I miss surfing. It was my alone time. When you’re riding a wave you’re in that moment, your mind is focussed – no distractions. It’s not often that we find ourselves in this state of bliss during our busy day to day lives. Usually our minds are caught between A and B while anticipating C, whether we’re revisiting the past, anticipating the future, judging things, other people or ourselves. Surfing allowed me to be present in mind and body, from paddling in, standing up to pulling off the back of the wave. This could be all of an exhilarating 10 seconds – sometimes longer, but mostly shorter depending on the conditions and/or type of wave or my ability on the day. Experts suggest that on average a person has between 50,000-70,000 thoughts per day, that’s 5.8 thoughts (as a low estimation) every 10 seconds! 80 percent of those thoughts tend to be negative. It can be a busy time in our heads trying to calm the monkey mind. During my monkey mind moments, when I’ve acted(*1) irrational, overemotional or self absorbed, I felt I was moving away from my true self. Going surfing has always been one of the ways(*2) …