Anxiety - Geoff Straw - Counselling

What does it mean to be present?

Geoff Straw — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 03:03:56 +0000

We often spend much of our time thinking about the future, or the past. As a result, we miss the experience of being here now, or being present. Richard Rohr describes the importance of presence as an opportunity to learn and to grow. He writes,

“To be present is to know what you need to know in the moment. To be present to something is to allow the moment, the person, the idea, or the situation to change you.” (Breathing Underwater, 2011)

We become receptive and willing to let go of rigid programs, thoughts, beliefs and behaviours that may be holding us back from self awareness.

To practice being present, bring your focus to your breathing, even for just a few minutes and notice what it feels like.

Originally posted 2023-05-24 12:21:40.

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Growing through Grief

Geoff Straw — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 03:03:55 +0000

Grief is a normal, natural response to loss but we often don’t want to know about it. The reality is that we will all experience major and minor losses in our lifetime. Not acknowledging grief can keep us stuck and can be harmful to our well-being. Learning how to meet our emotions with compassion and presence can help us to transform the pain of grief into new beginnings. Some ideas that may be helpful are as follows:

Common misperceptions:

You should move away from grief, not toward it
The goal is to get over your grief
Nobody can help you with your grief
It takes about a year to get over a significant loss
It’s better not to think or talk about the pain
Grief has an end point

Truisms about Grief:

Grief has no timetable
The goal is to grieve well, not right
Grief is not a linear process
Others can help you, support is crucial
Grief changes over time

As Lao Tzu said many centuries ago, “New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.”

Originally posted 2023-03-13 12:20:34.

The post Growing through Grief first appeared on Geoff Straw - Counselling.

Listening to the inner silence

Geoff Straw — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 03:03:53 +0000

Parker Palmer, the author of “The Courage to Teach” writes about the importance of listening for the voice of inner vocation. Sometimes referred to as a “calling” this can be a challenge to realize as our world is so full of competing voices, noise and chaos. He writes: “Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening. I must listen to my life and try to understand what it is truly about – quite apart from what I would like it to be about – or my life will never represent anything real in the world, no matter how earnest my intentions.” (2000)

This approach emphasizes making room for quiet in our daily life – something that most of us find difficult to do. How can we truly “listen” enough to ourselves, our feelings, our passions, our disappointments and our joys? There can be much wisdom and insight to be realized if we can nurture this part of ourselves. We are used to looking for answers outside of ourselves. Some ideas are as follows:

Find a time during your day when you won’t be disturbed and can sit comfortably on your own

Turn off all phones, screens, media

Gently bring your awareness to your breathing, simply following the rise and fall of each breath

When a distracting thought comes, simply return your focus to the breath

Sit quietly, without an agenda and notice what you feel in your body

Even five minutes a day is a good start, then return your focus to the room and carry on with your day

If you feel drawn to writing, you can record your experience – whatever it may be

Originally posted 2023-02-05 12:20:57.

The post Listening to the inner silence first appeared on Geoff Straw - Counselling.

Mindfulness alleviates anxiety

Geoff Straw — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 03:03:52 +0000

We have known for many years about the benefits of mindfulness as a way to live more peacefully. Now, recent research from the Journal of the American Medical Association reinforces mindfulness as a way to reduce anxiety without medications. This study looked at people with anxiety disorders – one group received an antidepressant medication and the other group participated in an eight week mindfulness based stress reduction program.

Interestingly, both groups reported about a 30 percent decrease in the intensity of their symptoms. The researchers also suggest that this program can work well when delivered virtually, something that may make a mindfulness program more appealing to some people who are interested in accessing therapeutic programs in a convenient way.

Originally posted 2023-01-30 12:19:12.

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