When meditating, if we notice our attention wandering, we gently bring our focus back to the meditation object again and again. This approach works fine, but there is another layer to the practice that can help you to stay focused and mindful for longer and far more effectively.

In order to get the best out of our formal meditation sessions, we need to ensure that our internal and external environments are optimized.

To be clear, mindfulness is not the act of meditating. It is the state that arises from our meditation practice. Therefore, mindfulness is not dependent on the use of the breath as a meditation object. Anything can be used: sounds, sights, physical sensations, thoughts, and even awareness itself. In fact, if we want to integrate the benefits into our everyday life, it is vital that we explore mindfulness across a broad spectrum of meditation objects. That way, we will have the tools of mindfulness readily available to employ, wherever and whenever we need them. What is the point of our practice if the benefits do not transcend the meditation mat?

‘I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.’ - Mahatma Gandhi

We do not meditate when we feel like it, or just when the mood strikes. No, we meditate every day, without fail.

It is important to highlight something here about habit acquisition. Go slowly and make sure all changes are life appropriate. If we go too hard too soon, we risk dropping the practice entirely.

Exercise and meditation are remarkably similar. Both require focused attention, dedication, education, and practice. Both are tremendously beneficial to physical and mental health. And both require a level of faith.

With practice, your ability to maintain focus will naturally improve. However, there are three techniques, counting, labeling and intention setting, that can be added to the above meditation that will provide you with immediate improvements.

Why writing a web comic is harder than writing about trauma

I write down what was discussed, and any advice given. I do not want to leave the session and forget what was covered. I am paying for it after all, with my time, money, and mental state…

Mindfulness is the awareness that arises from purposefully paying non-judgmental attention to the present moment.

This brief definition hides a significant amount of wisdom, so it is worth unpacking. Mindfulness is the awareness, not the act of meditation. We practice meditation to become mindful, first on the meditation mat, and then increasingly in our everyday lives. We do this by paying nonjudgmental awareness to the present moment. This sounds simple enough, but it can be deceptively complex. It involves observing the contents of consciousness, both internal and external, for what they are, as they are; without overlaying additional judgements, labels, thoughts, concepts, wishes, desires, or anything else.

Want to lose my respect? Attempt to rush my recovery or place my mental health on a (your) time limit…

During therapy, I take notes.

I write down what was discussed, and any advice given. I do not want to leave the session and forget what was covered. I am paying for it after all, with my time, money, and mental state.

A quick review of our past reveals many moments of joy and positivity; times when things just worked. When a failure came, it did not break us. We picked ourselves back up, learnt a lesson, and pushed forward. Similarly, we can look back and see expanses of misery and suffering. Times where we were down and out, at rock bottom and struggling. There were occasional wins, yet these barely succeeded in moving the needle.

Some I know of and actively avoid. Others blindside me. Some are specific, only occurring around a particular person or situation. Others are global and will without fail impact me anywhere and everywhere.

It can be a look, a smell, a touch. Anything.

Social anxiety is a relationship killer. It makes me bail on connections, say no to almost everything, and fret over small interactions. This ultimately results in people thinking I am rude, that I don’t like them, or that I don’t care.

I moved out of home young in an attempt to escape the neglect and the perpetual fear that comes from having a drug dealer for a father. To survive, I lived off charity, government handouts, and part time work to get me through high school.

Weight loss happens in the kitchen, not the gym.

Today I spent an hour doing interval training: 30 seconds hard sprint, 90 seconds active recovery.

According to the air bike, this burnt 650 calories.

Great, until you compare it to common food items. As an example, a regular (340g) sausage roll is 840 calories.

The point is, it would be a shame to put all that work in only to blow it with poor dietary choices.

It wasn’t until I tried writing that I saw major improvements as a direct result of treatment.

Unlike talking therapy, I found that I could express myself far more freely onto a blank page. When I sat down to write, I didn’t have to worry about what the page thought of me. It can’t judge. I could ramble, reiterate and back track without concern for transmitting understanding to someone else.

By squeezing and relaxing each muscle you will relieve any physical tension held in the body.

Every Day Cary is a term typically reserved for the military, survivalists and conspiracy wackos. Basically, it’s a culmination of all of the things that they carry with them each day.

Each item has a utility and multiple functions. A good daily carry has a certain aesthetic to it: minimalist yet sexy. Functional, high quality and tough.

Guns. They carry a lot of guns…

My relationship with coffee is tumultuous.

In small measured doses it is extremely helpful – focus, energy and motivation levels all increase – it allows me to sit at my laptop and just work.

In large doses however, coffee is crippling. I have a history of mental illness: long years of dealing with past trauma manifested as anxiety, depression and addiction…