We can be so focused on the perceived shortcomings of our bodies — too thin, too fat, too big, too small — that we fail to appreciate what an extraordinary means we have at our disposal to experience the world around us — our body’s sense of Touch.

I have practised meditation and studied Buddhist philosophy in some detail, but never has it been so clear to me that all phenomena are impermanent and transient, that life is suffering and change, or that everything in fact depends on your mental attitude to the constant stream of illusions, as a day by the seaside in England.

Does consciousness exist along a continuum, beginning in the simplest forms of life, rather than being an event which springs out of nowhere once a certain level of evolution has been achieved?

The word “mindfulness” can evoke images of exotic meditation practices and distant locales. There are dozens if not hundreds of mindfulness-based traditions and practices. But when we strip away the the saffron robes, the incense, the chanting, and the gurus, what we’re left with is a state of mind available to us all. Here are some simple ways to achieve and expand mindfulness in everyday life.

You’ve heard of accidentally ‘enabling’ the maladaptive behavior of others. But to what extent is our collection of technological gadgetry ‘enabling’ our own inclination to live overly-complicated, unsustainably fast-paced lives that are ultimately damaging to our well-being?

In his new book Cognitive Surplus, Clay Shirky has a big idea: use all that brainpower we waste vegetating in front of the TV to do useful work. But when speaking of a “cognitive surplus” leads us to act as if cognition is a commodity, we set ourselves up for a fall.

What fears stand in your way? I’m going to explore how facing your fears can lead to overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way of improving your life.