Mindfulness: A Kindly Approach To Being With Cancer
As a mindfulness and meditation geek, I have read many books on mindfulness and meditation over many years. This book
Countdown to transplant
Yesterday I met with the team at St James in Leeds, and the transplant process is scheduled to start on
Transplant – first steps
After our initial meeting with the transplant consultant mid December, things went quiet for some time. We were aware it
The Numbers Game
It’s very easy to get sucked into the numbers that are shared in relation to MDS. As a mathematician who
The next stage of my MDS treatment
Most people I know are aware that I was diagnosed with MDS last year. I was offered a stem cell
It is not just about me
It is challenging to have a cancer diagnosis, but … I wasn’t desperately shocked by the initial diagnosis of MDS,
Donor found
Last Friday I got a call to say that a fully matched, unrelated stem-cell donor has been found and is
Demand for Mindfulness Courses
Late in 2024, as I stepped down from the leadership of the MN, I produced this paper: Demand for Mindfulness
Breath Meditation
Mindfulness of Breath is one of the core practices of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. Intention This meditation invites: Cultivating a
Stewardship of the Mindfulness Field
The mindfulness field has developed well in the UK with a number of organisations offering teacher training, and an organisation
Keeping Fit
I was anything but a fitness junkie, but I was very active before my MDS diagnosis. My wife and I
Emotions
A diagnosis like MDS will trigger many emotions, for you and for everyone who knows you and hears. Here I
Stem Cell Transplant
A stem cell transplant is a treatment that is used in many blood cancers, and is often the only cure
Befriending / Metta / Loving Kindness meditation
This meditation has a long history, is part of some Buddhist traditions, and it is also taught in mindfulness classes.
A Whole New World
On the Monday following my discharge from Pinderfields we (my wife and I) arrived at the Cavell unit at Dewsbury
Mindfulness – the Infinite Game
In Simon Sinek’s book, The Infinite Game, he introduces a concept that is very useful for considering more widely how
The wise fisherman
Retold from Ajahn Brahm A fisherman was walking back home one morning from his boat when he met a rich
Meditation is not Medicine
A lot of the promotion of meditation, particularly mindfulness meditation, involves the use of it in treating mental health problems,
My Diagnosis
On 9th September 2025 I started with a nosebleed, something not unusual as I was recovering from a bad cold,
Myelodysplastic Syndrome
MDS is short for Myelodysplastic Syndrome. It is a rare form of blood cancer caused by a change in some
Third Wave Psychotherapies
The Palgrave Handbook of Third Wave Psychotherapies was published in October 2025. It is a compendium of papers on a
Our Story-telling Minds
Some time ago I was in trouble after reading my grandson his favourite book, The Gruffalo, as his bedtime story,
The Happy Path
I am an optimist, though it has not always been that way. On the whole though, despite many challenges in
Charlotte Joko Beck
Charlotte Joko Beck (1917-2011) was an American Zen teacher who took up Zen practice in mid-life as the parent of
Ice cubes and puddles
One of my favourite metaphors is Charlotte Joko Beck’s where she likens us all to ice cubes, with long spindly
Can meditation fix anything?
Can meditation fix anything? And if it can’t, then why bother? Meditation practice, particularly in the form of mindfulness meditation,
The Relaxation Response
I’m enjoying revisiting a number of books. I first read Herbert Benson’s book “Relaxation Revolution: The Science and Genetics of
This is for Everyone by Tim Berners-Lee
As an IT professional, born the same year as Tim Berners-Lee, his recent book “This is for Everyone” is a
30 years of meditation
I started meditating at the age of 40. Like many who take up a meditation practice, I was dealing with
Befriending your own mind
Why would you need to befriend your own mind? For many reasons most, if not all of us, don’t like
Deeper Mindfulness?
I recently had the delight of attending the Deeper Mindfulness teacher training by Mark Williams, hosted by The Mindfulness Network.
Distractions are your practice
When you sit down to meditate, you usually want it to be a calm, uninterrupted and peaceful time, and to
Mindful of the gap
Mindfulness teaching in Europe and North America appears to have stalled. Demand for teacher training has dropped, and the organisations
You need to slow down to go faster
Mindfulness practice is full of apparent paradoxes. Many years ago I did an advanced driving course sponsored by my employer.
How do you spend your time?
I recently opened a book I first read 35 years ago: Games People Play by Eric Berne. As a rookie
The process of mindfulness
I recently enjoyed an article in Psyche Magazine: Equanimity is not stillness – it is a mobility of the mind.
What’s brown and sounds like a bell?
Dung – the old jokes are the best. One of my favourite books is “Who ordered this truckload of dung”
Why I have been meditating for nearly 30 years
Like many (or most) who start a regular meditation or mindfulness practice, it was part of the recovery from a
Attention, Attention, Attention
I have had three books on the go over the last month, and each of them in different ways give
Tree meditation
I am always keen to find new metaphors for meditation, and Alan Wallace in his description of Shamatha meditation has
Wishing you an Analogue Christmas and a Mindful New Year
On Saturday I was sat in the cafe at Waterstones Bookshop in Leeds, and realised what a rare thing it
Curing or healing?
I am often asked, as I think most mindfulness teachers are, will mindfulness cure X, where X can be anything
Don’t meditate just because it is good for you!
This may seem like a strange bit of advice, but knowing that meditation is good for you is not enough
Beach
Three years ago we purchased a holiday home near Filey Bay. We go there whenever we can, and it is
Acting Mindfully
I am firmly of the opinion that mindfulness is not something you acquire during an 8 week course. Rather, it
ASHP – 2 years and 6 months in
Just a short update. No problems to date with our system, and running costs still match what we would have
Unhooking from difficult thoughts and feelings
Our thoughts and feelings arise naturally. They come and go much as the breath comes and goes. Thoughts may have
Dropping Anchor
Mindfulness teachers will often use phrases in meditation guidance such as “find your anchor” or “dropping anchor” or ‘anchoring attention
The Happiness Trap
The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris introduces in an easily accessible form Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT). As a mindfulness teacher,
Reflections on Leadership and The Mindfulness Network
As I step down from a formal leadership role in The Mindfulness Network (the MN), I look back on my three
Male and Breathing
Many years ago I auditioned for the Bradford Playhouse actors list, then a leading amateur repertory theatre. After the audition,
Why I am retiring as Exec Director of The Mindfulness Network
Read about why I am retiring from the post of exec director of The Mindfulness Network. Read on the Mindfulness
A New Start After 60
. I very much enjoy this series in The Guardian, so I was pleasantly surprised when I was invited to
Installing an air source heat pump
Read latest post on ASHPs. Now that climate change is inarguable, we all will need to make changes to our
My Meditation Journey
I learnt the value of mindfulness the hard way. At the age of 40, after five years of dealing with
Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe?
What is Artificial Intelligence? What might it be able to do? Will it do more harm than good? These are
Rewiring not Retiring
Someone recently expressed sadness that I was retiring and leaving The Mindfulness Network. I explained that I was not leaving,