INTRODUCTION

Everyone is talking about mindfulness these days, in a manner I’d never have predicted when the first edition of this book was published.

I’m now asked to take mindfulness into businesses and schools; there are even big articles about it in The Financial Times.

Times have changed.

So maybe it’s a good moment to go back to basics and remind ourselves of the essence of this practice, which is a triangle (the strongest structure) of inner states, each supporting the other.

Mindfulness is awareness of your present experience with acceptance.

Here is its heartbeat, and in the pages that follow we’ll be looking after this heart.

We’ll ponder the three points of the triangle:

1. Awareness of yourself and the world
2. Living in the present and
3. Acceptance of your situation (which strangely is the catalyst for good change.)

In other words, how to live in the moment.

Mindfulness is simple, as easily grasped by children as adults; but simple can be hard for distracted minds. So be kind to yourself along the way.

This is no mindfulness text book; those already exist, and wonderfully.

Instead, I offer mindful stories and thoughts for when you sense the need for psychological or emotional shift in your life. Read them once, and then read again... allow them to soak into your consciousness.

We do not have to be anxious, fearful or depressed; and the start of our healing might be to notice that we are.

So welcome to these pages. The journey home to mindful living – aware and present – starts when you want it to.