Mindfulness at Work

War: How do we find peace?

I am writing this article to you on Armistice Day when at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the peace treaty was signed ending World War I.

How do we achieve peace in the Ukraine and Gaza?

In improving the way humanity chooses to live, I have always felt it will be a bottom-up evolution with the masses deciding what is the right way to live, forcing our national leaders to change the way they behave.

However, there is nothing stronger than the anger of one nation on another nation. We are seeing this in Gaza/Israel and Russia/Ukraine. In these circumstances I feel it will take a special sort of leader(s) to achieve peace. read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Meet change in the workplace half way: experiment, be flexible, embrace

We are in a period of significant change in the workplace. Digital tools and data-driven decision making are even impacting a simple author, spiritual teacher and public speaker like me!

From my days in corporate life, I know it is important to embrace change rather than to hide from it.

What are the changes and what should I be doing about them?

Don’t get left behind and be in the hard position of having to catch-up. This is much harder than taking each change as it come towards you. When times get financially hard in your business, it is always tempting to cut the training budget as it appears not to be customer or bottom line affecting. With so much change happening in the workplace, this is not the time to do it. Those who invest will get greater productivity, more team engagement and make better decisions which all leads to a better bottom line. read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Living with balance in your life

Finding balance in all you think, feel and do brings you calmness. In my experience, when you feel calmness there is much more clarity on who you are and what is happening in your life.

In the northern hemisphere the Spring Equinox is coming on the 21st March. It brings us out of winter and officially is the start of the spring season. But what exactly is the spring equinox? 

First, let’s get into the equinox, which actually occurs twice a year. We have already mentioned the Spring Equinox. Another equinox occurs on the 23rd September and takes us into autumn. The word equinox comes from Latin and means “equality of night and day.” So, the equinox occurs at two specific moments in time when the sun is exactly above the equator.  read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Relaxation: the importance of taking a break

You may be experiencing the relentless pace of business or the rigours of running a family life or perhaps both!

Stress resides not in the mind but in the nervous system. Our ‘fight or flight’ response raises our cortisol level causing the sympathetic nervous system to activate. Our bodies are designed for a raised cortisol level but only in short bursts to aid our survival. However in our modern ‘always on the go’ life style, many people live with chronic raised cortisol levels leading to slow digestion, sleep disruption and other side effects. read more

By Alison Wem, ago

Relaxation: learn to breath deeply and consciously

Mindfulness is a commonly used term these days. However it is true that breathing consciously or just being still brings calmness which enhances your concentration, lowers blood pressure and aids sleep quality. All are good for enhancing your performance at work and improves your well-being.

The simplest way to induce stillness is to take deep breaths.

I work at home on my own. It can be hard to keep my boundaries between home and work life. Each day I go for a walk, preferably in the park. Today I tried conscious breathing to see if it improved me living in the moment and finding happiness in that moment. It is a simple exercise; read more

By Alison Wem, ago

What is in a smile?

Are you back into the pressure of the working week? It is amazing what a smile can do for you.

When I was growing up, my Mum always used to say to me;

Smile at the world and it will smile back at you.

Having moved to London, I have found few people smile at you in a city. My nieces, who grew up in the Scottish Highlands and now work in London, confirmed that they find the same. It is very unlike home where people smile and say ‘Good morning’. One of them said they were determined to keep smiling at people to see how many she could get to respond. What an excellent idea! read more

By Alison Wem, ago

How to Handle a Toxic Manager

Toxic managers can be challenging and also detrimental to your calmness and well-being. I know this from first hand experience. I was a senior executive successfully delivering a business change programme but I had the meanest manager I had ever experienced. He was a short New Yorker who loved to shout and belittle people. He did not respect that I lived in a different time zone from him and would call me late into my evening. Normally a confident person, my self-esteem and confidence hit rock bottom. It was a very unhappy period in my life. read more

By Alison Wem, ago