The Gist

Each summer we select audience favourites from The Gist archives to share with all of you. This year we are doing a throwback to our early days with a series on the senses and their impact on our collective well-being. Not just our five physical senses but also our awareness which allows us to develop better habits of mind, feel more compassion for others and practice grateful living. Given the de...

Each summer we select audience favourites from The Gist archives to share with all of you. This year we are doing a throwback to our early days with a series on the senses and their impact on our collective well-being. Not just our five physical senses but also our awareness which allows us to develop better habits of mind, feel more compassion for others and practice grateful living. Given the de...

Each summer we select audience favourites from The Gist archives to share with all of you. This year we are doing a throwback to our early days with a series on the senses and their impact on our collective well-being. Not just our five physical senses but also our awareness which allows us to develop better habits of mind, feel more compassion for others and practice grateful living. Given the de...

Each summer we select audience favourites from The Gist archives to share with all of you. This year we are doing a throwback to our early days with a series on the senses and their impact on our collective well-being. Not just our five physical senses but also our awareness which allows us to develop better habits of mind, feel more compassion for others and practice grateful living. Given the de...

Each summer we select audience favourites from The Gist archives to share with all of you. This year we are doing a throwback to our early days with a series on the senses and their impact on our collective well-being. Not just our five physical senses but also our awareness which allows us to develop better habits of mind, feel more compassion for others and practice grateful living. Given the de...

Each summer we select audience favourites from The Gist archives to share with all of you. This year we are doing a throwback to our early days with a series on the senses and their impact on our collective well-being. Not just our five physical senses but also our awareness which allows us to develop better habits of mind, feel more compassion for others and practice grateful living. Given the de...

Each summer we select audience favourites from The Gist archives to share with all of you. This year we are doing a throwback to our early days with a series on the senses and their impact on our collective well-being. Not just our five physical senses but also our awareness which allows us to develop better habits of mind, feel more compassion for others and practice grateful living. Given the de...

Dr. John Kabat-Zinn has been a pillar in the mindfulness movement for decades. His book 'Coming to our Senses...Healing Ourselves and the World through Mindfulness' builds on his previous writing. This book is expansive, covering topics such as meditation, our ability to pay attention, the benefits of silence, and our relationships. The crux of the book lies in John's exploration of th...

It's easy for most of us to grasp that money, time and health are precious resources. Still, we don't often think of our attention in the same way. But leading neuroscientists like Richard Davidson have been collecting mounting evidence that chronic distraction makes us feel less happy and integrated. So how can we create the conditions to pay attention more deliberately? See full transcri...

Being human and telling stories seems to go hand in hand. We have used stories throughout our history to pass on information, to explain the unexplained or for pure entertainment. Our brains need stories to make sense of the world and our place in it. The theatre of the mind though, can be even more complicated and dramatic than the fiction we consume. But if we are willing to live an examined lif...

I am so glad that we live in an age where we can talk about feelings more openly but I've also noticed a curious paradox. We seem drawn to idea that we can and should always be happy. Yet at the same time we are becoming increasingly anxious. So let's dig into what is at the heart of this conundrum and how we can find more emotional balance. See full transcript here. Photo credit: Andrea d...

For most of us, the pull of distraction is all too familiar. The main culprits of course are our overly busy lives and our always on devices. Neuroscientist and author Maryanne Wolf, examines this phenomenon in the context of reading. Her new book, Reader Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World, explores how we are getting worse at reading information slowly. We are becoming a world of sca...

These days the internet is full of critical views on modern communication. Some people feel that the pendulum has swung too far with all of us being over sensitive to speech, particularly the younger generations. It's fair to say that our societies can't thrive if we make it impossible to discuss matters truthfully and openly. But on the other hand, there is a place in our world for compas...

The recent solar eclipse has got me thinking about shared human experiences. As the skies took centre stage, I found myself caught up in this celestial wonder along with millions around the world. Maybe you did too. But only a lucky few, at the right location, with clear weather were able to witness it fully. As Emma Brockes of the Guardian writes it was 'an event that rewards a small number o...

Despite stress and burnout being a central topic in the media, in medical research and indeed in our own lives over many decades, things don't seem to be getting better. You would think that with ever more technology being created, we would feel less burned out but weren't not. So what's going on? See full transcript here. Photo credit: AI Generated

Recently I have been reflecting on all the people who have crossed my path over the years. As a consultant I've been privileged to work with people all over the world, at all levels, across many organizations. So why did certain people make a lasting impression? Was it their outward successes or their inner character that left their mark on me? This is the question that journalist and author D...

With each passing year, I realize that life is just one big classroom. My days of sitting in an actual classroom with a teacher lecturing in the front are far behind me. And yet, everyday I am learning something anew. Perhaps you feel the same way? In the curriculum of life, teachers come in all shapes and sizes. They may be strangers somewhere in the world, thousands of miles away that somehow in...

One of the greatest joys as a mother is watching how my children change. Of course it is most obvious physically, like when they started getting taller and towering over me. But what fascinates me more is their minds. When they were small they saw the world in black and white terms. Now as they move through their teens toward adulthood, I see them grappling with the realization that life is nuance...

One of my favourite quotes on writing comes from the wise and loveable Albus Dumbledore, the wizard of wizards from the Harry Potter series. He says, "Words are, in my not-so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic." And I couldn't agree more. Writing has a powerful impact on all of us - it forces us to slow down our thinking and get what's in our heads onto a medi...

While we are all busy living, we often do everything we can to avoid thinking about death. It's easy to believe that illness and loss is something that happens to other people until we are confronted with it directly. That's exactly what happened to Dr. B. J. Miller when, as a care free 19 year old student at Princeton, he had a freak accident that would alter his whole life. Miller, out o...

Whether its young children on the playground or grown ups in a board room, we all experience friction in our interactions from time to time. Of course it's natural to yearn for a world where we all just get along, but the reality is we all have to deal with difficult people. And if we are honest, we can all be the difficult people that others have to deal with as well. So what are some things...

As much as February is considered the month of love, it can also be a time when we feel out of sorts. A nagging malaise or feelings of loneliness are not uncommon and we might look outside ourselves for explanations. Things like the weather, where we live or work and our relationships can certainly impact our moods. But we often overlook the importance of a healthy interior life that offers streng...

Each year, when February rolls around, I can't help but turn my attention to relationships. It's hard not to, when we are surrounded by marketing about, the now almost ubiquitous celebration of, Valentine's Day. Like many modern holidays, I wonder why we've dedicated this single day to celebrate love, particularly romantic love. And yet, it is a good reminder to pay attention to ou...

We kicked off this year with our Being Well series covering the benefits of nutrition, sleep, exercise and mental resilience. It seemed apt to wrap the series up with a review of Dr. Peter Attia's book, Outlive, which shows us just how crucial these four factors are as we age. Dr. Attia, a physician and longevity expert, provides an in-depth look at how we can improve both our lifespan and wha...

No one, not even the wealthiest amongst us, can escape illness and aging. And despite all our medical advances, science is showing us that prevention is still our best option. Small investments now can pay off in the long run. Assuming we have developed the habits necessary to support our overall physical well-being, there may be at least one other thing that will help us weather the inevitable st...