Mindfulness Level 3 – Insight

During the first weekend we will explore the different levels of mind, and in particular we will look at how to gain access to the subliminal level since this is where the conditioned reflexes that drive our reactions are located. We will see how thought patterns arise involuntarily and how we buy into them before we even realise it, and how there is a sense that ‘this is the way it must be’. Rob Nairn calls this the ‘subliminal reflex’.
We will work experientially with the practices of resting, reflection and enquiry and introduce the exercises of back- tracking and HIFAWIF (How I Feel About What I’m Feeling). These practices create the conditions for insight to arise exposing the underling habits of thought, feeling and behavior that drive us.

After practicing with resting, reflection and enquiry we come to recognize that often we are caught in default modes, which colour our experience. These default modes tend to be underpinned by one or more of the destructive emotions of anger, desire, jealousy, pride or ignorance. We explore approaching the emotions of anger, desire and jealousy with a corresponding attitude of loving kindness, compassion or joy and then look inwardly at the felt sense of the emotion to see what unfolds.
By exploring our experience in this way we come to see how our negative emotions can be a source of psychological growth if we relate to them skilfully, rather than compulsively identifying with them.

During this weekend we continue our exploration of the destructive emotions. We approach the emotions of pride and ignorance with a corresponding attitude of equanimity and then look inwardly at the felt sense of the emotion to see what unfolds.
Through practicing with our destructive emotions we come to see the ‘reified’ sense of self at the centre of our suffering and learn how to let go of our perception of solid and separate self. We come to recognize the ever changing nature of our experience which is dependent on countless causes and conditions.
As we loosen our grasping on ‘me’ and ‘mine’ and develop more of a relaxed attitude towards the ups and downs of our experience we will deepen our experience of resting that we practiced in the mindfulness module.

“An interesting and clear introduction to insight with plenty of time to practice and experience. All delivered in an engaging way and with humour. Like the linking it with Buddhism (theory).”

This training builds on the mindfulness and compassion trainings that preceded it. In the mindfulness training we learned how to settle and stabilise our minds, while in the compassion training we developed the capacity to hold our inner experience with warmth and kindness. Now in the insight training we deepen our understanding of psychological process by exploring the roots of our experience, and what drives us.
This training is a secular and experiential training, which is delivered over three weekends or over one weekend and a 5 day retreat.
The themes of the three weekends are:

• How thought becomes thinking
• Exploring destructive emotions
• Resting the mind

The course aims to enable participants to develop their mindfulness practice by developing psychological insight into the mental processes that drive our thoughts, emotions and behaviour.

The cost of the Access to Insight retreat is £400.00 payable in four monthly installments of £100.00.

The Insight retreat is £ 560.00 in total for the weekend and the retreat and payable in four monthly installments of £140.00

Most of our Insight level 3 courses take place at our flagship venue, Samye Ling. 

The Insight course takes place over three weekends, or over one weekend and a 5 day retreat and is spread out over a six month period.

“Feels like everything has fallen into place. Excellent teaching and supportive environment.”

Our mindfulness courses provide an in-depth, personal, experiential practice of mindfulness that are part of a lifelong journey.  We learn how to be present, respond with compassion and see deeply into our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. This three-tiered approach enables you to embody your practice as a way of life. We also provide:

• Mindfulness teacher training
• Compassion teacher training
• Annual mindfulness practice retreats
• The opportunity to study mindfulness in depth on the MSc Studies in Mindfulness in partnership with The University of Aberdeen.
• Weekend workshops for Continued Professional Development for Mindfulness teachers.

You may be a beginner or have practiced mindfulness with another organisation.  Either way we have courses to offer you.

Our training is based on the work of Rob Nairn. Rob is one of the world pioneers in presenting meditation training in a way that is accessible to the Western mind. He was asked to teach meditation by the Dalai Lama. His experience of over forty years of teaching meditation to Westerners has enabled him to develop a unique secular training in mindfulness, and so the Mindfulness Association was created to support this.

We are one of the top mindfulness training providers in the UK. We have been delivering 100s of compassion-based mindfulness meditation courses over 10 years across the UK and Europe.

All our courses are secular and draw from a broad range of disciplines, including neuroscience, evolutionary psychology and Buddhism.

“Clarity of teaching is excellent and how it follows on from other courses – building on what we have learned and practiced. Plenty of time for practice and discussions and space to take things in.”

Compassion is at the heart of all that we do.  

The Mindfulness Association has 10 years of experience of delivering courses in the UK and Europe.

All our tutors are very experienced and knowledgeable compassion-based mindfulness and practitioners.

We have a membership providing our practitioners with ongoing support.

Our tutors and courses comply with the UK Network for Mindfulness-Based Teacher Training Organisations who oversee the quality of mindfulness-based training in the UK.

Mindfulness for Life

You may wish to deepen your practice with our Mindfulness for Life Programme. This entails scheduled weekends and an annual retreat which takes place on Holy Island off the coast of Arran in Scotland.

“The tutors really brought life and meaning to the expansive subject of insight.”

Mindfulness training isn’t enough! Once we have an established practice and have deepened
our mindfulness practice to include compassion, the insight training provides us with the
opportunity to build on our foundations and make choices for change.
This enriches our lives as part of the unfolding of our potential. This helps us to make choices about
how we live in connection with ourselves and our world. Embracing compassion as the second
important step of our mindfulness journey we recognise that present-moment compassionate living
is the journey of a lifetime.

“Useful to understand my mind by untangling the mechanics of habitual patterns.”

In recent years there has been a great deal of interest in mindfulness. As modern life has become
increasingly complex and stressful, more and more people have come to realise that happiness does
not lie in changing the external conditions of their lives but in turning inward and changing how they
relate to their minds.

In our experience of training people in mindfulness and compassion we have noticed significant
changes in people’s lives, but our perception is that these changes do not go to the root of the
matter – our Level 3 – Seeing Deeply Insight training is about going to the root of the matter.
(from Mindfulness to Insight – Nairn, Regan-Addis, Choden, 2019)

“Bringing the theory into practice is excellent.”

If you have recently received or are currently receiving treatment from a psychiatrist, psychotherapist or counsellor for an ongoing mental health problem, we strongly advise that you obtain advice from your mental health professional before proceeding further with mindfulness training at this time.

Also, if you have recently or are currently going through a traumatic life event such as a separation from a long-term partner, the death of a close family member or friend or redundancy this may not be the best time for you to start a mindfulness course.