I was at Bletchley Park last month, home of the Enigma machine where messages were decoded during WW2 and I was surprised to find that there were several Enigma machines not just one and they were in fact based on typewriters. I also didn't realise it was set in such beautiful grounds and it was while walking round the lake that I found a plaque dedicated to one of the coders who had suddenly solved a coding problem whilst taking a break and walking round the lake. 

Have you noticed that often going over and over a problem in your head gets you nowhere, then when you stop thinking about it suddenly the answer comes to you?

So if you have something on your mind, take a break, take a walk, take a bath even, and maybe the answer will come to you while you are not looking for it.

There’s always a bit of truth in the old sayings:- Too many cooks spoil the broth, yes they do. But Many hands make light work, can be true too.
 
And so it is with emotions. Science is now showing that you can indeed spread a little happiness, If you are with happy, positive people you can actually benefit from the positive happy atmosphere they exude. But if you surround yourself with negative, bitter, and unhappy people you will feel those emotions rub off on you.
 
Laughter makes you feel good, when your body feels laughter bubbling up insIde you it produces the happy hormones, Oxytocin and Serotonin. 
 
If people around you are stressed and anxious your body will start to produce  adrenaline and cortisol making you feel stressed and anxious too.
 
That is why  sometimes there can be a toxic atmosphere in your workplace because your colleagues are worried about their performance and their jobs because of a negative demanding boss perhaps. And why customer service assistants are trained to smile and be helpful in order to get you to buy their products or provide good service and leave you with a happy glow.
 
Scientific studies have shown that just by smiling and nodding you can unleash your creativity. That actively nurturing an open and positive attitude can increase the natural production of  feel good hormones imitated in antidepressents.
 
Conversely frowning and shaking your head will produce negativity and stifle your creativity.
 
Being kind to yourself and others stimulates those feel good hormones too. So spread a little happiness wherever you go and improve your own life and that of those around you.

Our Kerry Yoga and Mindfulness Retreat started with brilliant sunshine, beautiful beaches and true Irish hospitality at Ballyferriter, home of Star Wars as it says on the sign. Apparently they shot some scenes here for the forthcoming movie due to be released at Christmas. The locals tell me that the area was sealed off and no one knew what was happening till Chewbacca walked into Murhpys and ordered a pint of Guinness. In return I told them we were here on a Mindfulness, Yoga  and Juicing holiday which was soon transmitted all over the village and maybe lost a bit in the translation . Still the food was amazing at Murphys, the staff friendly and the view, well you'll be able to see that when the film comes out.

The roof top yoga wasn't too successful though, one minute sunny then rainy, then windy or sometimes all three at once we often had to go back inside but we were  happy to dress for every eventuality and to go with the flow!

A trip round the Slea Head road saw us visiting a potter, more unbelievably beautiful beaches, a lovely lunch in a french restaurant by the beach followed some meditation and yoga on the beach.

The reviews were good unfortunately the wind was too strong to hear them!

We had to leave but back at Murphys the fun was still going on 

Don't waste your life waiting for the right time to come so that you can be happy, this moment is all we have, it is in this moment that we are experiencing our lives. And May is the perfect time to enjoy all the wonderful things that nature brings as the may blossoms, the trees grow leaves and buds and become all shades of green, the bluebells carpet the woods and the sun comes out. Go for a walk and really notice all the changes around you as May blossoms and  shows you her beautiful colours for your delight.

​​Rediscovering our Curiousity
 

 
March is the beginning of spring and this is a time of new beginnings. The days get lighter, the weather warmer and new plants and flowers begin to flourish. These things are freely available for us to observe, to approach and enjoy with curiousity. The more we really see them the more beautiful they will appear to us
 
 
Mindfulness encourages us to rediscover our curiosity. Being curious encourages us to step outside the box of our everyday experience and to really look at everyday things from a new perspective.
 
 
Listening is another way of being curious. When a friend or colleague talks to us practice really listening, being curious about what they are saying instead of waiting impatiently to put your point of view or news across.
 
 
Use all of your senses to fully experience the rebirth of nature. Wake up and smell the flowers and see the wonderful possibilities in your life at this time, in this moment, moment by moment and breath by breath.

​February is luckily a short month as in the UK it is usually cold wet and windy with only the odd snowdrop to alleviate the drabness. Or you could see it as a chance to enjoy the long dark nights wrapped up cosily by the fire. This year I am spending it in Thailand on the beach.
 
 
While I am supposedly relaxing soaking up the sun on a beautiful beach I notice that my mind has been making judgments about myself and others. I notice that many people here have tattoos and as I watch my thoughts I can see I am judging them based on my attitude towards tattoos. Then I notice that some people who are fatter than I am are wearing bikinis and that makes me feel better but some are young and pretty and have perfect figures and then I judge myself harshly for eating too much and feel bad.
 
Being non judgmental of yourself and others is a central tenet of Mindfulness but is often very difficult to do. Of course there are many occasions in life where you need to exercise your judgment but so often we use habitual thinking to judge situations resorting to stereotypes rather than looking at the facts. But more often it is ourselves that we judge and most of the time we judge ourselves harshly.
 
We all have an inner critic that judges us badly and the more we listen to it the stronger it gets. When we start to meditate our inner critic tells us we are not doing it in the right way, we are not doing it for long enough, we are no good at it, everyone else is better at it than we are, we don’t have the time or the space. If we listen to our inner critic we will soon feel worse instead of better.
 
If we had a friend who criticised us this way we would soon stop seeing them and yet we listen to our inner critic all the time even though their criticism is rarely based on reality.
 
When we start to meditate we can acknowledge that our inner critic exists but instead of listening just observe. Watch the comments arise in your mind, stay awhile and then leave. Don’t get caught up in their story. Every time you notice that your mind has wandered don’t judge yourself just acknowledge where your mind has been and return your attention to the breath.
 
Remember that the object of mediation is not to empty your mind, though this may happen, but instead to observe what is going on in your mind in this moment. And so this will be different every time for everyone.
 
Don’t judge yourself badly for not finding time to meditate or judge mindfulness harshly for not working for you.
 
Just sit down when you have a couple of minutes, close your yes and watch your breath as it comes in and goes out and see what happens.

​January 2016 Blog
 
At this time of year many people say they hope the New Year will be better than the last. They seem to have had a bad time in the year just gone. But did they?
 
Research has shown that our brains have a negativity bias which means that we are 5 times more likely to remember bad experiences than good ones. This bias dates back to the times when we had to deal with life or death experiences on a daily basis such as a lion or  tIger ready to attack us. A sunny day or a beautiful flower was just not as important to our survival.
 
Luckily our brains have the possibility to adapt through a process, called neuroplasticity. By building stronger pathways for positive experiences we can remember good experiences as often as we  remember bad ones and remove the negativity bias. This means potentially this year could be four times as good as last year.
 
How can we do this? Simply by becoming more aware of what is going on in our lives, of paying attention to the present moment instead of living in the past or the future. When you notice something pleasant happening, someone pays you a compliment, you join the right queue, the sun comes out and you see a rainbow for instance, just notice this and hold it in your mind for just a few seconds. 6 seconds is enough for the experience to transfer into your long term memory. And not only do you get to enjoy this experience but you get to transfer it to your long term memory and it will always be there for you.
 
It’s as simple as that.