“Notice that autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.” Friedrich Nietzsche Autumn is announcing its arrival in many forms. I am observing changes in colour – leaves just tinged with gold, a different feel in the air – maybe a coolness, different sounds as the migrating birds start to fly…
The insight training is about to start again in September. This will be the third year that I have led the training online in the evenings and I have found it an excellent format for supporting participants through the path of insight meditation over six months or so. I see the group bonding and I…
I’ve been contemplating the question – how does poetry deepen our practice? I want to share with you something a friend said to me recently. She had been reading poetry mindfully and subsequently, when she did the bodyscan, she experienced her body in a very fresh and free way. She, like most of us, had…
Over the last 7 years I have delivered many of our Level 1 Being Present Mindfulness Courses both online and in person at Samye Ling in Dumfriesshire. I calculated that I have shared Mindfulness with over 300 people. The Level 1 course begins with a standalone introductory weekend at Samye Ling or 4 evening sessions…
Since the middle of December I have been working as a hospital chaplain, visiting patients who are seriously ill. I have never worked in a hospital before and my main worry was that I would be distressed and not know how to cope with some of the suffering I would encounter. It turns out that…
The UK Social Attitudes Survey Report on Dying is based on the premise that discussion about and preparation for dying will lead to a ‘good death’ with reduced distress for those involved – the person dying and their family and friends. This report demonstrates a trend towards growing openness to the topic of dying, but…
I always remember a quote from the Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama, which says that a wise person who wants to be happy learns to practice compassion. In essence he is saying that a compassionate person is a happy person. As you hear this idea, do questions come up? Maybe you have questions that…
Before I started practising yoga, I had no idea about the power of the breath in regulating the body. This changed twenty two years ago when I began to practice yoga and then within a couple of years trained to teach yoga. I became aware of the yogic practice of pranayama, a practice of breath…
In recognition that times might be a little tough at the moment and this is the time to turn towards Mindfulness rather than away, we have come up with a page of Mindfulness Freebies for you to bring some Mindfulness into your life. The Freebies include a twice daily guided Mindfulness meditation online with one…