The right to grow – long weekend Monday

One of the best pieces of advice that I have heard recently is this idea of not being afraid to f*** it up! It really is the most excellent advice for someone like me, who likes things to be perfect. When things don’t turn out that way, which is often, because, hey, this is life, I can get caught up in a downward spiral to the lowest common denominator.… Read the rest

Psychological development opportunities – managing Christmas stress

Christmas holidays are positioned as a happy time of year when everyone is supposed to be cheerful and enjoying family time. Perhaps the reason why this tradition is so enduring is that it has so much commercial significance. Christmas certainly stimulates the economy, so the story of giving and family is perpetuated year after year.… Read the rest

Fun mindfulness activities – wine tasting for the senses

Have you ever heard of the concept of mindfulness being combined with the experience of wine tasting? On Wednesday night I was lucky enough to go along to ‘Winefulness – A Mindful Wine Tasting Experience.’ Vinomofo hosted these fun mindfulness activities at an amazing local coworking space called United Co, in Fitzroy.… Read the rest

Blue sky mind – finding what is always there

Have you ever heard that your thoughts and feelings are the weather, and you are the sky? I revisited this concept of a ‘blue sky’ this morning, when I was doing some mindfulness exercises on the Headspace app.

The concept is that when everything is going well and your mind is calm, your mind is a bright blue sky, and the few clouds that you see don’t bother you.… Read the rest

Photography as external memory and a form of disconnection

Tonight I participated (albeit briefly) in a conversation about the purpose of photography. In a world where there are so many millions, or billions of photographs, the original comment was that they do get a bit ‘samey’ after a while.

There was a professional photographer at our table, and she said that for her a camera disconnects her from her ‘experience’ of the world.… Read the rest

Left and right brain activities – getting the balance right

It is amazing to observe how certain habitual behaviours can affect the experience of human consciousness. You may have heard about left brain activities (more verbal), and right brain activities (more visual), as a rough generalisation. You may have even done some psychological testing to see if you have a more left oriented, or right oriented brain?… Read the rest