Category: Inner Peace

  • Keeping your head above water

    In tough times, it’s easy to lose equilibrium. Overwhelming feelings can take our rational mind offline, while our fight-or-flight responses take over. These responses come in many forms, such as panic, which destabilises us; anger, which can have us lashing out at whoever is closest; hopelessness, which renders us inactive; or numbness, which has us […]

  • Comfort discourages heroism

    Heroes overcome obstacles. Whether it’s a passerby who risks danger to save others in a one-off incident, or a human rights campaigner working tirelessly over a lifetime, a hero doesn’t take the easy road. Most of us don’t aspire to be heroes; we leave that for exceptional human beings. We prefer to mind our own […]

  • Take a moment

    When something confronting or difficult happens, we might react with anger, upset, fear or despondency.  Our reactions can seem so automatic that we fail to recognise that moment – perhaps a split second – between what happened and our response. It’s during that moment that our response is determined. Living a more satisfying and self-determined […]

  • Gratitude

    It’s been shown that the more grateful we are, the happier we are. Yet gratitude is something we’re not particularly good at. Bad news grabs our attention more than good. If your performance review mentions ten things you’re doing well and one thing you need to improve, you’re likely to focus on the one negative […]

  • Being alive

    Our greatest gift is the gift of consciousness, the ability to perceive what is around us and within us, yet most of the time we forget how miraculous that truly is. Responding to demands and expectations, we can find ourselves treating life like a list of chores. We categorise, compare, make plans, try to control […]

  • The many layers of forgiveness

    Forgiveness is considered an important ingredient for a happy life. It’s a saintly quality, which frees both perpetrator and victim from the effects of past cruel actions. But since most of us have not yet reached saint status, the whole concept of forgiveness can be fraught with confusion. Should I forgive someone who is still […]

  • Rethinking the Hard Times

    December is a good time to reflect on the past year and to re-evaluate our life’s direction. As we set intentions for the coming year, we’re acknowledging the importance of making choices and plans in line with our values. However, life rarely proceeds according to our prearranged schedule. There will be external pressures and unforeseen […]

  • The Benefits of Not Complaining

    The average day provides a myriad of blessings to be grateful for, along with multiple niggles and challenges – all of which are opportunities to complain, if that is our focus. People who constantly complain are hard to be around and don’t attract warmth from others. The sad thing is that their focus on the […]

  • Being Happy With Who You Are

    In the book Presence, Otto Scharmer tells the story of coming home from school at age 16 to find his home in flames. His family had lived in that farmhouse for 200 years and all his belongings were inside, so as he stood there in shock, everything he identified with was going up in smoke. […]

  • Can you have too much happiness?

    George Bernard Shaw wrote: “a lifetime of happiness! No man could bear it: it would be hell on earth.” In contrast, the Dalai Lama said the purpose of life is to be happy. Who is right? I believe both are correct, but they are talking about different kinds of happiness. The simplest kind of happiness is […]