My name is Gossip.

My name is Gossip.

I have no respect for justice.

I maim without killing.

I break hearts and ruin lives.

I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted the more I am believed.

I flourish at every level of society.

My victims are helpless.

They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face.
To track me down is impossible.

The harder you try, the more elusive I become.

I am nobody's friend.

Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.

I topple governments and ruin marriages.

I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartache and indigestion.

I spawn suspicion and generate grief.
I make innocent people cry in their pillows.

Even my name hisses.
I AM CALLED GOSSIP.

          Unknown Author

Laugh, and the world laughs with you .......

http://www.uklaugh.org/index.html

a laughter festival in Manchester June 2012 - worth a look : ))))

Useful Yoga Videos

http://www.yogajournal.com/video/

I get asked to recommend yoga videos on a regular basis. Different people have different needs and there is an enormous choice out there, it is difficult to be specific, but anything published by Gaiam or Yoga Journal is always trustworthy.
The above link will take you to the Yoga Journal site where you will find a number of free, very good yoga videos. Jason Crandell in particular is great - good, clear instruction and a wide selection of practices - and its all free!

food glorious food

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/mindful-eating-as-food-for-thought.html?_r=1&ref=health

Very good article on mindful eating.
Should start something going on experience of texture when eating mindfully - scrambled egg is very hard put into words

The train of thought

Imagine standing on the platform of a railway station and a train pulls in. There is nothing to say where it is going, how long the journey will take, whether or not the destination will be pleasant, nothing at all, just a random train - would you get on?
The above is a useful analogy for me when I am asked to explain mindfulness. We are unlikely to get on to the train but we are more than willing to latch on to thoughts, with no consideration to the journey they may take us on. We often feel pulled in, unable to control their intensity. Our mood can switch in an instant because of a fleeting thought, or remain stuck, we just have to ride out the storm.
Mindfulness gives us a pause, a moment of clarity that holds a picture of what we are actually doing, we can see it for what it is, the effect it is having on us. It also gives us a strength to see that there are options, choices, responses available when we need to call on them.
Mindfulness is never 'just done'. It is a learning, a progression. It is experiential so you just have to get out there and try it.

Mindfulness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgSGcsnRZs0&feature=youtu.be

This link was posted on Linkedin by Johan Berkstad, well worth listening to.

Mindfulness

There is a lot of interest in the media at the moment in mindfulness. Many articles are written about its benefits, and many websites are out there to reinforce the message. But in simple terms, what is mindfulness and how does it help?

Mindfulness is simply the practice of bringing present moment awareness to the present moment. In other words we approach the situation we are in without the baggage that we carry from our past or the expectations that we have for the future. In his seminal book Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn describes how our minds appear to us when we begin to pay them attention – ‘ you will probably find that there is a great deal of mental and emotional activity going on beneath the surface. These incessant thoughts and feelings can drain a lot of your energy. They can be obstacles to experiencing even brief moments of stillness and contentment’. Kind of stating the obvious, most of us know this, but what most of us don’t know is how to calm this chatter, to contain it, bring clarity and a fresh outlook to situations, this is where mindfulness comes in.

Unfortunately, for those of us who like a quick fix changing our auto pilot response, or calming relentless mental chatter, requires commitment and practice. Mindfulness is gained through experiential learning, through a regular practice where distractions are put to one side and time is given to understanding and developing a more mindful way of being. Just as you can have any number of cookbooks on your shelves, and any number of ingredients in your cupboards, unless you bring the two together, physically engaging in the task, nothing will ever get made, and you will never get to experience the chocolate cake, the beef and ale casserole or the simple salad, you will just have an idea of what it could taste like. Such is mindfulness, you can read the books, listen to the cds, or even occasionally sit and give some time to practice, but only by embracing a dedicated and regular practice can you truly begin to reap the benefits.

This commitment to exploring mindfulness is never a chore, you can give it 5 minutes a day, 20 minutes a day, or even longer, the important fact is the need to give it quality attention. Nature hasn't designed us to fail, so any steps that we make towards improving our health, are rewarded quickly. So before you take the leap of buying another book or downloading a podcast, pick up your diary and pencil in a few minutes each day, become familiar with the pattern of your life, book yourself in to just be with yourself. When you can see that it is possible to bring a 5 minute slot into your day, you are ready to begin.

Over the next few weeks, I will be exploring ways in which mindfulness can become part of daily life.

Ref: Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn, ISBN 0749915854