On 17 May 2025, Jack and I were married at the top of The Gherkin in London, hand in hand, surrounded by family, friends, and love.

The ceremony was transformative, deeply meaningful, and unlike anything we’d seen before. It was spiritual but not religious. Personal, poetic, grounded in presence.

Afterwards, so many guests said the same thing:
“That was the most beautiful wedding ceremony I’ve ever attended.”

It was in that moment I knew, I had to offer this to others.

If you’re looking for a spiritual but not religious celebrant in London, or anywhere in the UK or even internationally, this service is for you.

What Is a Conscious Celebrant?

A Conscious Celebrant creates wedding ceremonies with soul – ceremonies that honour love as sacred, without relying on religious tradition. My work blends mindfulness, poetry, storytelling, and presence to create moments that are authentic, inclusive, and unforgettable.

Whether you’re marrying in London, the countryside, or abroad, I’ll help you shape a ceremony that feels just like you.

This isn’t about templates or traditions. It’s about truth. Your truth, spoken clearly and beautifully on one of the most important days of your life.

Why Spiritual but Not Religious?

So many couples today feel a deep sense of spirituality – connection, energy, meaning – but don’t identify with organised religion. You want your ceremony to feel sacred, not scripted. Personal, not performative. Real.

A spiritual but not religious wedding gives you the freedom to honour your values, your journey, and your love in a way that resonates deeply.

Whether you include readings, rituals, music, or moments of silence, I’ll help you craft a ceremony that’s meaningful for you and accessible for your guests.

A Bespoke Wedding Ceremony Created Just for You

As a non-religious wedding celebrant in London, I work with couples from all backgrounds and beliefs. Each ceremony is created from scratch. You’ll be guided through a mindful process that helps you reflect on your love, your partnership, and the vows you wish to speak.

The result is a bespoke, heartfelt wedding ceremony that brings your guests into presence – and gives you a moment you’ll never forget.

I also love working with LGBTQ+ couples, blended families, and those looking for non-traditional ceremonies, meaningful spiritual connection, or a modern way to honour love with depth and intention

Together, we can create something magical, inclusive, and true.

Available in London, the UK, and Internationally

Although I’m based in London, I’m available for destination weddings across the UK and internationally. Whether you’re planning a city celebration, a retreat-style wedding, or an outdoor ceremony in nature, I bring presence, professionalism, and care to every detail.

This is more than a job. It’s a calling. A way of celebrating love as a conscious, sacred act.

Ready to Create Something Beautiful?

If you’re looking for a spiritual celebrant in London, a non-religious wedding ceremony that touches the heart, or a conscious wedding crafted with intention, let’s talk.

Enquire now to explore working together.

By Neil Seligman

Neil Seligman is a pioneer in the field of conscious leadership and a passionate advocate for mindfulness, presence, and spiritual growth at work and in life. He is the author of Conscious Leadership and 100 Mindfulness Meditations, and the Founder of The Conscious Professional.

Ready to go deeper? Here are three ways to connect:

1. Try our 10-day online mindfulness course: Zen in Ten
2. Explore 1:1 Coaching or Energy Work: Schedule Here
3. Explore Keynotes and Team Trainings: Let’s Talk

The post Spiritual but Not Religious? Meet Your Conscious Celebrant in London appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

In the swirl of deadlines, screens, and schedules, nature offers a direct route back to presence.

No words, no notifications. Just wind in trees, sun on skin, the pulse of life.

We are nature. Yet so often we act as if we are apart from it. This disconnection creates not only ecological crisis, but spiritual fatigue.

When we walk barefoot on earth, pause under a tree, or watch the light move through clouds, we remember. We are not just beings with jobs. We are beings of the earth, held by a vast intelligence.

Conscious Professionals need this remembrance. It’s not optional. It’s spiritual hygiene. Nature recalibrates our nervous systems, expands our awareness, and reawakens awe.

Nature doesn’t need us to perform. It just asks us to arrive.

Try this:

Take a walk alone. Leave your phone. Let your senses lead. Touch leaves, listen to birds, notice colour and texture. Let nature speak to you. Don’t try to get anywhere. Just be.

Notice:

• How does the pace of nature differ from your usual rhythm?
• What details become visible when you slow down?
• Where does your breath land when you rest against a tree?

Nature teaches:

• Change is constant
• Growth is not linear
• Silence is sacred
• Beauty is medicine

In Japan, they call it shinrin-yoku – forest bathing. In spiritual language, we might call it earth communion. In either case, it’s about allowing nature to re-attune our field.

In the presence of trees, the mind softens. In the presence of water, the heart speaks. In the presence of sky, something lifts.

The world might be loud, but nature is always whispering.

Presence is not found in effort. It is found in return.

By Neil Seligman

Neil Seligman is a pioneer in the field of conscious leadership and a passionate advocate for mindfulness, presence, and spiritual growth at work and in life. He is the author of Conscious Leadership and 100 Mindfulness Meditations, and the Founder of The Conscious Professional.

Ready to go deeper? Here are three ways to connect:

1. Try our 10-day online mindfulness course: Zen in Ten
2. Explore 1:1 Coaching or Energy Work: Schedule Here
3. Explore Keynotes and Team Trainings: Let’s Talk

The post Presence in Nature: The Path of the Living Earth appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

It’s holiday time! It’s supposed to be chilled out, but is it?

Pack up, hit the road early, and try to make the most of every minute of your precious holiday time. It’s often less about relaxing and more about doing. You try to tick off a checklist of activities, get photos of every moment, and battle crowds at every tourist spot. But is this not the opposite  of a holiday. Shouldn’t it be about ease, quiet, recovery and relaxation?

Listen, we’ve all done it. We’ve all run ourselves ragged on holiday and come home more exhausted than when we left. Maybe the days were packed with activities, but you still felt like something was missing. Maybe you forgot to slow down, to really rest, and just let go.

Here are six ways to shift gears and create a holiday experience that’s actually restorative.

1.     When Your Break Becomes Another To-Do List

It’s easy to fall into the trap of scheduling one more thing, because “it’s a holiday, so why not?” The truth is, even though holidays feel like a break, when they’re packed with non-stop activities, it’s not.

Take a moment and look at your holiday schedule. Is it overly ambitious? Are you cramming too much in? Sometimes the best vacation activity is doing nothing at all. In fact, I tend to ‘plan’ nothing on days in between activity days. The only plan on those days is to not make a plan!

2.     Slower Days, Deeper Moments

I’m talking about a slow morning, a leisurely breakfast, and enjoying the simple things. Maybe it’s sitting outside with a cup of coffee, letting the morning sun warm your face, or taking a gentle walk through a park. These moments allow you to actually be present, rather than just whizzing through activities just to make sure you’ve ‘done it’!

In this slower pace, you’ll likely notice more. Whether it’s the taste of a freshly brewed cup, the sound of birdsong, or just the way the world feels quieter.

3.     Unplug to Recharge

Here we go again. My favourite gripe. Technology!

The whole point of a holiday is to disconnect from the usual stressors, yes? To forget about work, obligations, emails, texts, and social media. And yet, because of our phones, we’re still somewhere else. You could argue that the more connected you are, the less restful your holiday will be.

Try setting clear boundaries with your tech. Consider having ‘tech-free’ blocks during the day or even taking a full 24-hour break from screens. Allow your mind to recharge by truly disconnecting from the virtual world.

4.     Travel Light—Emotionally and Literally

Have you ever found yourself overwhelmed by the sheer stuff you’ve brought with you? It’s not just about physical baggage, either. And then there’s the emotional baggage: stress about work, guilt about taking time off, the pressure to have a ‘perfect’ holiday, and so it goes on.

This holiday, pack light. This isn’t just about clothes. It’s about letting go of the mental clutter too. Allow yourself to travel with fewer expectations and fewer worries.

5.      Bring the Retreat Home With You

The best holidays aren’t the ones that are over before you know it. The best holidays are the ones that leave a lasting impact. When you return home, don’t just slip back into the old routine. Instead, try to integrate the things that helped you feel restored while on holiday, whether that’s carving out time for more quiet moments, continuing to slow down, or honouring your need for rest more regularly.

Don’t let the peace you cultivated on your holiday evaporate. Find ways to carry it with you.

By Chris Thomson

The post Rest, Not Rush: Rethinking the Way We Holiday appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Do you ever play?

By which I mean, not just relaxation. Not scrolling, reading, watching or anything passive of the like. When did you last engage in real, involved, imaginative and immersive play? You may be surprised by how long it’s truly been. We don’t tend to see play as an ‘adult pastime’. However, play, an activity which makes you lose track of time, ignite with creativity, or consider a fresh perspective, can fuel innovation, reduce stress, and enhance problem-solving skills. In the fast-paced world of work, making time for conscious play could be the key to unlocking your professional growth.

1.     How Does Play Link to Productivity?

Play is often perceived as nothing but a vessel for fun. Something that is of no serious use to productivity or innovation. This is simply not true. Play is essential for brain growth and maintenance. It stimulates the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for creativity, problem-solving, and emotional regulation. That being the case, Conscious professionals who engage in play often tend to be able to think with greater flexibility, act with better adaptability, and consider perspectives other than their own, than those who don’t play all that much.

2.     Play for Innovation

Having a brain that is used to play makes it more practised at knocking around new ideas and improves your confidence in taking risks. Indeed, play-like processes are often used in business settings, and you may not even be conscious of them. Brainstorming, creating strategy, troubleshooting and branding are all examples of playful business practice. Play outside of work can help to equip you better to engage with these processes. Brainstorming can be improved through improvisation, for example. Design and an eye for what engages customers can be bolstered through creative activities. Gaming is excellent for growing the strategic capabilities of the brain. When you’re not afraid to experiment and take risks in a playful environment, you’re more likely to carry that energy into your work.

3.     Play for Stress Reduction

Stress and burnout are something pretty much everyone comes up against these days. They are significant roadblocks to productivity. Play acts as a natural stress reliever. Of course, it does. A relaxed and endorphin filled you is a more useful you. So, make sure you really to play as hard as you work.

4.     Play at Work

Encouraging play at work isn’t as mad as it sounds. I’m not promoting soft-play areas in break rooms (although, I’m sure it’s been done). Simple changes like gamifying tasks or allowing space for creative breaks can make a huge difference. Conscious businesses are getting much better at recognising the value of play and actively encouraging conscious playful thinking to boost innovation.

5.     Make Play Part of Your Everyday

The key to benefiting from play, as with anything, is consistency. Little and often. Your brain will only learn to think and act more playfully through the maintenance of that cognitive skillset. I’d say, as far as new habits go, finding time to play isn’t the hardest habit to get into. It is perhaps one of the easiest and most pleasurable ways to grow your professional skill set.

So, make time for a creative hobby. Join a football team. Heck, schedule an hour of PlayStation time every week! Make play a regular part of your routine. The more you play, the more adaptable, innovative, and resilient you become in your work life.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Fuelling Professional Growth Through Play appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Christmas is intense. A complete bubble of never-ending social and geographical movements. A crash course through most of the people you know and love. Then new year comes. A time of joy, renewal and reflection. The part of the year when you concoct all kinds of grand plans about how you are going to do better, what projects you are going to take on, and which parts of the world you are going to conquer.

But after these highs, come the crashing lows of reality kicking back in. That isn’t to say that the usual pattern of life is dull, it simply isn’t the same as living in the glittering bubble of late December, where you can forget your troubles and get happy.

Even though I try not to get over-ambitious at the start of the year (it always ends in a handful of supposed failures), I still manage to get carried away with my wishes for the year ahead. So, in order to stifle my disappointment, and in the spirit of new year self-care, I am trying a few things to make sure I don’t set myself up for a rocky 2025!

1.     Don’t Go Too Hard to Soon

My new year goes like this, typically. I act as well as write. So, I will come off my Christmas acting job around a week into January, feel behind, leap straight back into writing, project planning and stressing about what has been neglected over Christmas, fall into my old habits and inevitably burn out by the beginning of February. I don’t take a moment to think. No planning time. No low pressure, ‘ease into the year’ period. So, I have given myself a week and a very short to-do list. I am taking a week in January to look properly at my habits, work planning and personal needs before trying to work those things out at the same time as juggling one hundred other things.

2.     Rest

‘I’ve just had a break and a rest. It was Christmas,’ you might think. The thing is, for most of us, Christmas is not restful. Arguably, it is even less restful than normal life. It is wonderful, sure, but it also drains social energy. It requires your brain and emotions to work overtime. Your body takes on many more calories than usual and might leave you feeling sluggish… like you need to nap for a week. So, what I’m saying is… maybe nap for a week. Or at least a day or two. Don’t pack those weekends out in January… maybe take the odd Saturday to do nothing.

3.     Reset the Space

It’s a bit sad to remove the Christmassyness from your space. All the colour and light of the festive season has to be packed back into those boxes that will live in the loft until December comes around again. But the home underneath needn’t be sad. The removal of decorations is a chance to reset your space for a new purpose. The purpose of calm, mindfulness, and renewal. As you are taking down your decorations, take the chance to throw a few things out, clean all the surfaces, set your bits and pieces straight, hey, and maybe even move a few things around to make the space feel fresh and new. Embrace the transition.

4.     Eat Mindfully… Eventually

Indulgence over December always leads to underindulgence immediately after, for some people. It’s insane to go from chocolate, cheese and wine for every meal to carrots only seven days a week. It’s not fun. It’s not sustainable. And it will almost certainly make you sad. Transition your eating. Don’t go cold turkey (a fitting expression). Sure, make sure you are back planning meals, eating in a more balanced way and maybe not bloating yourself three times a day. But don’t try and pull the Christmas eating habits out from under your feet… life is too short for this kind of penance! Sometimes, self-care looks like cake.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post January Self-Care: Post-Christmas Reset appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

I spent so many years refusing to think of New Year as a marker of any kind. Years are arbitrary. We invented them. Why should the end of one year and the beginning of another feel like the end of a chapter and the beginning of another? Why can’t we just let time be time, and keep running along the treadmill without rest?

I don’t feel like that now. Perhaps it’s because I’m so busy and often overwhelmed, that time to reflect, take stock and realign targets is so much rarer now. Before my work became busier and more stressful, and before I had kids, I was free to spend a whole weekend in my own head, thinking about what personal wellbeing projects I wanted to undertake, and what goals I wanted to hit.

The thing is, we can’t make a plan at the beginning of adulthood and run with it for countless years without checking in with ourselves. A year is a good, digestible chunk of time. Almost bitesize. It makes the ambitions of life feel a bit less daunting. Checking in at the end of the year is a perfect opportunity to look at yourself. To consider where you are going and how you are doing. New year is now a time when I can reap the benefits of having stopped for a while.

This is why I always try to have quiet days between Christmas and New Year. To ensure that I have found time to clear out my brain so that I can launch into the new year with some fresh clarity and drive.

1.     Clear Out Old Ambitions

I kind of deal with last year’s targets like I deal with old clothes in my wardrobe. I look at things I’d like to look good in, or fit into, and think, ‘No, no. I will wear that one day.’ If a year has gone by, and that jumper has still yet to be worn, I think, perhaps, it might be time to say goodbye to it.

Consider the big plans you had for the year just gone. Think about the ones you didn’t quite manage. Are they plans you still want to follow through on, or have times changed? Don’t cling on to goals for the sake of it. Consider whether you actually still want to reach for them.

2.     Find Some Brain Space

Clearing out your mental clutter requires some mental space. Some quiet, away from devices and screens. Go for a walk. Take a nap. Stare at the crackling flames in the fireplace. Let yourself sort through the debris in your brain left over from a year of doing without stopping.

3.     Address Mental Resolution Goals

Are there mental health obstacles in the way of you feeling freer, more relaxed, happier? Happier people are better placed to lead the productive lives they wish to lead. So, look inside yourself. Is there work you could be doing on your fears, habits, behaviours and tendencies in order to unlock the life that you want to lead? If there are, perhaps it’s worth making a plan for that.

4.     Don’t Make Too Many New Resolutions

Resolutions are notorious for going unresolved. Two weeks into the new year and you have already fallen off your gym schedule, had three takeaways, scrolled on your phone every night in bed, neglected to carry on getting up early enough to make a decent breakfast, etc. etc. etc.

Why? Well, one reason is because often, we promise ourselves we are going to improve in fifteen different ways. It’s too much. One does not become a different person overnight. A few resolutions are fine. Make some headway with those, and maybe you can add a few more in March.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Clear the Decks (Mentally) for 2025 appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Whether you like winter or not, the fact is, a harsh winter day can be, well, very harsh. It can chill you to the bone. It can soak you through. Your face can be so icy you can hardly feel your nose, and your fingers so frosty they can barely function. Here are some comforting and cosy things to help you to recover from such wintry conditions!

1.     Fresh Face

This is underrated, I think. Giving your face a good wash; removing the grime of the day and leaving it tingling and fresh is a great way to give yourself a little energy boost. As much as it is nice to slump straight onto a sofa as soon as possible after work, washing your face will give you a bit of a list so that you might enjoy your evening with a little more verve and lucidity.

2.     Dim the Bright Lights

If possible, try and keep the vibe in your home calm. Soft lighting is a great way to do this. The cold of the outdoors, and often the brightness of offices and other workplaces can be intense. To help bring your mood into a softer place, try to keep stark lighting to a minimum. All of our senses require regulation, as they are all sensitive to stimulation. A warm house will help to relax your sense of touch, low lighting will help to relax your sense of sight.

3.     House Clothes

The first thing I recommend you do is to change out of your work clothes. Personally, my work clothes are informal, yes, but also practical… and so, not especially comfortable. Fitted jeans and a button-up shirt are not the clothes I would wish to relax in, especially if I have been running around the city in them all day. If you work in an office and wear formal clothing to work, I imagine you might find it hard to relax in your work clothes as well.

Even since I can remember, I have always had designated house clothes to wear. Usually, it is a T-shirt, a pair of light trousers (sometimes pyjama bottoms) and a loose jumper, all earmarked specifically for wear in the house. This change is about comfort, but it is also to help my brain switch from work mode to leisure mode.

4.     Sound Bathing

I always feel at my cosiest and calmest when I am in bed or under a blanket listening to the rain falling outside. White noise or chilled music are wonderful ways of making your home feel chilled and safe. They also help to occupy the spaces in your mind where there might be worry or anxiety.

5.     Blankets

As well as keeping you warm and aiding the illusion of cosiness, blankets also help to dull worry and anxiety. A little weight on the body, a little light pressure, helps to connect us with the ground and to release all of those muscles that have become tighter throughout the day.

6.     Hot Drinks

Hot drinks are more than just a way to hydrate. I mean, if you are reading this and you are English, I need not reiterate the healing properties of a humble cup of tea to you. Hot drinks can warm you up from the inside when you are cold to the core. They can be used to show love for others. They will warm your hands. They give you an opportunity to be still for a moment, to ponder and exhale.

7.     Know Yourself

Regulating your wellbeing and staying resilient is helped enormously when you are conscious of both what triggers you and what calms you. Whatever your routine is when you get home after a busy day, whether in the Winter or the heights of Summer, make sure it is a routine that has been considered and offers you what you personally require to look after yourself.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Wellbeing: Things to Do After a Day Out in the Harsh Winter appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

My brain fogs quite a lot. My job, being writing, is ‘creative-brain-heavy’. It relies on imagination, non-finite solutions, research, and clarity of communication. Therefore, unsurprisingly, my brain often turns to mush, and I struggle to advance in whatever I’m writing.

I find this very frustrating. Brain fog grinds my day to a halt and not only means that work doesn’t progress, but that feelings of stress, frustration, and anxiety become part of my day.

It is because of this that I have had to come up with various ways to de-fog my brain. I don’t doubt that I am not the only one this happens to. I also know that different things work for different people. However, if you are looking for a few new fog-clearing techniques, perhaps some of mine will be useful to you.

1.     Switch Projects

I am never without multiple projects. On top of that, each project will be in a different voice, on a different subject, or for a different purpose. If I am wiring something and come up to a block, it is only worth me trying to push through it for so long before I am simply wasting time. I may as well use that time on a project in which I can move forward more easily than frustratedly stare at a blank page waiting for a problem to solve itself. I switch projects. And most of the time, when I eventually come back to project one, what seemed elusive now, miraculously, seems easy.

2.     Eat. Drink.

So often I find my brain turning to mush, and don’t contemplate the possibility that, perhaps, I just need some more fuel. A snack. Something with protein or sugar. A drink. Perhaps with caffeine. But often hydration is just the ticket. It seems obvious, but its worth checking whether you are sufficiently sated if you are struggling to think.

3.     Entertain Yourself

It often helps me to do something that entertains me. Something that puts my mind in a happy or inspired place. Maybe, if my project is a comedy project, I’ll watch a bit of a funny movie or an episode of a sitcom. Maybe, as I am now, if I’m writing a children’s book, I will actually read a few chapters of a children’s book. Not only do I enjoy these things, but they sometimes spark some fresh ideas about what I am working on.

4.     Disengage the Foggy Portion

Writing, in my case, or whatever it is you are stuck on, uses only a particular part of the brain. Go and do something that engages a different bit of your mind. Going for a walk will do that. Doing chores will do that. Exercise will do that.

5.     Consider When Your Brain Works Best

Some people are great at working late at night. I know that my concentration is at its very best first thing in the morning. If there is a task that I’m really stuck on, I will likely leave it and come back to it first thing the next day. The same task will often take me a third of the time at 6 am than it would at 8 pm. So really try to be conscious of when your brain works at its most efficient and try to plan difficult tasks accordingly.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Best ‘Brain Fog’ Busters appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Many of us suffer in the winter. The cold days, the draughty windows. The short days the bitter nights. I think it’s fair to say that most people pine for the warmer months. Personally, I think every season has its virtues. Certainly, in my opinion, there is not a month in the year that doesn’t have pros as well as cons.

I love spring. It’s generally not too hot and not too cold. It’s a symbol of new life after the barren nature of winter. However, it’s also a bit volatile. Is it going to rain, is it going to be dry and roasting? What am I supposed to wear?

I love summer. It’s the season of heat, of eating outside, of regular ice cream and Aperol Spritzes. We put the bulky winter threads back in the wardrobe for a while. But also, I run hot. And often, summer is too hot for me. Too humid.

I love autumn. I really like rediscovering my old jackets and sturdy boots. I enjoy the colours of the leaves as they change, and as they litter the streets around me. But it also includes the run-up to Christmas… and I find that immensely stressful.

Now winter has many downsides. I’ve named some above. But what are some of the things that comfort me about winter?

1.     Cold Out, Warm In

Only an hour before I wrote this very sentence (which is in late October, by the way), we turned on a radiator for the first time. There is nothing quite like the feeling of a cold room being gently warmed by central heating. I remember finding the feeling of wrapping up in a duvet, next to the radiator, with my favourite book, as the wind howled, the rain fell or the frost crept up the window, immensely comforting as a child. Warmth and softness when you can see that outside is neither warm nor soft, is deeply comforting and relaxing.

2.     Watch the Water Fall

When I work, I listen to white noise. My go-to sub-genre of white noise is rainfall. Sometimes even with rolling thunder in the background. The rhythm and tone of falling rain does something to the brain. It helps me to regulate the internal noise. However, this is no match for real rain. I never sleep better than when rain is pattering on the window. The pitter-patter functions like counting sheep for me. Watching falling rain, or even snow, is immensely calming also. Snow, in particular, is quite magical. There is something special about the humbling feeling of being so small against the will of the elements, and yet safe inside. There is something soothing about that reminder of the natural world. 

3.     Winter Food

Don’t get me wrong. Love a barbecue in summer. Love a fun salad or vibrant pasta in spring. I love stews, pies, soups and lasagnas too… but they don’t feature too regularly outside winter. A steaming bowl of tomato soup and a stack of marmite on toast is no good to me in the middle of August. Winter is the custodian of some of the richest, heartiest, hug-in-a-bowl…iest food there is.

4.     Winter Clothes

I actually see summer clothes as a downside to summer. Shorts never seem to fit me right, I never have enough pockets for everything, and I have not as yet managed to find an item of clothing that can make me cooler than I would be if I were wearing nothing. Like I say, I run hot. In winter, warmth is achievable with many layers of comforting items. I like it to feel like I’m walking around wearing a fashionable bed. I like scarves and coats. I like ugly Christmas jumpers and 80’s coded sweatshirts. I like boots. I don’t like sandals.

5.     The Sounds of Winter

There are sounds that the world only has in winter. I like to appreciate them. The crackling of a pub fire. A crunch as you walk across a sheet of fallen leaves or a fresh patch of snow. The silence of the outside world as the nights come earlier.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Winter Comforts to Soothe the Soul appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

To burn out is not especially uncommon these days. With things getting more expensive, people therefore working harder and longer for less, burnout is becoming more and more likely. That isn’t to say that the dial isn’t swinging back the other way in some industries. Indeed, some industries are even more focused on work-life balance and flexible working than they have ever been.

I have felt myself burn out many times. Each time, for different reasons. I have burnt out because of boredom, receiving unjust treatment at work, overwork, tackling too many jobs at once, and simply feeling that my work-life balance is not offering me enough time to recharge. And so, you see, burnout occurs for many reasons, and that is just referring to one person’s experience.

All that said, I am much more adept at avoiding the burn than I used to be, and this is partially due to some of the following tips…

1. Take A Proper Day Off

If you have a day off, make sure you do exactly that. Many a time I have taken a day off and spent it feeling guilty that I am not being productive with my time. The fact is that rest is productive. If you worry about what you aren’t doing on a day off your brain never gets a chance to relax and recover. You’ll go back to work the next day not feeling rejuvenated at all. When you decide to spend a day doing nothing, enjoy a day genuinely doing nothing. Your resilience reserves will thank you for it in the long run.

2. How About A Holiday?

I never used to think I needed holidays until I went on one after a particularly busy year. When on holiday you have no choice but to put the issues of your day-to-day life to one side, for there is little you can do about them when you are in another country. It is an opportunity to get out of your head; a time for reflection and recuperation. I always return from a holiday feeling energised and inspired about the time ahead. Some of my most successful ideas have been born from the brain space allowed me by a holiday. Holidays can be much more than a luxurious frivolity; they can be truly invigorating.

3. Nothing is Worth Killing Yourself Over

Some people I know have been known (one of them might be me) to see tiredness as a badge of honour; a sign that extra effort has been put in or personal sacrifice has been made in order to make a thing happen. Sometimes working overtime is unavoidable, but the attitude that tiredness is a positive thing is not a particularly good one. First of all, rest is extremely important; it ensures that your mind and your body are healthy enough to function efficiently. The idea that if you haven’t burnt out you haven’t worked hard enough is an unhealthy one, but one that is extremely common. Know what rest you need and do your best to get it.

4. Respect Your Own Boundaries

More and more we live in a world where work hours are much more flexible. We are constantly contactable, meaning texts, phone calls and emails can come to us at any time of the day. And, with the rise in remote employment and freelancing, working from home is more popular. These things mean that the parameters between work time and leisure time are becoming blurred. Before you know it, you find yourself on call 24/7! If you are one of these people, set yourself working hours. Setting yourself a cut-off may be one of the most liberating things you ever do and will make a huge impact on your resilience in the long term.

5. Power Naps are Elite

Power naps are excellent. 20 minutes spent with your eyes closed might seem like a waste of time, but I can assure you that it is not. Not only does this allow for a surge of energy when the 20 minutes is over, but it is a bit of time in the day when you can shut out all external assault on your senses and enjoy some peace. We are constantly bombarded by stimulants throughout the day, if you can find 20 minutes in to shut your eyes and be quiet, you’ll be very pleased you did.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Don’t Let Yourself Burn Out appeared first on The Conscious Professional.