Next baby steps towards addressing unconscious racism Last week I found myself writing about the automatic denial and defensiveness I saw in myself when I was presented with an opportunity to work on discovering how racism might live in me. This response, I later discovered, is typical for a white person. Apparently, many of us…
“Warriorship does not refer to making war on others, aggression is the source of our problems, not the solution… Chogyam Trungpa, The Sacred Path of the Warrior I just love the title of this book by Chogyam Trungpa gifted to me by a woman I met as I hitched my way to Italy in my…
Last week I was involved in delivering the members retreat, which continued on after the members weekend from Sunday afternoon to Wednesday, along with Jacky and Kristine. I had a very enjoyable week and very much enjoyed Jacky’s Qi Gong based movement practices. Jacky is doing a practice day around movement on 31st May, which…
Last weekend was our 10th anniversary celebration and I felt that the celebration manifested some key qualities of the Mindfulness Association: practice, presence, common humanity, compassionate messiness, kindness and joy. Qualities that Lana has captured beautifully in her documentary ‘Swimming Upstream: Ten Years of the Mindfulness Association’ that was premiered at the weekend. I am…
My heart is full. I write this in a fully mindful and awake state still feeling the buzz of the Members Weekend coursing through my body – it’s an energy thing, not from the coffee I had this morning but it feels similar! and I feel such gratitude flowing out from my lamp-lit heart; the…
I have spent this last week reflecting on how the current climate with the Coronavirus is making me feel, and ultimately, how I am responding to that. For me it began with some concern for the people who were at risk of dying of the virus. I know several people who suffer with their health…
As I practice mindfulness, compassion and insight meditation more and more I recognise more and more how I create my own reality. If I wake up with the expectation that the day should be one way and it turns out a different way, I can easily create a reality that is unpleasant for me and…
This last weekend I have been teaching a weekend for mindfulness teachers on the subject of doing less and being more in enquiry, with my good friend Jan Mayor. It is a stand-alone weekend, but it is also in preparation for the Compassion Based Living Course teaching skills retreat in April. As training in compassion often…
This week I am inspired to write about finding a compassionate way in the world. This last weekend I have been teaching on the Mindfulness Masters degree. The first years were beginning their compassion course and the second years were beginning their research module, called Professional Enquiry. Both groups came together for practice and for…