Category Archives: Growing mindful

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

Weeding for a fuller life

Posted on March 23, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

The modern world seems to fuel itself on anxiety and hypervigilance, creating a tension loop and stressing the joy out of life. Many people crave something more, something better, a chance at peace and joy. But we do need to … Continue reading →

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The body scan for mindfulness and peace of mind

Posted on March 16, 2020 by The Holistic Gardener

A popular mindful exercise is the body scan – a practice where you check in with your body – bring your attention to it in a systematic way. It is a way of slowing the pace before a meditation, it … Continue reading →

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Cultivating neuroplasticity.

Posted on August 29, 2019 by The Holistic Gardener

Leisure swimmers have different muscles to committed cyclists, gardening works muscles that typing wont. Just as muscles may be built by occupation, pastime or determination so too our brains are built upon by how they get worked – by experience, … Continue reading →

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To plant mindfully

Posted on August 21, 2019 by The Holistic Gardener

In the segment on sowing a seed mindfully I mentioned diligence, diligence is acting with integrity; it is bringing your dutiful and alert self into the process. We gardeners can become automatic on regular gardening tasks and not really be … Continue reading →

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sowing the seeds of mindfulness

Posted on August 20, 2019 by The Holistic Gardener

Sowing seed is not an act of will, it is participation in the divine force of creation, it is participation with the force of life; to renew itself. In sowing seed you are present at the conception of a new … Continue reading →

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how to really deal with slugs and snail.

Posted on July 22, 2019 by The Holistic Gardener

The mindful approach. To be a mindful gardener we may not like what the slugs and snails do but we need not hate or rage. In Theravada Buddhism it is taught that the antidote to anger is compassion and loving … Continue reading →

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A latitude for gratitude

Posted on July 2, 2019 by The Holistic Gardener

Gardening gifts myriad opportunities to be grateful; Grateful that the sun is shining, or that the wind has abated or that the rain is doing the watering today. Grateful that those seeds germinated, or that plant flowered or that bush … Continue reading →

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to look at a flower

Posted on May 24, 2019 by The Holistic Gardener

“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment”. – Georgia O’Keeffe (American artist. 1887 –1986) Gardening can be an all-consuming pastime but within the garden we can be devoured … Continue reading →

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A lie on the grass.

Posted on May 14, 2019 by The Holistic Gardener

When did you last just lay yourself down on your lawn and look up at the sky. A lie on the grass is not just a pleasant rest, it evokes the awe-inspired carefree activity of childhood – a transportation to … Continue reading →

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The three good reasons of mindfulness

Posted on March 17, 2019 by The Holistic Gardener

Trí saghas incheann: inchinn reatha, inchinn cloiche, inchinn chéarach – The three kinds of brain: a running brain, a rock brain, a wax brain. In Ireland we have a long tradition of triads – poetic, insights clustered in threes; like … Continue reading →

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