Loving Kindness

I started doing the Loving Kindness meditation with Amy in July 2018. These are the basic sentiments expressed in it.

May I be kind and patient with myself
May I love and accept myself for what I am
May I forgive myself my mistakes
May I be safe and free from suffering
May I feel happy and healthy
May I find peace, joy and ease of well-being

These feelings start in the heart, spread throughout the body, limbs and head, throughout the house and reach out to other people and beings, to family, friends, neighbours, the whole world, the solar system and all corners of the universe and then all the way back into the heart once more. This meditation also includes breath awareness, slow and calm, and a body scan.

The Loving Kindness meditation is used to help treat sufferers of PTSD. I have found it particularly helpful.

An Anatomy of Love

'An Anatomy of Love' is my seven poem cycle of reflections on romantic relationships from waiting for something to begin through enjoyment and endurance and finally coming out on the other side. 'Anything but love' is a poem about distraction, about what you might concentrate on when trying to move on from a broken heart. It is more descriptive of my life since 2008.

Valentine's Day

I wrote this poem when I was a teenager. Much has happened since then, mostly surrounding marriage, mortgage and motherhood, but also music, other creative endeavours and my degree and 25 years working in libraries. However Valentine's Day has continued to be a small source of disappointment for me, so these days I spend it at home with my family, rather than on any great romantic quest.