2345 Days
Of Mindfulness via Calm App.
Welcome to a special edition of Denyse Whelan’s Substack.
I am a chronicler…is that a word?
I am a journaller.
I am a diary keeper…and a photo sharer.
Today, 28 May 2026 my daily commitment to Calm, clicked over to:
Go Me? Yes and No.
I began a meditation practice of sorts way back in early 2015 hoping for it to help my feelings of stress and anxiety as we moved our lives from the familiar to the unfamiliar. I used Headspace for a while, I attended a retreat at a Buddhist centre and I thought it should all happen quickly…”of course I did” …if I did the work.
Here’s What Happened.
Not much, back then, for my increasing stress levels and my impatience but…I soon saw the need to take time each day to reflect and help myself reach some ‘calm’ via my breath and inner thinking.
Fast Forward But In a Good Way.
By 2018 I needed more to help me through what had been a very challenging time for me via my oral cancer diagnosis and surgeries, and I went to Calm, the app, and found its offerings what I needed.
I do like to keep tabs on progress, and when I realised, that having paid for a lifetime membership in 2019 (very very cheap back then) I became committed…because at least my body and mind had a time out each day.
It works. For ME.
My practice is every morning before getting out of bed. And I listen to the Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt, then complete the reflection, sleep record, gratitude and sometimes a daily prompt.
Some Memories From Those Years: end 2019-today, 28.5.26.
I was still needing to have cancer checks in Sydney, finishing in October 2022
I also needed to drive to Westmead from the coast to have prosthodontist checks
Covid was about to enter ‘our lives’…and how much it changed things!
I had cataract surgeries and other non cancer related surgeries & attended Newcastle Writers Festival a few times!
I spoke at a Head and Neck Cancer Event as an Ambassador & continued my role for 5 years
I visited Dad in Dee Why when it was possible, and it was easier once we moved back to Sydney. Dad died early 2024.
We celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary with 2 family events as we could only have 5 visitors at once. Covid.
I enjoyed visiting nature at times for calm and healing
And got together with our family over the years at our place and sometimes theirs
We moved back to Sydney from the Central Coast and have been here for over 3 years.
DAILY CALM PRACTICE HAS ACCOMPANIED ME KINDLY and MINDFULLY
And for that I am grateful. Every.Single.Day.
Do you practise mindfulness?
Take care,
Denyse x
Wow, Denyse... such a huge milestone! What stands out isn’t the streak though, it’s the continuity through uncertainty. The way it sat alongside your surgery, COVID, loss, moving homes, celebrations, all of it. I think that kind of daily return to yourself can become less about mindfulness as a tool and more about witnessing your own life as it unfolds.
Well, for me, I actually trained in mindfulness and MBSR but I don’t always frame it as mindfulness in a neat way (if that makes sense), rather I always return to moments of pause, breath, and noticing. Although that's maybe because of my somatic and NSR training too? I like to utilise integrated practice, always enough to stay connected 🤍
Yes, I do Mindfulness CBT daily and have for many many years, along with loving kindness. It works. But equally I never lose sight of the fact that it should be done daily if not twice daily for best effect. My son also practices, something he took up when diagnosed with a very rare and untreatable lung condition. He also believes totally in its efficacy.