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As a medical student in London many moons ago, the only thing that I was mindful of was the gap between the platform and the train as I traversed the city on the underground. I first became aware of mindfulness when the ravages of being a consultant in the NHS took hold of me.

With the many purported benefits including reduced stress, enhanced mental clarity and improved sleep, I decided to attend a weekend mindfulness retreat at the Tibetan Buddhist Monastery Samye Ling in the wilds of southwest Scotland.

The guided meditations were a challenge as they involved observing the present moment without judgement. The key to mindfulness, I discovered, was clearing your mind of thoughts and not engaging with any that appeared. Easier said than done. My mind was so full of thoughts coming thick and fast, it was like trying to clear a path while it’s still snowing. When is my appraisal due? Did I leave my car headlights on? If I could time travel, which year would I go to? If I did manage to clear my mind, my insidious narcolepsy meant that I fell asleep. I would only wake to the sound of the bell ringing at the end of the meditation.

My mindfulness application has remained sporadic until recently. There are an increasing number of reports on the benefits of this technique in the practice of medicine. Improvements in patient outcomes, enhanced team dynamics and assisting in a more holistic approach to medicine have all been cited. Indeed, Eye News Feb/Mar 2025 is accompanied by the second installment of our wellbeing supplement series, guest edited by Christina Rennie and Sonya Wallbank, and many issues surrounding mindfulness, judgement, and stress are all addressed.

Elsewhere, The Culture Section’s Rahila Bashir introduces us to the wonderful, artistic world of the Tongren Eye Center team in Beijing, China, who have creative an incredible collection of digital art pieces which reflect ocular functions and disease.

In the wider world of entertainment, I managed to catch up with the blind comedian Chris McCausland who talks about his rise to fame as a comedian and how his visual impairment has impacted on his career. In our VISION 2020 section, Winnie Nolan reports on a multifaceted approach to improve glaucoma management in Nigeria. There is another trip to the C-suite, where Imran Rahman discusses his road to establishing the successful CHEC. On Pete’s Bogus Journey, we explore whether love may be tearing us apart again.

For the usual suspects, the Top Tips this time are on viscosurgical devices and My Top Five covers innovations in the diagnosis of ocular tumours. Ashkan Eliasy provides insight on the future of healthcare through eyes in AI & Oculomics. There is also advice for trainees in obtaining ophthalmology clinical experience in the US from Vishanna Balbirsingh. Rounding off, there is a fascinating case report on ‘the mystery of a painless progressive proptosis’ from Netra Kalla and Tristan McMullan.

As you move through our new content, I hope you find plenty to stimulate the mind. Afterwords, take a few moments from this frenetic world to try mindfulness and reap the potential benefits of inner calm. Also, when visiting the College in London, don’t forget to mind the gap. I’ll sign off now with some wise words from the Dalai Lama: “If we want to save the world, we must have a plan. But no plan will work unless we meditate.”

 

 

CLICK BELOW FOR THE FEBRUARY/MARCH 2025 ARTICLES

 

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CONTRIBUTOR
Peter Cackett

MB BS (London), BSc (London), FRCOphth, Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, UK.

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