Ex-MP visits Australia to give positive thinking lessons
- Published
Australian MPs have been getting lessons in positive thinking - by a former Welsh MP.
Chris Ruane held the Vale of Clwyd seat for Labour for 18 years before losing it by 237 votes to Conservative Dr James Davies in May's general election.
But Mr Ruane says practising the meditation technique known as mindfulness helped him cope.
He has just returned from a visit to Canberra where he shared the benefits of mindfulness with Australian MPs.
Mental health charity Sane Australia asked Mr Ruane to go to Parliament House.
Mr Ruane told BBC Radio Wales' Sunday Supplement programme the mindfulness techniques he has been practising for eight years were put to a very personal test when he lost his seat.
'Life goes on'
He said: "I was an MP for 18 years. I wasn't expected to lose. Labour wasn't expected to lose. When I saw the results come up, I accepted it and that's part of the mental skills you learn in mindfulness.
"It's about acceptance. It's about gratitude. It's about being in the present moment. So I was able to draw on those reserves and make what I think was quite a decent rejection speech and to come to terms with it after that. I mean life goes on."
He said his visit to Canberra was to benefit both the MPs personally and to spread the mindfulness message to influence policy areas such as health and education.
Mr Ruane said there had been a positive reception, adding: "This isn't fluffy stuff. The US Marines have been using this pre-combat since 2009 and I would put those as some of the toughest people on earth."
He also joked that he would have to draw on his mindfulness "more than ever" if he was still an MP in the current "challenging times" for the Labour Party.
"That tectonic shift that we saw on election day, I think is still continuing and in times of change people do need an anchor... and mindfulness for me has been that anchor."