Articles and blog posts written by team members, tutors and supervisors of the Mindfulness Association about how they bring mindfulness into their lives.
I had an interesting insight in my practice, quite devastating. It was that I have been living in my threat system my whole life. My mind and body have been wired accordingly so that every change, every uncertainty is a potential threat. Most thoughts that are engaged set me into spirals of planning for future…
Are you looking to develop and deepen your skills at mindful inquiry, while creating the conditions for holding and facilitating safe sharing within groups? Check out our CPD course that is taking place on March 23-25th 2018 at Samye Ling Tibetan Centre. This course meets the requirements of the UK Network of Mindfulness- Based Teacher…
I have been working with Choden and Rob Nairn on a book, which is an experiential journey through the Mindfulness Association’s Insight Training, called Level 3: Seeing Deeply (click here for more information). We expect it to be published some time next year. Rob designed this training, and then others of us on the MA…
I had the good fortune to see my teacher Lama Yeshe Rinpoche this week and he emphasised the importance of forgiveness. There was a forgiveness exercise in the early Mindfulness courses we delivered, but it never made it to the current courses. I think it was quite a profound exercise, but painful to engage in…
I had a lovely retreat last week by the seaside, with mindfulness, yoga and some lovely walks along the beach. I always forget the calming power of yoga, which I do moving and breathing in time to Tibetan Buddhist chanting. The chatter of my mind falls away and there is just moving, breathing and hearing.…
A few days ago, I was golfing with a friend in the glorious Autumnal sunshine. Conditions were right for a relaxed afternoon of good conversation, mindful attention on not only the ball but also on the stunning park like setting and some nourishing fun. The two of us were hitting the ball well and pleasantly…
This week I have the amazing good fortune to be on retreat, with thanks to my husband and mother-in-law for the time. I have rented a cozy cottage by the beach on the Solway Firth. My husband dropped me off with my food for the week and I have the luxury of being here alone…
We human beings love stories. Stories are how we make sense of the world. Our stories about ourselves, all the others and the rest of the world. It is useful to check our own particular set of stories, as well as the main emotional tone and core beliefs that underpin them. We tend to mindlessly…
I have been practicing Tonglen recently. It is a Compassion practice in which we bring to mind someone who is struggling and imagine breathing in their difficulty – taking it in – and breathing out what will help, all that is good – sending it out. This reverses our usual tendency to want all that…