…and how to break it
If you feel stuck, bored or depressed for no apparent reason then maybe you need to change your perspective on life. The Hindu concept of the River of Life is one that I find both comforting and compelling. Come with me on a trip to the river … Picture a beautiful river. The sun is…
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I am a massive procrastinator. I love nothing more than to drink coffee, eat biscuits and plan stuff. Could do it for days! Trouble is, if you actually want to get shit done then this bad habit can really stand in the way of your goals. I have a super easy meditation technique to help procrastinators…
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All hail Gabrielle Aplin for her amazing songs, her breath taking voice and now her openess about ADHD. I have been working with Gabrielle since she first started in music around 8 years ago. We have written songs together and I have engineered on her albums. But this week we decided to do a different…
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You can try solving your problems by asking your friends, your family or your partner’s opinions. Am I a fun person? Do I drink too much? Am I good enough? Do hats suit me? But are you actually looking for honesty or is it reassurance you’re after? If it’s real personal growth you seek then stop…
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At the heart of mindfulness is the belief that we are not our thoughts. Our minds are distinct and separate from our ‘inner self’ or our ‘voice of calm’. We can see the mind as a puppy, which needs to be trained in a non judgmental, loving but firm way. Can you make yours walk…
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The weather is complete shite today – rain, rain and more rain. On a grey day like today I really need a boost – I need my happy list: a short menu of easy, mindful activities I love. Sounds simple doesn’t it. But wait! The art of happiness is in part maintaining our contentment levels day…
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Ah, Hare Krishna, it’s episode 6 of The Voice of Calm Podcast, how marvellous. This week is all about karma, good intentions, self realisation and, weirdly, Avengers End Game! When I was a kid, growing up in Ipswich, my auntie told me not to take sweets from the ‘Hare Krishnas’ because they had drugs in…
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The short answer to this question is yes, the Muse 2 meditation headband is really that good! For the long answer, keep reading… If you meditate then you will be familiar with this little snippet of internal dialogue… Ohmmm…. deeeep inhale…. long exhale… aaand inhale….. exhale….Calming and soothing breathing, clearing my mind ….. Meditating’s great.…
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I work with a lot of creative people and without exception the most successful creators I know are those most unafraid of failure. The terrifying spectre of failure can loom over us like the grim reaper, exhaling garlic breath all over our cool ideas. But what if, instead of running from it, we embrace failure?…
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Whether you are writing a script, a report for your boss, creating a piece of art or just planning a party theme, you need your A game. Mindfulness techniques have helped me push past both overwhelm and writers block many times. Here are 5 super easy mindfulness hacks to improve your creativity and stop you…
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Do you dream of starting your own business doing something you feel passionate about? Are you doing a job you just about tolerate but you don’t know what you should be doing instead? Maybe you are ready to return to work after years of parenting. Well, don’t get too focused on following your passion because…
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I love colouring things in, making lists and tracking my habits. If you are the same then bullet journalling was made for you! It’s fun, easy and encourages mindfulness and mental wellbeing. Here’s how you do it. Buy an empty journal with a dotted or square grid. I bought one like this from Moleskin. It…
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As part of Esther The Golden-Doodle’s Lessons in Mindfulness we will be looking at every day techniques for staying mindful. Today it’s driving mindfully. Vroooom! Have you ever driven somewhere and when you arrived at your destination you had absolutely no recollection of the journey? You know you got there safely because you and your…
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So, I was in my kitchen this morning, trying to meditate but my dog had other ideas. Little did I know that Esther, my golden-doodle was trying to teach me a very valuable lesson in mindfulness! I sat at the island, on a bar stool, my back straight, eyes closed, breathing deeply and evenly, allowing…
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It’s sunny, there are snowdrops in my garden and I feel all spring like! So I thought we’d do a bit of colour therapy together. It’s February and although spring feels close, we need colour and we need it now. So, here are 5 colourful ways to bring joy into your day. Buy Cut Flowers…
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Type ‘life journal’ into a search engine and you will be presented with an array of beautifully bound books, which claim to help you achieve your goals and make your existence more rewarding: Big Life Journal, My Goals, Daily Greatness, Get Your Sh*t Together Journal. But the truth is that life journals make you unhappy.…
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We all have an inner Voice of Calm: an unconditionally loving, non-judging, eternally wise voice that has all the answers. Here’s how I discovered mine. When I decided to live happily ever after without alcohol in my life I started to hear voices in my head. My macaw Atticus does sound like a demented old…
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Has dreaming of big success left you feeling like a constant failure? We have become obsessed with achieving our goals but how is that working out for us? (WARNING: This post contains Miley Cyrus and S-Club-7 lyrics.) So you have a dream and you want it more than anything else in the world. If you were…
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I woke up this morning and looked at yellowing leaves on the trees and suddenly thought, “I feel great! Well done to me. I am nailing winter like a boss!” Then I realised that it’s still October and my heart sank. I started to fret about the dark mornings – I get up at 6.50…
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I am a chronic over-thinker. I mean, I don’t just do it a little. I do it all the time about everything and what’s worse is that I know I am doing it. So I analyse the over thinking which sets me off on new depths of self analysis. Oh hey, look at the first…
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