“One thing every human has in common is the first sound we hear. It’s the heartbeat of our mother.” James R. Doty Although as a child I was often told how unique we are all as humans, with our own DNA and individual fingerprints being clear examples, the older I become the more I see myself as being connected and…

We often hear the old adage, “it takes a village to raise a child”, yet with increasing independence, geographical movement, and isolation how true is this? Interesting data out of the US shows that we are indeed more isolated than ever before, with up to 40 percent or more of all households containing a single occupant in cities such as…

I did a couple of radio interviews as a result of the piece I wrote in the Conversation about my anxiety when flying and how I used compassion focused therapy techniques to help. The first interview was with David Curnow on 612ABC Brisbane Radio. You can listen to it here. David asked me a number of different questions relating to…

I love to travel, in fact my wife (Cassie) and I try to get overseas twice a year. We love experiencing new cultures, food, and experiences. I also find when I am in a new place I am really living in the present moment, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. I sometimes think when I am back home I…

Following a dream……my passion for compassion I am a recent PhD graduate, having completed my PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2013. My research was focused on the family environment, where I looked specifically at the grandparent-parent relationship and how this impacted child outcomes. I found the research very rewarding, I loved working with my supervisor (Professor Matt Sanders), and we…

I recently gave a free mindfulness workshop at UQ. Even though we gave very late notice, we still had about 25 to 30 people attend. It was organised by the University of Queensland’s Red Cross Society with the help of the Psychology Student Association. I was very happy to be asked to present on mindfulness. The workshop was a very…

My Day 5 Take Home Message from the Mindful Self-Compassion Workshop Well it was the final day of the Mindful Self-Compassion Workshop and I was very sad it ended. It really was a very special week, and more rewarding than what I had expected. Today we had an opportunity to reflect on some of the key moments of the workshop,…

My Day 4 Take Home Messages from the Mindful Self-Compassion Workshop Today was the retreat day for the mindful self-compassion workshop, meaning we were in silence all day. I was quite apprehensive about this, as I have never done a day of silence in my life. I was unsure on how I would cope during the day, but I was…

My Day 3 Take Home Messages from the Mindful Self-Compassion Workshop So today I woke up feeling very tired, and I wanted to keep sleeping rather than wake up and drive to the workshop. I also started to contemplate, “I wonder if there is a limit to the amount of self-compassion I can have, am I reaching my limits?” When…

My Day 2 Take Home Messages from the Mindful Self-Compassion Workshop I entered the second day of the Mindful Self-Compassion workshop feeling pretty fresh and eager to learn more, which I think is a good indication that the program is going well. Today was focused on introducing to us the difference between expressing loving-kindness and compassion. The former being focused…