I found a lovely piece of writing online recently by a lady named Patrícia Brito, which for me, perfectly describes the region in which I now live. Our area in central Portugal, made up of many ancient villages, is called Beira Baixa, and in the article she lists the seven commandments of the region, which are: Breathe deeply. Listen to the walls. Believe. Look beyond. Listen to the countryside. Savour life. Be silent. All of those resonate with me. They are meaningful, profound and mindful and can be interpreted in different ways. This is how each commandment sits with me.... Breathe Deeply For someone who used to live in a fast paced world, being busy every day and ascribing to the rat race, I often used to forget to breathe deeply. During one period in my life I experienced panic attacks and forgot how to breathe altogether! Crazy to think there are times you don't think to recognise that your breath is your life force. Today I breathe fully and mindfully, I breathe in ...