“Love is completely natural, it is the skills that bring love to life that often need to be polished or learned.” Stephanie Dowrick. When it comes to improving our relationships, many of us will admit to feeling inexperienced and sadly lacking. In the main, we work hard to acquire outstanding [...]
Challenging conversations will always test us. They require us to look hard at ourselves, and at times to change and grow. In the presence of strong feelings, a significant number of people struggle to remain rational. One explanation may be that at the heart of various challenging conversations lie strong [...]
“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.” ― Corrie ten Boom. Current evidence confirms how finding the ability to practise heartfelt forgiveness permits us to create a sense of peace and tranquillity. Yet forgiveness is often elusive and [...]
What happens within our lives that we neglect to observe and pass on small acts of kindness? How often do we do we simply take for granted, the love, support and caring nature of our friends? Nonetheless when the chips are down and we find ourselves in trouble, we turn [...]
In the course of the recent film titled “Fences”, you may recall the conversation explaining how ‘some people build walls to keep people in, while others build walls to keep people out.’ Simply defined, “boundaries provide a structure that prevent people from crossing into each other’s space“ (Weinhold. J., 2008, [...]
YEAR 2017 The New Year signals a fresh beginning, new opportunities and a brand new focus. World experts in the art of numerology inform us that 2017 calculates into a Universal Number One Year. “UNIVERSAL ‘1’ Year is a time to plant the seeds of intention for the forthcoming cycle [...]
Progress transforms any journey into a series of small steps, taken one by one, to reach any goal. Progress transcends time, teaches patience, rests on a solid foundation of careful preparation, and embodies trust in our unfolding potential. Dan Millman. (1995) Sitting silently, I observe a handsome pink gecko [...]
Xmas is approaching and many amongst us find ourselves feeling anxious and unsettled. While some people have families to share the holidays, others do not. Families who may not have been in touch over the year, feel the pull of ‘doing the right thing’ and reconnecting - if only for [...]
“When I let go of who I am, I become who I might be.” – Lao Tzu Do you ever feel as if something prevents you from being your best self? Is it possible to overcome the problem of seeing our "self" negatively, frequently resulting in low self-esteem? Is there a [...]
Many people are aware of the powerful impact and significance of practicing Mindfulness. This month I invite you to reflect on the words of Michael Bunting, who artfully describes the benefits and wisdom of this amazing skill. Reprinted with permission. (2016) “I define mindfulness as maintaining an open hearted awareness [...]
There are occasions when life appears to be progressing extremely well. We are feeling comfortable, relaxed and self-assured, when along comes our Inner Critic or Self Saboteur. We all have one: an inner critic, a secretive messenger, an inner nitpicker. This inner voice can project harsh feelings and yield unpleasant [...]
What happens to make us lose our self-confidence? Do we simply lose our confidence or perhaps self-effacingly, give it away? While many of us appreciate we are not perfect and understand that, slip-ups often lead to valuable and useful lessons. We also learn how simple mistakes and random insults undermine [...]
“In the bustle of life, in the pressure of decisions, peace has become a luxury. Take it when it comes, and cherish it. It gives you time to breathe. It gives you rest and hope and life.” Pam Brown B. (1928) Breathing is either conscious or unconscious. As we don’t [...]
As a coach /counsellor I am always looking for new concepts to help my clients lead happier, more meaningful and more productive lives. Learning to become mentally healthy requires that we acquire a few simple consistent skills. These skills are available to everyone. While nobody can be happy all of [...]
Individuality: The Oxford dictionary defines ‘Individuality’ as “the quality or character of a particular person or thing that distinguishes them from others of the same kind.” Amongst the people you know, who would you describe as being an individual? In terms of appearance, we are surrounded by uniformity and sameness. [...]
“No society can understand itself without looking at its shadow side. The question is never why the addiction but why the pain?” Gabor Mate MD (2008) PP.2-34 Recently, a close family member sent a clip on fresh ways to appreciate people with addiction. This clip made me consider how addictive [...]
