Hope Springs

hachete books

Book Review: Making Happy Work by Mick Timpson Have you become overwhelmed with all the things you feel you have to do?  Do you feel as if you are forcing yourself through each day, waiting until all the tasks are done before you can feel any joy?  Have you lost faith in yourself to grow…

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From a Flickering Candle to an Eternal Flame

A lantern with a flickering candle on a table next to the ocean

Ten Steps to Using Positive Emotion to Keep the Light of Joy Burning in Your Life All emotion is positive emotion. When we are feeling something it is because we are alive. To be alive is a gift. This chance we have to be here now is one that is unique to each of us,…

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Light in the Darkness

January and February can be difficult months to navigate.  The twinkly sparkling lights of Christmas have gone along with the midwinter celebrations and we are thrown into two months of darkness thanks to shorter days; often with illness and exhaustion to contend with as well as the lack of light.  It can feel like forever…

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The Abundance of Autumn

“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;” John Keats I love this time of year, the bright fire of nature burning on every tree and bush, the leaves rustling underfoot and the crunch of seed shells cracking on the forest floor.  My children love it too, jumping in piles of…

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The Way Home

Book cover of The Way Home by Esther Wane featuring two hands reaching toward each other at sunset with a child in a field.

I wrote this novel after having my two children, Phoebe and Dominic.  Before I had phoebe I was a career woman in the City and had a strong sense of purpose.  I enjoyed my job and the status it gave me.  After I had my daughter, while on maternity leave, I was left alone for…

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Climbing Your Mountain

Eight years ago today I left my permanent job in the City to go on maternity leave for the second time.  I had a vague notion that I would spend some time while I was on leave to explore a different way of life.  I had dreamed of being a professional actor and a published…

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Five Unexpected Benefits of Meditation.

Last week while recording in a studio in London I saw a picture of the Dalai Lama.  As well as being a great spiritual leader he is also one of the most joyful people I think I’ve ever seen.  And it’s not because he has had a charmed life, far from it, he has faced…

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How to Meditate When You Can’t Sit Still

A monk meditating next to a mountain

I completed a Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher Training course at the weekend and am the proud owner of a new certificate from Awareness is Freedom.  To celebrate this and to start sharing the benefits of this wonderful practice with you I have decided to put together a Meditation Month.  During this month I will be…

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Who Do You Love? Xx

Doing what you love and loving what you do are seen today as the pinnacle of success.  Who would not ask for the chance to exist in a way that work is no longer work because there is nothing you would rather be doing? But is there danger there?  Don’t be ridiculous, what possible problem…

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Rocking Rejection! Xx

  Last week I received a message from a friend asking if my positive psychology study could help her with a rejection she had received.  I paused for a while and looked out of the window at the surrounding countryside while my new puppy whimpered a bit in the back of the car on his…

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