I celebrated my 35th birthday yesterday. It had to be up there with one of the best days of my life. My two-year-old son woke me with a bright bunch of flowers and a birthday kiss. My husband made me a home cooked breakfast. I worked on my book all day and in the afternoon, I snuck away to our local beach for swim in 24-degree water (Sydney is currently in the midst a lovely long summer), after which I meditated at my favourite spot looking out over the ocean. Later that evening my parents-in-law brought around a cake they... Read full article »

In the last few weeks I’ve been doing a social experiment unbeknownst to the people around me. My family, friends, colleagues and even total strangers have all been unwittingly drawn into the exercise. Inspired by the work of Professor Barbara Fredrickson, a leading researcher looking at the health benefits of positive emotions, I’ve been practising the ‘Three Loving Connections’ exercise. It involves consciously trying to boost my brain and body’s experience of the power of love by seeking out three meaningful interactions each day and reflecting on them each night. According to Fredrickson’s findings, it appears these micro moments may... Read full article »

There is one sentence in the English language guaranteed to trigger a stress response in my body and a friend said it to me the other day.  ‘There are just four weeks until Christmas.’  I instantly felt panic rising in my body with thoughts like ‘I haven’t bought any presents,’ ‘There goes my diet,’ and ‘Here come the late nights.’   To me, the modern version of the ‘Silly Season’ seems completely out of whack with the origins of many of the traditions that we celebrate. In the US, it starts with Thanksgiving and then the rest of the world... Read full article »