Frequently Asked Questions

If the question you have is not answered here, please don’t be afraid to ask me:

raphael@thedeliciousdelightofliving.com

Am I the Right Person to Work with You?

It is important that you feel comfortable with whoever you are working with. I hope that what is written below and in the whole of the website will give you a flavour of who I am, the way I think and whether my process is suitable for you. 

I work in a way that is “person-centred”, collaborative, integrative and holistic.

First of all, I try to attune myself as best I can to you: to understanding better your needs, aspirations, and sensibilities, so that I can then suggest processes and practices that may wish to explore, to help enable Your Life Development, Life Transformation, or Life Recovery Process.

I believe in the potential of almost all human beings to grow and develop; to live more enriched, satisfying and meaningful lives, whatever stage of life you are at.

I have no “answers” and am not trying to “fix” anything. My purpose is to help skill you further in being your own best friend and your own best teacher.

You are the Driver. I can help with some of the navigation.

The processes and practices I bring to the table are drawn from: brain science (neuroscience); the evidence of clinical research; and wider evidence of what is effective in helping humans to grow and develop their lives.

Neuroscience indicates that the great potential of people to develop and grow throughout their lives, even in advanced ages. This is called Neuroplasticity.

Some of the ways we do this is evolving awareness of our own awareness and various practices for nurturing greater self-care.

One of the ways in which we can evolve and find ways to feel more satisfied, is learning how to live closer to our core values. I utilize proven strategies to help with this.

Where appropriate, I also focus on nurturing qualities of Play and Playfulness, which is  known to be important in learning and development, yet sometimes gets lost in adults. 

Where suitable I bring in strategies from Eco-Therapy that can help you harmonize with totality of the environment around you.

Ultimately the journey we may make together will be unique. It will evolve through our organic dialogue with each other: a dialogue rooted in care, listening and respect.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a practice of cultivating greater present moment awareness of whatever is taking place within ourselves and around us, in way that is nurturing of self-care.

We can be mindful when we are walking, eating and just about any usual daily activity.

Mindfulness is simple but not easy. However scientific research shows that people who can develop a regular daily Mindfulness practice can have significant improvement in their mental health, physical health and overall sense of satisfaction and wellbeing in Life.

Mindfulness can help with stress, pain management anxiety, depression, the effects burnout, many other health conditions and generally nurturing of self-care, and self-satisfaction, and self-fulfilment.

Are Mindfulness and Compassion based Meditations suitable for all people?

While mindfulness and compassion based meditations are evidenced to be helpful for many mental health conditions, they are not necessarily effective for all people.

For some people such practices are contraindicated: not advised

As psychotherapist, mindfulness teacher and professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School Ronald Siegel states:

It’s absolutely contraindicated for many people. For example, for folks who have a lot of unresolved trauma, meaning they’ve experienced painful events in their lives that were too difficult to fully let into awareness at the time, so some aspect of them has been blocked. Maybe it’s the narrative historical memory of the event that’s blocked, maybe it’s the affect associated with the experience that’s blocked, but in some way, the experience has been disavowed. Folks like that, if they start doing certain mindfulness practices, such as spending time following the breath, tend to become quite overwhelmed with the rush of previously blocked material that comes into awareness.

Trauma sensitive Mindfulness expert David Treleaven that many people have undiagnosed trauma - trauma that they may not be aware of - and this can emerge in some way while practicing. If you notice any adverse effects while practicing, please stop and consult with your health professional, a qualified experienced mindfulness teacher or preferably both.

The links to the meditations on my Guided Practices page should not be used to replace any existing mental or physical health treatment. If you have any query about the suitability of mindfulness and compassion based meditations, please consult with your health professional.

What is ‘Deep Ecology’?

Deep Ecology is an ecological and environmental philosophy promoting the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs; alongside restructuring of modern human societies in accordance with such ideas. 

Deep Ecology argues that the natural world is a subtle balance of complex inter-relationships in which the existence of organisms is dependent on the existence of others within ecosystems. The Ancient Japanese had no word for the human that was not in relationship to the world around it: we are inherently relational beings.

Deep ecology's core principle is the belief that the living environment as a whole should be respected and regarded as having certain basic moral and legal rights to live and flourish, independent of its instrumental benefits for human use. 

When we take such a non-human centered relational approach to our bodies and the Planet, paradoxically it can make a significant impact on the quality of our own living.