This solo podcast is inspired by the BBC journalist Fergal Keane who has written an article about his search for happiness, a quest that has lasted 30 years. Did he find the answer? Yes, but not what he expected.

I go through his main points and add thoughts from my own journey, such as moments we have both had that can be described as the "lightness of being". Other points are:

• the science of happiness - "our minds are biased to interpret things very negatively", Professor Bruce Hood, University of Bristol
• there is such a thing as the Happiness Poverty Line, and too many of us are living below it
• it's difficult to achieve inner contentment in a "happy-obsessed world" where we are told to simply "be happy" (American psychotherapist Whitney Goodman)
• work is the great permissive addiction
• start with the simple small stuff to change your energy, your mind chatter
• acts of kindness are part of the solution (Finnish philosopher Frank Martela)
• ancient yogic scriptures support our life journey to help us get to a state of contentment

So, what is the secret to happiness? There is no secret.

I'm going solo this time, and inspired by the imminent shift in seasons from summer to autumn, the subject of this podcast is CHANGE. And my question to you is: what is your relationship with change? Do you resist change or can you "go with the flow"?

There have been some recent developments that have made me pause and reflect on how I feel about change, whether it's uncomfortable or comfortable. The reality is that change is happening all the time, it is the nature of the manifest world in which we live. Our environment is changing - think of the seasons, climate change etc. Our bodies are in continuous flux as we age.

So it's interesting that we think we can influence the evolving nature and consequence of time! Our egoic mind distracts us with thoughts of past and future, we come up with concepts such as "anti-ageing", or wanting to "go back to the way things were". This mindset simply keeps us in the fear, in the non-acceptance. And leads to regret, which is an unhappy place.

According to the yogic scriptures, this is a path of suffering. Because we can only ever be in the present moment! So, listen in and check in with yourself - can you indeed go with the flow?

Find Mina:
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It's a popular cliché, "it's about the journey and not the destination", but is this true? What is more important, the getting there or arriving at the endpoint? Fellow yogini Debs Albon and I found ourselves inadvertently answering this question on a trekking trip to Nepal a few weeks ago, and concluded that it is most definitely about the journey!

We had booked the trip with the intention of seeing and honouring the mighty Himalayas and chose the Annapurna Sanctuary trek route. We wanted to learn about the Nepalese mountain culture, especially the spiritual context. The views were utterly awe-inspiring, we were not disappointed. But as we moved along the route, we became increasingly aware of a very pushy, forcing energy from people we met. It was all about "Did you get to the top (of Annapurna Base Camp)?" or "Are you on your way up?" or "Are you on your way down"?

What about the simply being there, absorbing the majesty of the mountains and paying homage to this sacred area, rather than leading with a "conquering" attitude. People die every year on the mountains because they don't realise they are guests, not masters, of the peaks. But the over-achieving, get-the-selfie ego is powerful and that's how the destination becomes the all-important goal.

We have a choice: surrender to the ego or surrender to the universe. So, it's not as simple as surrendering, but rather, to what are you surrendering. This was our learning. And as we travelled on to Kerala, India to immerse ourselves in the culture and spirituality there, we made this our intention. Listen and enjoy our adventure sharing!

For information on our India Yoga Retreat offering 10-18 March 2025, click here.