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Gavin Brennan
Gavin Brennan

95 Followers

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Apr 17, 2021

The Fog of War

A fog of war blankets the undiscovered world. For every part of it you uncover in the world around you, you uncover in the world within you — When I was young there was a computer game I loved playing called Age of Empires. It was a strategy game where you took control of one of the great civilisations of history — Romans, Aztecs, Mongols, etc. — and had to build their empire up from scratch. You started…

Blog

8 min read

The Fog of War
The Fog of War
Blog

8 min read


Apr 10, 2021

We Need to Be Bored Again

“Boredom is the desire for desires” — Leo Tolstoy Following on from what I was saying about mindfulness, meditation, and those surges of energy we call emotions — what are we really doing when we’re meditating on these feelings? Why do we feel uncomfortable with this energy rushing through our…

Blog

4 min read

We Need to Be Bored Again
We Need to Be Bored Again
Blog

4 min read


Mar 12, 2021

Travel Is Not About Where You Go — It’s the Experience of Novelty

“Adventure is the discovery of the self, it is both feared and desired.” — Joseph Campbell In these times of restricted movement, it’s good to remember that travel is not just about the places you go. Although unique cultures and natural beauty are worthy of our attention, there is always…

Travel

8 min read

Travel Is Not About Where You Go — It’s the Experience of Novelty
Travel Is Not About Where You Go — It’s the Experience of Novelty
Travel

8 min read


Mar 3, 2021

Peak Experiences, and How They Can Change Your Life

Life is not all about suffering, as some of the greatest philosophers have told us. In life’s greatest and most blissful moments, we find not only joy and happiness, but wonder, awe and transcendence. “Experience always means ‘bad experience’, doesn’t it?” quipped Nietzsche, though Nietzsche probably never knew what it’s…

Psychology

7 min read

Peak Experiences, and How They Can Change Your Life
Peak Experiences, and How They Can Change Your Life
Psychology

7 min read


Feb 2, 2021

Time Has Lost All Meaning — But That Could Be a Good Thing

“Time is the mother of all stressors” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb Introduction Time is beginning to lose all meaning now, if it hadn’t already at some point in the last year. I’m guessing it’s because, unlike the last lockdown, there is no Christmas to look ‘forward’ to (or worry about, depending…

Time

7 min read

Time Has Lost All Meaning — But That Could Be a Good Thing
Time Has Lost All Meaning — But That Could Be a Good Thing
Time

7 min read


Nov 13, 2020

My First Time Meditating

The Rock I count to five. Then I count to ten. Every so often I open my eyes and turn around mildly concerned that a stray tourist was making their way through the woods behind me, but it’s just a breeze rustling over the fallen leaves and branches that have…

Travel

8 min read

My First Time Meditating
My First Time Meditating
Travel

8 min read


Nov 13, 2020

Surfing in Ireland — Why the Bad Times Are Often the Best Times

We are still locked down and Claremorris hasn’t drifted any further towards the sea, so I’m still reminiscing on pre-Level 5 surfing days. The sunny respite today from this strange series of storms reminds me of one of my last day’s out, and yet despite the fine weather, it wasn’t…

Surfing

4 min read

Surfing in Ireland — Why the Bad Times Are Often the Best Times
Surfing in Ireland — Why the Bad Times Are Often the Best Times
Surfing

4 min read


Nov 13, 2020

The Only Way to Raise Your Awareness (The Answer is Kind of Annoying)

There’s a brilliant passage in Anthony de Mello’s book Awareness, itself a brilliant book and highly recommended reading, where someone asks a guru (a legit spiritual teacher, not a ‘guru’) what he needs to reach enlightenment, or improve his life, or be a better person or something like that. One…

Mindfulness

3 min read

The Only Way to Raise Your Awareness (The Answer is Kind of Annoying)
The Only Way to Raise Your Awareness (The Answer is Kind of Annoying)
Mindfulness

3 min read


Nov 13, 2020

A Note on Mindfulness — And Why I’m Never Writing About it Again

A note on the word ‘positive’. There’s an assumption many make that ‘positive mental health’ or ‘well-being’ are about being happy all the time, or expressing or feeling happy all the time, or ‘chilling out’ more. Which isn’t true. Or, that the concepts are have been cynically appropriated by corporations…

Psychology

5 min read

A Note on Mindfulness — And Why I’m Never Writing About it Again
A Note on Mindfulness — And Why I’m Never Writing About it Again
Psychology

5 min read


Nov 13, 2020

Surfing the West of Ireland in Autumn

Carrowniskey — October First The waves were big today. Carrowniskey — Ceathrú an uisce — is Irish for ‘washing machine’. This isn’t true, but it’s what comes to mind any time I think of this beach. It lies out on the far fringes of west Mayo, where an uneven and…

Surfing

5 min read

Surfing the West of Ireland in Autumn
Surfing the West of Ireland in Autumn
Surfing

5 min read

Gavin Brennan

Gavin Brennan

95 Followers

Psychology | Well-being | Travel | Writing | Flânerie.

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