How would a doctor and a calligrapher come to write a book on the mindful home?
We have each had a lifelong interest in mindfulness in pragmatic and philosophical ways, and our professional lives revolve around the ability to be present and focus attention. Deirdre is a professional calligrapher, which has to be one of the most exacting careers for being able to give attention. Calligraphy has given Deirdre a means to use beautiful writing as an art form and to use the beauty of those words, and the decoration adorning them, to draw people to read and be nourished by words of wisdom. Craig is a doctor whose working life teaching medical students, doctors, the general public and professional groups has almost entirely revolved around the teaching of mindfulness. Craig’s personal passion for, and knowledge of, mindfulness has been used to develop and deliver programs to help people with stress and health crises, and to enhance learning and improve performance.
Our passion for approaching life mindfully has extended to our home environment. Our home is not grand, and we have not learnt anything about interior design or spent significant amounts of money on decorating it (or having someone else decorate it). We have simply taken care to create a space we feel at home in and that we enjoy living in. A place that is restful, that reminds us of things beautiful and edifying, and one that is also welcoming for visitors. It is our wish, in this book, to share with you the philosophy and principles that have informed our choices.
This is not a book on the basics of mindfulness seasoned with a little discussion about the home. Nor is it an interior design book, catalogue of artefacts, or a book on storage solutions. Yes, there will be plenty of practical suggestions throughout but there are other books that deal with those topics in more detail. So what is this book about? It is a book on the home seasoned with mindfulness tips and practices to help you create the living space you really want and need.
What is the mindful home? How can you create one for yourself? In addressing these and other questions we decided to break the book into various sections beginning with the philosophy behind it, then exploring the way that we feed the mind and heart through the senses, how we use spaces within the home, the practicalities of managing the home, and how to live a healthy and sustainable life at home.
In this book illustration is as important as painting word pictures so we have used some photographic examples from our own home along with other photos and illustrations from various sources.
We hope you enjoy reading The Mindful Home as much as we have enjoyed creating it.
For more information on the ideas in this book, please visit the website at www.mindfulhome.net