It feels like every tradition has a prescription on how you should sit; where to hold your hands, what to do with your eyes, and how you should handle sleepiness and pain are all prescribed.

How much of our reality do we create? Not from a ‘woo woo’ sense, but as a function of the result of the interaction between our past and our particular genetic predispositions?

If we have faced significant life challenges, and have a fearful disposition, there is a chance that we will view the world and our future pessimistically.

Alternatively, if we have had success, and have a positive disposition, then more than likely we will approach the world with hope. Do you ever wonder; are you manifesting your own reality?

Alternatively, if we have had success, and have a positive disposition, then more than likely we will approach the world with hope…

Buy more. Do more. Be more. Consume more. Watch more… This seems to be the mantra of modern society and it is kill us.

We are losing our communities, forgetting our art, and wasting our lives, all in pursuit of an ever diminishing in value dollar and ever rising expectations to keep up with the proverbial Joneses…

The difference between expectation and reality is often the source of significant discontent.

Life trains us to search for ideals: the perfect partner, job, life, outcome. Unfortunately this almost never arises and even if it did, it would be fleeting…

What greater gift can you give someone than the gift of presence? When you are fully present, mindful, and in the moment, you are able to give all those around you access to the best version of you, and thus the moment they are in with you.

In this episode, I share with you a guided meditation…

‘Stuck Inside My Mind’
Freestyle improve poetry. Watch the video on Instagram, and read the full poem here.

The more you know about yourself the better choices you will make and thus the better life you will lead.

In this episode I share some recent instances of deep personal insight where I discover things about myself that are both good, bad, and ugly.

I share the importance of such discoveries as well as the ways in which I (and you can) foster further insights into your own nature.

Yesterday, a friend asked me how to meditate, that talk inspired this episode. Here is my guidance for absolute beginners:

1: sit comfortably (no pain or sleepiness)
2: set a timer for 5 minutes
3: pick a meditation object (breath, vision, sound)
4: when you notice a wandering kind, bring it back to focus. A successful session is one that you complete, ideally every day!

When you dedicate yourself to one thing, the lessons learnt begin to help you with everything.

In this episode I discuss the quote by Miyamoto Musashi 'If you know the way broadly you will see it in all things' - applying the lessons I have learnt in martial arts, poetry, meditation, chess and life to one another, discussing the intersection between them all, as well as some of the implications and takeaways of 'knowing the way'.

I also discuss how there is a silver lining to be found in setback, injury, and illness - if we know how to look for it.

Two weeks ago I began transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to treat my depression, anxiety and PTSD. 10 sessions in and I am starting to see significant progress. In this episode I share my experiences of the process and my hopes for the future.

The moment we label something, it is limited. The label isn’t the truth, it is a representation of, it’s a finger pointing to the moon, it is a suggestion of possibility that always falls short of reality.

In this session I share the audio from my presentation in the Breaking Boxes ‘Power Of Connection Summit’, where I joined seven other presenters over two days to talk on all things connection.

Life will shoot us with the first arrow - these are real injuries, setbacks, losses and pain.

But the greater cause of our suffering comes form ‘the second arrow’ - the fear, anxieties, ruminations, and other internal mechanisations that we dwell upon.

In this episode I discuss the concept of the second arrow, as well as how we can use it to eliminate significant amounts of excess (and useless) suffering.

In this session I share a guided meditation that I shared on the Insight Timer app.

What if you were to give thanks in advance for the wonderful things that were going to happen? - And what if you used that question to reframe your gratitude practice into the future? In this session we contemplate this concept and suggest how it could be adapted to reduce anxiety and increase positivity and presence, both now and into the future.