Kirstie writes from her own experience.

Enjoy Kirstie's own reflections and musings to help spark your own ideas, discussions and wisdom.

Why is mindfulness relevant to modern life?

Kirstie Templeton 6/4/25

1 Pause

Without the 'pause', we race through life planning, avoiding, hoping, memorising, fretting. Many of us on auto-pilot, conditioned by our past and culture. Slow down and pause: be HERE & NOW, get off auto-pilot & get in the driving seat. This is your life.

2 Relax

Noticing our habitual tensing, bracing, and striving felt in the body, is a key step. Sensing the undercurrents of anxiety or tension. With kindness, inviting a softening and releasing. Letting go in this way brings us down to earth and out of survival mode.

3 Open

We tend to habitually contract around our hopes, fears, & beliefs. Here, we are opening to things as they really are with kindness and curiosity. Touching the life that's here. The good, the bad, and the mysterious. Awake and receptive, receiving our truth in the wake of reality.

Photo of Kirstie outside gazing off to the right with the breeze blowing her hair as the sun shines down and the sky and grass can be seen

photo of nine adults (men and women) linking arms in a circle taken from above their heads as they gaze up at the camera with smiles.

4 Savour

Given the pace of modern life, we may rarely savour the fullness of pleasant or insightful experiences & we often try to avoid pain. Learning to savour and marinade in the sensations and insights - only so far as we are able. Heart, body, mind can align, communicate and know.

5 Respond

A frantic life can make us more reactive & guarded, at the whim of events around us. Being more grounded and spacious, in tune with our inner life, we can more readily respond with courage, wisdom and authenticity to the life that's here.

Yes - with care

Meditation and compassion practices, undertaken with like-minded people, and weaved into our own daily life routines, can be a valuable tool for many of us. We look after our teeth regularly, let's look after our mind/heart/body system. Formal and informal practices mean there is flexibility depending on your personal needs as life unfolds.