‘Somewhere a lightbulb flashed and fired me up, yesterday…’ ‘ . . .and I haven’t been able to stop since.’ A friend of mine ignored me for a few minutes, and carried on sketching something…. Read More
The sudden electric flash
Posts in Core life skills
The mind-body link
When people go to hospital or visit their doctors it is often because of physical symptoms. For some physical problems the diagnosis and treatment is clear. For example, if you have a broken leg your… Read More
On the final departure of Queen Elizabeth II
Hearing the news was accidental. I could easily have missed it – I don’t listen to the news much. My son was sitting next to me – he got a message from a class friend… Read More
Why modern monks still revere a 19th century female british educationalist
More importantly, why would I be grateful to her too? What Miss Margaret Noble did was to start a school for young women in Kolkata at the behest of Swami Vivekananda, a monk of the… Read More
The practice of ‘calling the mind back’.
The practice of calling the mind back, when it has wandered off somewhere is called ‘pratyahara’ in Patanjali’s yoga sutras, an ancient work on how to meditate for the purposes of spiritual advancement. We know… Read More
We can’t make connections with individuals if we don’t pay attention to the detail
‘So, tell me before I set off, what goes with what?’ I was putting out a few plates of food for people about to arrive and an old friend came into the kitchen and asked… Read More
Creativity goes well with self awareness and Empathy
Everyone in your workplace expects you to have brilliant ideas on a rolling basis, once you have had one good idea, put it into practice, and it worked. What you need to do after that… Read More
Heralding a change in science
As I write this book about paying attention, science is about to change. How is it changing ? In science we observe, with a theory in mind. Then we write down what the theory predicts… Read More
Why words matter, and what it has to do with paying attention
Apparently, people at POLITICO don’t know the difference between these two words. It is a shame, because so much in politics rests on this capacity for detachment. We need better educated, more experienced editors, who… Read More
What has your attention got to do with your mental health?
EVERYTHING. Where you choose to pay attention makes the difference between whether you manage your life, or your thoughts, feelings, memories and desires manage to overwhelm you into doing things which on reflection you would… Read More