It’s like finding the key to a door within that’s been locked for so long, that when opened offers access to so many inner resources to aid navigation through life. This is my experience of meditation, other experiences are available.

In 2023 I visited Pembrokeshire with family, and at the end of the day planned a boat trip out to one of the islands, but when we arrived in St David’s there was only one trip left that day and we were due to leave the area the following day (so it was that or nothing). The departure point was a few miles away from the city (yes, St.David’s is a city – and the smallest in the UK apparently) and we had barely enough time to get there. It didn’t help that I didn’t know the way and initially set off in the opposite direction, but on reflection realised if we were to make it on time I needed guidance – which in this case came from Google Maps. With my course set from a (fairly) reliable source we turned around and headed off to the departure point, arriving (just) in time for the briefing and life-jackets etc. I’d booked a trip around Ramsey Island, which would take us through The Bitches, a reef of rocks and a tidal race which is notoriously turbulent – so I’d envisaged we’d be sailing in a cabin cruiser with a cosy saloon for us to enjoy the view through the window. When I saw the RHIB boat we were heading for I realised why we’d been given waterproofs to wear as well as life jackets, oops. Life doesn’t always give us what we’d planned so it’s as well to have a backup plan – meditation, and I had a treasured set of photos from the day.

So why meditate? In no particular order; manage stress and panic attacks, reduce anxiety, deal with emotional turbulence and appropriately enough, keep focused haha.