In my previous exploration of mobile phone usage, I discussed implementing app governors like "Lock Me Out" to restrict access to certain applications. While these technical solutions offered temporary relief from constant digital engagement, they ultimately revealed a deeper truth about our relationship with technology: control mechanisms alone cannot address the underlying pull of constant connectivity. Reflecting back over a decade to my time as an aikido instructor has offered unexpected in...

Imagine standing at the edge of an island, gazing across an eighty-mile expanse where a bridge stretches toward the horizon. The morning mist parts just enough to reveal the first few miles of your path - smooth in some places, weathered in others, supported by piers of varying heights and strengths. Each mile marks a year of your life, each pier a moment that changed everything. Above, a delicate network of cables catches the morning light, their purpose not yet clear. You can't see the other s...

You know, I've been thinking a lot lately about how we connect with each other. It's funny – we're more "connected" than ever through our phones and social media, but sometimes it feels like we're struggling to really hear each other. The other day, I was having coffee with a friend, and I caught myself doing that thing where I was just waiting for my turn to talk instead of really listening. It hit me: how often do we actually have genuine conversations anymore? I think part of the problem is...

Remove the unnecessary. Contribute to personal and social inclusion. Act with intention on the necessary. Keep one hand spare to help others. Speak my soul forward Find the person inside that wants to change. Call people by their name. Ask for it and remember it. Replace stagnancy with stillness. Move to a place where I am seen. ...

1.Free your heart. 2.Free your mind from troubles. 3.Live simply. 4.Expect less. 5.Give more. 6.Find Alignment. Breathe, Move, Live. ...

It evokes fear in some and welcomes others. The presence of white space in personal time and environment brings a sense of loss. Nothing seems familiar anymore. What can I do here, now? Stay silent Breathe Stretch Recognize lessons from what is removed Re-orient internally Value the pathless land Use the new expanse to cradle the unknown The world will happen anyway, use this time to refine, create new lenses to view the horizons of opportunity. ...

Human qualities I seek in someone to love. Confident in their health. Eats healthy and can cook. Adventurous. Athletic Able to process fear. Able to experience and accept love. Compassionate. Comfortable in own space. Reciprocal in giving. Good with money. Social with friends. Shares connections. A deep thinker. Tactile. Step one. I become this person. ...

Blissing out to chill step in my headphones while enjoying a peaceful walk of the city, I felt attuned. Roads being quieter, more people are out walking or cycling, shooting their breeze with the universe. I walked toward a zebra crossing; two young brothers, age about 10 and 7, were cycling toward me. The eldest of the two got onto the zebra crossing, and cars stopped; he then waited, waited for his little brother, who didn't have the same stamina as him. The traffic had to be patient as they ...

Hunch and sedated posture mirrors the soul. "Stand tall, up straight!" A command that rings of rigidity. In youth, I stooped as I was taller than most. In adulthood, desk work and screens rounds the shoulders. Forcing the self "up" takes mechanical effort, something that will be evaded when the day brings its weight. Over time Martial, somatic, and Alexander technique practice filters into the consciousness permitting creative insight and philosophical metaphor. Alexander technique focuses o...

Every new page will honor the last. Every word ascribed provides lessons from the past. Lower the pen from the page Place the book mark The cover folds closed As we step into the daylight before us. They fly overhead in purposeful directionlessness. Seeking the thermal on the wind. Connection with the flock. Never lost, always found. Flight opens the soul. Seek the liminality of the mind. Endless Timeless Here Now. Unhook identity From experience Its a process Let go Of the person Who g...

Strength in Solitude comes when loneliness is observed, articulated and expressed. Authentic observation arrives when its time. Truth is in the eye of the beholder. I stand straight They walk by In distraction ¹ I turn and smile They gaze down In fear² I ask a question They answer In platitudes³ I listen They talk To someone else⁴ I sit alone They gather In identity⁵ I find peace They fight For nothing.⁶ 1.Spacial awareness is reducing in the city population. 2.Observe how eye contact...

The forest wall towered on both sides of the car. Sunlight rhythmical hitting the windshield I knew soon the Corona Forestal would be not only behind me but below. This ascent always fills my heart with excitement. Cloud descended, switching on the fog lights I eased off the accelerator, the road rumbled under me. Senses tingled, bends and switchbacks became part of my being. Rather than being scared of the thickening cloud, it held me steady with its ability to raise my awareness. With no safe...

Use pen and paper, mobile phone note pad, video or audio recording. List the most difficult and traumatic things in your life, going backwards from now. Now acknowledge that; You can articulate pain. All those things did not destroy you. They are events, not your identity. None of them is happening at this moment. Now realise that; The struggle provided experience. Experience provided an understanding. The understanding provided forgiveness. Forgiveness allows you to let go. Resilience arr...

Understanding the cartography of the heart leads to the authentic self. Many pathways lead to the one. Smell the ink on the paper The day reaches out To meet The blank page fills With morning soul Pouring Outward Stillness abounds It is here Sat in solitude Separate Time becomes a companion It sits here and now Allowing presence To envelop life In endless motion. Slow movement arrives Hips and spine flex Life stagnancy stirs No strain Just inward ripples Physicality connected The mind...

Breathe (with ease) move (with efficiency) live ( with compassion). Our intention is to make a difference. Patience is our test, our isolation is our gift. Minimize plans and expectations. Use what is here now to connect with the world. One moment, one breath, one step at a time. ...

In separating Identity from purpose, listening to self is primary. Demands of self come with increasing frequency. Strive no more, advancement is an ever distance horizon. Observe the embankment, mountains, trees and sky their light arrives to you with effortless vastness, a reflection of a watcher who sit peaceful. I sat with you today, You ask me for nothing. Instead your heart spoke. It is only that which reveals Exposing the soul I am here to meet you. The expanse of now is eternal Your...

She brought me to this place. Handheld tight with eyes of light. Safety lived here in her arms. On the coldest nights, warmth always present. We spoke of life And listened to love. Magnified contributions took time. Unfolding and changing but always with me Here in this place Her soul is held ...

Wake up Walk around the house Eat a meal Go to the toilet Walk down the street Drive a car Focus on work Focus on play Connect with others Connect with the self Go to sleep Some or all of these identify a dopamine addiction through validation. Without a smartphone, gaps in time are discovered. The question is “What can I fill it with?” Time to “Recharge” the self for a change. ...

At times I feel a bit uncertain about everything, and left to its own devices, this uncertainty exaggerates inner fears and needs. When scared, I feel the need to run, escape and in general, isolate myself from the world. This fear paralysis needs acceptance before the “now” can be seen. When feeling fear, I crave a different past for an alternate future. This craving is a mere illusion, and no evidence exists that my past is creating a future. The only evidence of what I am is here in the now....

The beginning. A reset. The clock starts again. Moments extend. Overgrown pathways behind meanderings meet in confluence. Let time meet the heart. Minutes, hours, days. provide movement While finding stillness. Space ahead. Permits leap. ...

My auditory system latches on to speech while missing silence and unable to enjoy music as before. Podcasts, guided meditations, and youtube all provide distraction away from tinnitus. How do spoken words (even in the background) impact the connection between the auditory and limbic systems? With sound always present in my ear, using available media sources seems no brainier to distract. Over the first three months, this method, although not perfect, seemed to support tinnitus management, and ...

Eighty days of silent meditation. Finding those moments after work to sit and absorb the sound outside my city apartment supported me to see within, to find stillness and acceptance in a post-pandemic world. Summer arrived, I caught the flu, and I heard there was a bug going about. After a week of fever, snot and sweat, it was gone. I woke one morning with a pitch emanating from my left inner ear. I was too quick to halt my disrupted meditation practice, thinking, "It'll Shift!" ...It didn't!...

I sat speaking with my team leader, my voice trembling with willful emotion. Serving the most excluded in the community always comes with challenges. Coming out of the pandemic, the already ignored seem forgotten; it's no longer a challenge; it's an abyss. People are being left to rot. I am fortunate to work in a supportive team and am thankful that my service does not have a "statutory duty" to serve, allowing us to meet people before problems arise. The solutions we offer are primarily to ens...

"When a Stoic Faces a Problem, They: - Don't make things worse by whining/complaining- Focus on what they can learn- Endure what they can’t change- Look for opportunities to improve because of it- Embrace their fate." It started small, I thought it would pass, but tinnitus crept up. Early on, I passed this buzz off trapped nerve or crick in the neck. That was my first assessment, so I got a chiropractor to click things back into place. It remains; a week later, I woke to what can only be desc...

Be a traveller; not a tourist. ▪️ Take your time ▪️ Don't follow the herd ▪️ Get off the beaten path ▪️ Enjoy the little moments ▪️ Don't be afraid to get lost ▪️ In no hurry to reach the destination After all, you get to go on this journey only once. ...

There is work to be done, but only in the self. When and how it is done is a personal choice. Please take what you own, half it. If enough is left, half it again. Now, with less distraction, the self becomes exposed. New distractions will be tempting, look inward for answers. The self needs to know you, without the external. We distract ourselves as fear grips our hearts. Allow freedom to permeate, and distraction will subside, exposing true purpose and inner contentment. ...

She who cuts with blades of master gardener; Finds growth in the lost, Toils earth, discovers the heart, Tends sprouts,nurtures family, Honours her man Holds her child Nourishes the community Connects with light Enlivening the world The great mother unites. ...

The day started calmly. My sister and I woke early; my nephew was a bit slower. Caring as always, my sister prepared a picnic for later. Although she was playing it cool, I sensed her excitement in our adventure to the 'Tap of noth' Rhynie, Scotland. Mum joined us, gently placed into my rucksack, as the final leg of her journey in our world drew closer. Driving and listening to Ludovico Euandi, our chat brought joyful memories to the surface. I found a presence here with my family. Arriving ...

I always visit him. It's nice to see someone leaves fresh flowers. Due to circumstances I do most of the speaking. I let him know that like him , I'm not perfect , I rarely get things right, and fear letting people down. I explained mum with be with the wind soon. She may have already joined him. They are soul mates, just crap at relationships. Returning to roots, environments of child hood stir insights to the surface. Standing there talking with dad , I found deep gratitude for him and...

July 2020, our phone calls held more joy. She managed to get out for a "fine piece ( cream cake)" at the cafe and picnics in the gardens with her friend Amelia. The restrictions in Scotland seem north Korean in my view, so my daily phone calls connected mother and son with congruence. She articulated fear, not of sickness but being forgotten; this sat in her heart before the lockdowns (as it sits in mine). It taught me how isolation and oppression bring personal and societal vulnerabilities to t...

Important to work with nature of a the soul. None of us perform well when not aligned. If we show the world a masked version of ourselves it will not treat us the way we want. As it does not see us. If we learn to articulate our soul properly and accurately then people know where they stand with you. Meditation , movement , walking, running followed by good meal, human connection and rest supports one centre. When lost we live without chains. Chosen struggle bring enduring lessons. ...

Switch off from work focus on personal growth reconnect with friend build fresh Networks remove lethargy develop strength build resilience maintain wider commitments ( life/friends/work) climb mountains swim rivers dance smile from the soul pet the dragon forgive myself validate from the inside out. cycle to woods run the city breathe move live ...

I don't have time to rush Willingness to be wrong invites truth Do it on purpose and find out who you are. There is no time, just an eternal now. My presence radiates the potential for havoc. ...

The addiction to fear is on an industrial level. It provides people reason not to live as significant beings. The pre covid sedation of consumerism and tech was just the epidural to make sure people remain spineless when sovereignty is amputated form the soul. ...

When I feel "Whats the point?" I take a nice hot bath/meditate and remember these points Was the task hard? ( How many others are attempting it) Was I properly equipped? ( Sometimes You don't realise you need something until it not there) Failure is not unique its just that society makes a lot of effort to hide theirs . I must own my failings. Remember "Luck" is a feature of existence and sometimes it not on not on my side. My worth is not dependent on external things. Separate achievement ...

Middle of this week, my casework seemed insurmountable. Reading, disseminating, communicating and absorbing fears can get exhausting. Something I note, when coming up to leave, the an emotional bottle necks appear on the calendar. "Must get stuff done, clear the decks." This thought process got too much by Thursday. The sense of feeling "busy" does not sit well with me. I never use the word out loud. I fell back to a core productivity method , find deep work , leave the light threads to later....

I realise now that 15 years ago was only the start of seeing who I am inside. I have pushed and pulled myself forward through many chapters to find the elusive self. All with one theme, to be accepted for who I am. Now, after martial arts, movement, career as advocate, I realise the narrative and dogmas that my energy fed into, striped me of my essence. Since mum passed, I have worn her cross. I sit with myself in silence often. I visit churches where I value faith over religion.Days of active ...