I recall a story, possibly apocryphal, about President Obama who had (has) the capacity to give his undivided attention to the person or situation at hand regardless of the thousands of spinning plates moving around him. In the story he was on the campaign trail and literally moving at pace, yet managed to stop and...
Too often we spend time wishing our past was different. Regrets about the things we did or didn’t do. Or we project forward, to a time we haven’t reached. ‘It will be better when/then…’ Unfolding world events engage our thoughts and feelings too, perhaps reinforcing worries about things we feel we can’t affect or change....
As I reflect on the qualities of Presence and how to bring our inner presence to every situation and in all facets of our life, I notice I am being drawn to the quality of grace. True presence calls us into a level of stillness and spaciousness in which we can feel ourselves release, breathe...
In a world filled with noise and motion it can be hard to find those moments to just ‘be’. Having said that even when those moments of stillness or quiet present themselves it’s very likely that we are habituated not to really spot them because we have become so used to engaging with the constant...
For me the recent death of Pope Francis brings into sharp focus the quality of conscious presence. Of course, I never met him and yet he seemed the living embodiment of all he believed and espoused – peace, humility, simplicity, compassion for all and especially those less fortunate and disenfranchised in our world. Amongst the...
We spend so much of our day, our lives grappling with the practicalities of life. We are often focused on making things happen, getting through the quagmire of obstacles and challenges and not surprisingly feeling buoyed when we see some indication of progress or change in the desired direction. As leaders we are rewarded for...
A walk in nature often leaves us awed at the beauty of creation. The perfection of leaves, of trees, of flowers. The springiness of some grasses. The perfume of flowers. The rustling of life unseen. The occasional scampering across our path of squirrel or rabbit, maybe even the shy stillness of a deer. In these...
‘A sense of the universe, a sense of the all, the nostalgia which seizes us when confronted by nature, beauty, music – these seem to be an expectation and awareness of a Great Presence’. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin This beautiful quote by philosopher Teilhard du Chardin describes both the accessible and ‘everyday’ portals to an...
Most of us can commit to being fully present for our loved ones – ensuring in our time with them we are truly with them in each moment, nurturing deep connection, rather than distracted by the broader demands of life/work. Most of us can probably hold a line of living in the present whilst course...
Have you ever thought about what it means to be fully aware and ‘awake’ in every moment? To be so connected to how you are showing up, what you are sensing from others and what else is moving in the surrounding energy field’. This is of course a big ask and we might say only...