In 1993 author Peter James caused a global outrage when he published his thriller Host on two floppy disks. The first “electronic novel,” which is about a scientist who downloads his brain into a computer and has his body frozen, was considered the beginning of the end of literature as we know it, not because of its plot, but because it was thought to be a sign that printed books would soon join clay tablets as relics of our technologically primitive past. Fortunately predictions about the book apocalypse have not yet manifested and when it comes to my endless pursuit... Read full article »

I’m often asked why I went to so much trouble to make my new documentary My Year of Living Mindfully. The project took me and my co-producer (and husband, Jules Harvey) almost three years from start to finish. It involved a 30,000 kilometres journey around the world from the bright lights of Manhattan to the dusty refugee camps of the Middle East, included interviewing 18 world-leading mindfulness scientists, and required spending $30,000 towards the lab time needed by a team of six Australian scientists who studied me as I meditated throughout the year.Although the whole endavour was elaborate, the motivation... Read full article »

I sat on the stage looking out at an audience of psychologists, mental-heath workers, educators, academics, and everyday folk looking for reliable ways to live better in this crazy, busy, mixed-up world. The event, which was called “Mind The Hype: Is Meditation All It’s Cracked Up To Be?” was hosted by the University of Melbourne as part of Melbourne Knowledge Week and was billed as a panel discussion about whether mindfulness has rightfully earned its place on the top of the global health trend charts.  Although the subject matter was the focus of substantial debate, the enthusiasm for the event... Read full article »

Hello, my name is Shannon and I’m addicted to my phone.For years I have deluded myself into thinking that I was using the device solely for efficiency, productivity and connectivity, but the realisation that my phone is in charge of me and not the other way around dawned one recent Saturday morning.It was six in the morning and my four-year-son, who usually wakes early and repeatedly calls out to my husband and I until one of us is persuaded out of bed, instead, quietly crept into our room for a snuggle. As I slowly transitioned from deep sleep into wakefulness,... Read full article »