Category Archives: Growing mindful

ways to achieve mindfulness, stress reduction and psychological harmony in the garden and in life

Cultivating decisiveness

Posted on October 21, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

You may have heard of the old idiom ‘live horse, get grass’ meaning if you can only hang on, what you desperately need may come your way – but hanging on may be too long a wait. I prefer ‘live … Continue reading →

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How to be still.

Posted on October 10, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

Stillness in a physical sense is as important a function of tension release and self-nourishment as any quietening of the mind may be. It is the letting go of endeavour, the ceasing of striving, the release into a grounded serenity. … Continue reading →

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The oldest preoccupations.

Posted on October 1, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

Don’t fear your fear, it is nothing but a long evolved chemical reaction. You don’t have to kneejerk to it or stay in it, just see it for what it is – a true warning sign or just a miss-ping … Continue reading →

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The garden as therapeutic space.

Posted on September 28, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

In the field of social and therapeutic horticulture, many people come to gardening as a break from stress, anxiety and fear, to break from those harmful preoccupations by participation with a more natural engagement. Gardening is the perfect distraction, the … Continue reading →

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the nature of things

Posted on May 14, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn (American professor emeritus of medicine and mindfulness advocate.) Sure, mindfulness can be a relaxation technique – a way to attune to … Continue reading →

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The solace of solitude.

Posted on April 13, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

“Solitude is an essential experience for the mind to organize its own processes and create an internal state of resonance. In such a state, the self is able to alter its constraints by directly reducing the input from interactions with … Continue reading →

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The way to be can be to do.

Posted on April 6, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

Lao Tzu, the Chinese Taoist philosopher (circa the 5th Century BC) is believed to have decreed that “The way to do is to be” – well the way to be can also be to do. I am a fan of … Continue reading →

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Mindful Gardening can cultivate calm and resilience in any crisis.

Posted on April 4, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

Amidst the current corona virus crisis, we are being urged to limit our circle and maintain social distance and that includes in the great outdoors. Recent weeks have seen the easily bored as well as the genuinely cabin-fevered flocking to … Continue reading →

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sowing some positive intent

Posted on March 31, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

In times of doubt and fear, the best antidote is a positive mindset. We gardeners know all about meeting uncertainty and getting on with it anyway – every plant planted, every seed sown is a risk, one we nurture out … Continue reading →

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the garden is therapy

Posted on March 30, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

You may think of gardening as your therapy or just as your pleasant pastime – but even passing time in pleasantness is restorative of mental health and prompting of a physical sense of wellbeing. The word therapy comes from the … Continue reading →

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