If you have completed an 8 Week MBLC course or our Level 1 Mindfulness training you can book onto this course and begin your journey into compassion.

• Self Compassion
• Compassion for Others
• Compassion in Action

“I feel this is a journey and not an end point – the learning is so rich and experiential”

Take some time out of your busy life to relax, nurture and rest as we learn how to cultivate compassion in our lives.

You can read Fay’s blog about Compassion HERE

Tutor: Fay Adams

Part One

Tuesday 12th November 2024

Tuesday 19th November 2024

Tuesday 26th November 2024

Tuesday 3rd December 2024

Tuesday 10th December 2024

Part Two- 

Tuesday 7th January 2025

Tuesday 14th January 2025

Tuesday 21st January 2025

Tuesday 28th January 2025

Tuesday 4th February 2025

Part Three-

Tuesday 25th March 2025

Cost: £495.00 for all three parts payable in three monthly instalments of £165.00.

Booking info: Please contact info@mindfulnessassociation.net for the booking link.

Times: The course will run from 19.00pm till 21.00pm on a Tuesday evening.

Location: Online via Zoom.

Recently, I was teaching a course and doing a session on self-talk. What I mean by self-talk is the little or not so little voice that internally narrates our life for us. This voice provides a running commentary on the mundane, the drama, the people who we live with, the people who we don’t live with, our deepest wishes and our deepest fears. This voice holds center stage and has the power to shape and influence whether we just barely survive, or indeed thrive. In fact, Prof. Paul Gilbert, founder of Compassion Focused Therapy and co- author (with our very own Choden) of Mindful Compassion, once told me that the single most important factor in our ability to transform our lives is the voice that we use with ourselves.

While I was teaching about the importance of cultivating a kind, friendly voice for ourselves, I invited the course participants to draw a picture of what this voice might look like. I mentioned that this was a chance to be creative, to let their inhibitions go. However, the moment I revealed my own picture, I started with the declaration- “Sorry everyone, I am not very good at drawing”. Jinx- I caught myself! Just as I was teaching on the importance of cultivating a kind inner voice, I was vocalizing a negative one. We all had a good laugh and appreciated that my self- effacement was a shared one and this blip highlighted the fact that, actually, changing the voice that we use with ourselves can be hard work and it needs practice. The most important thing is to not beat yourself up when things go awry.

This not beating myself up has been a game changer for me and it completely relies on the voice that I am using with myself. Of course, negative self-talk is going to slip in there. I have nearly 40+++ years of conditioning for it to do so. However, if I touch in with myself throughout my day or at the end of my day with simple questions such as ‘How am I doing?’,  ‘What do I need?’ and perhaps most importantly, ‘Do I have my back?’, the kindness and self-compassion starts to flow a little bit easier. I start to feel cared for in a way that no one else can do for me. It actually feels quite empowering.

I invite you to give it a try and see how you get on. What is it like to ask yourselves these questions and even to touch in with them regularly? Remember, the most important thing is to not beat yourself up if you struggle to remember or if that inner voice feels a bit harsh. By giving ourself a break, even when things go awry, we are cultivating kindness and self-compassion.

If this is inspiring you to go a bit further, we have our Level 1: Being Present course (Starts 12 October on Thursday evenings) that explores these themes through our compassion based mindfulness training. If you have already completed the Level 1: Mindfulness, why not take join us for our Level 2: Compassion course that starts on October 30^th. It is a wonderful opportunity to provide the structure and maintain the commitment to truly change the voice that we use with ourselves. If we can be compassionate to ourselves, we can start to be more compassionate to those all around us.

Jane

Read about the content and structure of the Compassion Course here

Please book your accommodation and meals for the weekend directly with Samye Ling by emailing bookings@samyeling.org. They will need to know the dates that you would like to stay, what room you would like (please click here to see the room types and prices), your name, and the name of the second person if you are booking a twin room, your address, phone number and preferred email address for the booking. No room bookings can currently be made via the Samye Ling website.

Tutor: Kristine Janson and Audrey Lowrie

Dates: 21-23 June 2024, 13-15 September 2024 and 15-17 November 2024

Cost: £495.00 for all three parts payable in three monthly instalments of £165.00.

Booking info: Please contact info@mindfulnessassociation.net for the booking link.

Times: Each weekend begins at 19.00pm-20.30pm on Friday evening, runs between 8.00am and 20.00pm on Saturday and will finish at 15.00pm on Sunday afternoon.

Location: Samye Ling

If you have completed an 8 Week MBLC course or our Level 1 Mindfulness training you can book onto this course and begin your journey into compassion.

• Self Compassion
• Compassion for Others
• Compassion in Action

“I feel this is a journey and not an end point – the learning is so rich and experiential”

Take some time out of your busy life to relax, nurture and rest as we learn how to cultivate compassion in our lives.

You can read Fay’s blog about Compassion HERE

Course: MIndfulness Level 2: Responding with Compassion

“If you want others to be happy practice Compassion. If you want to be happy, practice Compassion” ~ HH Dalai Lama

We can train in Compassion, and we start by cultivating a little kindness. towards ourself.

Join Kristine Mackenzie-Janson this Saturday for a free online taster session with Q&A at 7pm

“The practices given are lifelong tools”

This course starts with building self-compassion into basic mindfulness practice. Through compassionate imagery and mindful self-compassion, we cultivate positive emotions as a way of building up an inner resource, from which we can approach the difficulties that are part and parcel of being alive. We then approach the self-critic: that persistent inner voice that is harsh and condemning, and always finding fault in what we do.  What it would be like to cultivate an inner voice that is kind and supportive, and to live life from this place, rather than from a place of destructive self-criticism?

In the course of the journey we move from self-compassion towards compassion for others, exploring practices which help us find balance and perspective beyond our narrow preferences, generating love and friendliness to our inner and outer worlds, responding appropriately to pain and suffering while also appreciating the good things in our lives, integrating compassion into all that we do. As there is a strong emphasis on the experiential nature of the course, there are home practice suggestions between the sessions that include regular compassion practice and daily life exercises.

JOIN THE TASTER SESSION WITH THIS LINK

READ MORE ABOUT THE COMPASSION COURSE HERE