Last weekend I found myself standing up in front of an audience of about 1000 people delivering a 20-minute talk, without notes. Big stage. Bright lights. 2000 eyes and ears. Among some of my fellow speakers at the event were world-leading researchers and experts on health and wellbeing for whom I have enormous admiration. Cripes. Just writing these words has awakened the butterflies in my stomach. I was speaking at the Happiness and It’s Causes Conference and despite having done a lot of public speaking previously, in the week leading up to the talk I was still really really really... Read full article »

I needed to pop to my local shopping mall yesterday to pick up a couple of final holiday gifts and found myself stuck in a traffic queue as I joined thousands of others intending to do the same. As we all converged on the shopping centre car park simultaneously, traffic came to a standstill. There was no escape. Given that I’m on a tight writing deadline for my book, time is not something I have to spare at the moment and as I inched my car forward I felt my blood start to boil. My stress response was kicking in.... Read full article »

I'm writing this letter to you because I know how you feel. You may have just been diagnosed with one or more of the chronic diseases sweeping the world in what has been called an epidemic - heart disease, cancer, diabetes or an autoimmune disease like multiple sclerosis. Maybe you've suffered all your life with asthma, high blood pressure, arthritis, thyroid issues, sinus issues, gut issues, migraines, back pain, chronic fatigue, depression or anxiety.   I’m writing to say I know how you feel. I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease ten years ago. I thought I was seeing a... Read full article »

If you’re anything like me and the 20 million other people who have now watched the YouTube video of Mick Fanning’s shark encounter during the J-Bay Open in South Africa, your heart started pounding when you first saw it. The huge dorsal fin of what experts estimate to be a 3.5-meter great white shark rises up out of the ocean taking Fanning by surprise.   By his own account on live television moments after it happened, the shark came from behind him and he instinctively lifted his leg out of the way before he started punching it. “I just sort... Read full article »

My heart was pounding and the butterflies in my stomach were more like tap dancing elephants. I was at the Sydney premiere of The Connection about to stand up in front of seven hundred people and introduce a film that had taken me three years to make - a film I had given my heart and soul to. The cinema was sold out. It was a big moment and my stress response was in overdrive.   Given that The Connection is all about the latest research demonstrating the link between our mind, body and health, and given all the evidence... Read full article »

A couple of nights ago I found myself witnessing an interesting exchange between a meditation expert and an accountant. The meditation teacher was encouraging us to stop at the beginning of each day to do a simple breathing exercise. But the accountant (my Dad) wanted to know why. “What’s wrong with just launching into the day? Why is taking a few breaths going to be good for me? I breathe all day every day and in my sleep, without needing to think about it.”   The exchange between my skeptical father and the meditation expert made me recall the interview... Read full article »