five day Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) retreat in Iceland with Chris Germer & Christine Brahler. MSC teaches a whole host of meditation practices, with three underlined as core meditations. These three are Affectionate Breathing, Loving-Kindness for Ourselves, and Giving & Receiving Compassion. In this post I …
Upgrading the 'breathing space' meditation, some research-based suggestions (3rd post): embodied values
16th May 2017
I have already written a couple of blog posts "Upgrading the 'breathing space' meditation, some research-based suggestions (1st post): mindfulness & naming" and "Upgrading the 'breathing space' meditation, some research-based suggestions (2nd post): touch & affectionate releasing" where we have taken our attention inwards, noting & naming our internal state/our …
Upgrading the 'breathing space' meditation, some research-based suggestions (2nd post): touch & affectionate releasing
15th May 2017
I recently wrote a blog post "Upgrading the 'breathing space' meditation, some research-based suggestions (1st post): mindfulness & naming" where I commented that if the thousands of recent research papers on mindfulness, emotion regulation & related subjects couldn't help us improve on the helpfulness of brief meditation practices, then science …