I quietly walked into the sands of a mood-shifting exercise picked up from The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by professor Kristin Neff, PhD, and psychologist Christopher Gerner, PhD.

Not a quick, feel-good, sweep-bad-vibes-into-a-corner solution, but a meditation that asks of you deep focus and contemplation with a stone. It has ended what might have been smouldering anger in a short time. I keep it handy in my pocket.

To begin, simply find a stone that feels special to you. You don’t need a crystal, although I have a small one. Other favourite stones include a smooth, striped stone, much like a prehistoric tool, found on the beach, with finger grips, and a stone with red iron deposits.

>> Start by looking carefully at your stone—taking in the colors, angles, whether light dances on the sides of your stone or warms in it in a glow.

>> With your fingers and hands, feel whether your stone is smooth, rough, or a combination of both. Does it feel warm, cold, tepid, or hot? Does light pass through the stone?

>> Engross yourself in the physical experience of knowing this beautiful stone through handling.

>> Let yourself experience the stone fully with as many senses as possible. (You might not want to taste your stone.)

>> Absorption, with gratitude, in your stone, glides you away from anxiety, regret, and worry about the past and future, bringing you to the door of the moment.