Music, Metta and Metaphysics
One bright September morning, I sat down to work on an AWS Lambda function. Yet, as the minutes ticked by, I realized I had been staring blankly at the code for what felt like an eternity. Thirty minutes had passed, and I had made no progress. I couldn’t do it. The code, which once made perfect sense, now appeared utterly foreign. What was happening to me? Was this “burnout”?
Continue reading “My Experience of Developer Burnout”
A while back I went back to wearing an analogue wristwatch. Here’s how wearing a simple analogue watch improved my life, and made things a little quieter and more peaceful.
Continue reading “On Wristwatches”
The Mindfulness of Breathing is a calming meditation where we focus on our breathing to help find respite from mental restlessness, and gently train our “monkey mind”. I learned this technique and practise it regularly at our local Buddhist Centre, and I hope you find this post about it useful.
Continue reading “The Mindfulness of Breathing”
I recently bought a record player, and dusted off my old vinyl collection from my student days. After having streamed music for years now, I noticed a real shift in my appreciation of music as a result. Here are my observations.
Continue reading “On vinyl, LPs and slow music”
I started journalling four years ago during an Introduction to Counselling Course. We were encouraged to keep a journal of reflections, and my journal has since become a constant companion with unexpected benefits.
Continue reading “Journalling: a therapist in my pocket”
There are many different meditation practices to be found in Buddhism, Yoga, or even in your local Mindfulness classes. The Metta Bhavana is one that is taught at my local Buddhist Centre, and its purpose is the cultivation (‘Bhavana’) of compassion and kindness (‘Metta’). Here’s how it works.
Continue reading “Meditation: a description of the Metta Bhavana Meditation”
Today marks the Summer Solstice. For the first time in quite a while I had the opportunity to catch up with some good friends after a long period of social distancing and isolation. I found myself reflecting on the nature of social relationships and their importance. In particular, the roles of talking, listening and just ‘being’ with others.
Continue reading “Solstice, solitude and socialising”
You’ll find the porcupine-warming tale “The Fable of the Porcupine” on many inspirational websites, and many have shared it on other social media. It’s essentially a reformulation of Schopenhauer’s “Hedgehogs’ Dilemma”, which poses the question: how can we manage to live together and function as a family unit, a social unit or society, when we inadvertently hurt each other?
Continue reading “Fable of the Porcupine”