Mindfulness has been around for centuries in different capacities but has recently become very popular in our world. Whether it’s colouring books, yoga, meditating or a mindful app, the importance, and benefits, of being mindful have burst into our lives and it’s been hard to avoid. Not that I’ve tried to, I have a mindfulness colouring book myself and I love it, I find it very absorbing. 

In an era where people are finally talking about mental health and the importance of looking after your mental health, mindfulness has been suggested many times as a way to alleviate stress and anxiety and become more present. Obviously, it has worked for many people and there is now a massive industry behind it. However, in this book, Brian Draper goes deeper. 

By using various mindfulness techniques, Brian encourages you to connect with your soul, reach out lovingly with your soul and live with soul. It’s not a purely “Christian” book, but Brian includes his own personal faith, occasionally including scripture and prayer. Therefore, it’s accessible for people with a faith or none, though sometimes, as someone with a faith, I wanted more Bible, Holy Spirit etc.

Putting that aside, this is a very practical book which even has a chapter at the end listing all the exercises and advice mentioned throughout the book (so you don’t have to flick back through to find something again). The”mindfulness” trend has largely been about de-stressing and reducing anxiety, but Soulfulness looks outwards to our relationships with others and the world. The exercises are not just to become less stressed and more centred, but more loving, more open, more considerate, more hospitable, more gracious, more forgiving, ultimately more Christ-like. There are obviously many ways to do this, but these practical exercises do help something in your mind shift and we are called to “be transformed by the renewing of (our) minds” (Romans 12:2).

As someone who’s been exploring soul care and mindfulness since coming close to burnout a few years ago, I found this a really helpful addition to a limited collection of books on the matter. I’d like to read it again to further embed the suggested practices. If you are someone who’s been interested by the emergence of mindfulness and have wondered how to engage with it from a Christian perspective (like me), this is ideal. Or if you’re not a Christian but still fancy going deeper with mindfulness, you’d enjoy it too. I’d recommend it 😊.

If you know me even just a little bit, you probably know I like penguins… Quite a lot. So Sam bought me this book and, obviously, I really enjoyed it!

The book is a true story and focuses on the rescue and rehabilitation of a penguin in Argentina. The author writes of his adventures in such a heartfelt, light way that your spirits can’t help being lifted. 

I recommend it as a light holiday read that will educate you and probably make you fall in love with, if not all penguins, at least this one.