mostly david ephgrave

My mental health's very vulnerable at the moment, though I'm meditating regularly to keep it in check. I have classes every Tuesday, via Zoom (like so many other things right now) and took part in an online retreat last weekend too. We met three times that day via webcam for ninety-minute sessions of guided meditation and were encouraged to practise mindfulness in our own time too; not that I did much as it was my wife's birthday. And it certainly helped me slow my mind down for a bit (so much so, I fell asleep during one of the sessions). The problem is keeping on top of the low mood that seeps through. I have podcast interviews to research for and promote with little energy to do it, particularly when there's no real money coming in. I've spent the last few years trying to get the right agent, but the current climate will make taking on new clients unlikelier than usual. I know my circumstances are mirrored if not worsened the world over with COVID-19 and...

I quite like the idea of going on a meditation retreat. I don’t know if I ever will. It seems like an extravagance. Do you need to go away to do something you can practise anywhere? Despite the nagging feeling that I shouldn’t, primarily for financial reasons, I’m still tempted. It would be nice to know I’d be using the time to consolidate on the techniques I’ve learnt from my classes and books, and treating myself to a little me-time in the process. I’m not sure I’d be able to cope with the social side, being by my very nature, antisocial. I like to have time to myself, so the enforced sociability would be a struggle. I know I’ve used the word ‘social’ in various forms three times in this paragraph, but I haven’t got the energy to rework it; I write every day, man. (...I’m already down with the lingo.) Despite this potential setback, I think it would be good for me. It would be great stress relief. What may seem like a luxury might...