Have you ever had an experience where it was like you were “out of body”, separate from your body and calmly standing back, watching yourself do something? Yes, I know, sounds nutty but actually I think that is what awareness is. I’ve experienced it in a few dramatic situations but these days it’s more constant…
Since I started doing Dr. Joe’s work I have become aware that now I sometimes catch myself reaching for a past memory – no, reaching for a past gut experience, a bad, unhappy, miserable, worry-some feeling. But feelings are created by our thoughts, so my body is pushing me to search my memory for a…
If you are wondering how I came to believe in all this stuff that I am constantly trying to talk to you all about… I would have to start by saying I think I was incredibly lucky to have the parents I had. In the sense that beyond fostering some basic human values in me,…
I haven’t written here for a while. My life has been a bit hectic between family, travel and business. But I woke up this morning in Mara House, Luxor. I have been back exactly 4 weeks yesterday and it has been a whirlwind of catching up with everything. My son has built us a BBQ…
Safety of visiting Egypt through the lens of recent history, impact of media on tourism, explore a compelling perspective on Egypt’s safety for travelers.
Experience freedom in Luxor, Egypt—my philosophy on life, happiness, and living without fear
This is a photo of me at Mara House with two lovely guests in 2010 – see how tired I looked? Well that was a lovely tiredness because it came from long hours at the computer 7 days a week, answering emails, taking bookings for Mara House and our Salahadeen Restaurant – and mostly…
Seems like today is moving day, get-up-and-go-day….but get up and go where? Ireland – kids back to school today, that seems to be the indication that Christmas has passed, New Year is no longer new and the question is what does 2014 hold for me? for you? for anyone? Soon I will be back in…
When you wonder if God is playing with you…. 1. You’re watching Nile TV – the Breakfast Show and you know that Deena Younis has just made a new film in Luxor about the tourist situation etc. and it is on this morning. You’re eagerly waiting in front of the TV and her segment is…
“Woke up this morning…feelin fine…..” I seem to remember a song with those words. Well, thank God, I did wake up this morning feeling fine – more importantly I continued to feel fine after finding two emails from two different lots of people in my inbox. Both cancelling their reservations for next week at Mara…
My blog is like a diary (for my book that is taking so long to write!) and sometimes I use it to let off steam…. The following is an email I received two days ago and it is lovely to hear my blog helped some people come to Egypt and have a good time 🙂…
There are 2 “Mara’s” – there is the practical adult who forgets what she is doing and gets bogged down in Egyptian/Middle East politics and ‘reality’ that is presented on the TV. Then there is there is the childlike one who comes from a magical Irish place, of faeries, leprechauns and mythical warriors which is…
Yesterday I went into Luxor – more accurately, I went on a bit of a joyride around town to catch up with some friends and see how the land lay. the first noticeable thing was that there was nothing to notice – as in no street riots, no burning building, no bloody or mutilated bodies…
In Jan 2011 a revolution happened in Egypt – where I live. Overnight my life was turned upside down, and my business disappeared. My rosy future disappeared. The same could be said for millions of Egyptians, especially those in the tourism industry. Looking back on it now, the last two and a half years have…
“I just want my life back!” must be the cry of so many people around the world today. Syria, Yemen, Libya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mali, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Gaza, Egypt and now possibly Lebanon, Turkey; all suffering from mild public unrest to outright civil war. From floods in Canada, India and right across Europe which have…
4 a.m. I fly into Cairo, hop in a taxi and 30 mins. later I’m letting myself into my apt. – “Home at last, cup of choc and I’m off to bed!” says I to myself……..well, uh…nooo! What is that smell? I drop my bags and follow my nose……”WTF?!” Before my astonished eyes – my…
My mother used to say that nobody except myself would ask people for what he/she wanted at the wrong time – but somewhere else I got the belief that “if you don’t ask, you don’t get, so what have you got to lose by asking?” With that thought in mind, I headed off to see…
Retirement, forced retirement, unemployment in a country experiencing economic disaster, losing a business, physical incapacity, old-age resulting in deteriorating physical mobility, imprisonment, losing children or family whether because they have grown up, moved away or lost through divorce etc. – it strikes me that for a person with an active mind accustomed to leading an…
The good days can be wonderful but the “bad” days can drive you nuts. There are days – like today – when trying to get something done is like wading through mud, have you ever tried it? When I was young I used to have what I came to interpret as “frustration” dreams (no, not…
“Do you speak Arabic?” I am often asked…….from now on my answer will be “just enough to cause a riot if I want!” One thing that sends my blood pressure up is when someone jumps a queue I am standing in. Now, if the person is in a terrible hurry (even if I am also)…