In Kindly Curiosity - Daniel Stokes

Daniel Stokes has taken over from William Lana as Chair of The Sharpham Trust (read more about our incoming/outgoing Chairs here and see our board of Trustees here).

Here, Daniel answers our questions about his practice and his inspirations

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How did you come to practice mindfulness? 

In my early 30s when I was fully immersed in a business career, I found it very difficult to properly relax and indulged in various forms of distraction including extreme fitness regimes, night clubbing and various recreational drugs. 

At that time a dear friend of mine started meditation classes and recommended a book on the subject. In meditation I had a profound experience whereby almost all the preconceptions I had about my mind and my control of my mind fell away - it was a revelation to me.

What does your daily practice look like?

I guess I have been meditating for around 30 years. I meditate first thing in the morning, after a little stretching to warm up, and then I try to punctuate my day with periods of stillness, trying not be become a prisoner of the clock as it is very easy to get infected by the rush. I try to make a constant, gentle effort to slow down and notice, to do less stuff and do it more carefully.

If I am away from home or something and miss a day or two of formal sitting, it is no big deal. I try not to be dogmatic about it. I catch myself becoming overly precious about it sometimes and then laugh at my own ridiculousness. There is no hierarchy of practice - it can just be attentively walking the dog.

Why do I bother to sit? Because amongst all my conflicting desires I feel my deepest one is to be as fully present as I can be, whatever mumbo jumbo is going through my head at the time.

Who or what is inspiring you currently?

At one point I wanted to train to be a Kindergarten teacher because I learned so much from my own children when they were 3 or 4 years old. I found their openness and originality inspiring. Generally I do not find inspiration from one primary source but from all the everyday little acts of kindness and patience I continually experience: in my local shops I can think of several people who seem endlessly friendly to every customer, brightening so many lives.

Tell us about a book/film/story/artwork that's inspired you

I find Alistair Sim the comic actor rather inspiring - he helps me to not take myself too seriously.