Following a recent Thursday evening online sit, we started discussing the role of concentration in our practice. Afterwards it was suggested to me that I write a blog about this, as we talk a lot about mindfulness in our training (for obvious reasons), but it’s possibly not always apparent where concentration fits in. The first…
The modern day working environment can move at a relentless and demanding pace. Increased administrative responsibilities, real time connectivity and the complexity of issues that employees in certain jobs may face, name but a few of the issues that may cause employees to work beyond their capabilities for sustained periods of time. This may in…
After the conference the MAHQ seems quiet, as we get back into the usual routine of sending out course timetables and manuals, organising room hire, answering e-mails on everything you could imagine to do with mindfulness, and a host of other little jobs that generally keep us busy. Writing this blog for example! Overall, I…
We now have a limited number of day places available for the 2017 Samye Ling conference: Mindfulness in Society, exclusive to MA Members only for £70.00 per day! Please book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Each day will begin with an hour of guided meditation from 8-9am and the first keynote speech will…
I’ve really come to realise lately how important it is to have a community of like minded people around you. The word we use for this is sangha, which is a Pali word meaning community of practitioners, people we share our lives with. It is our network where we find others on a spiritual journey…
Brand new Online Course: The Stillness of Movement Starting May 2017 Within mindfulness training, one of the primary precepts is mindful embodiment: a continual shift towards reconnecting our minds with our bodies, a measured effort to live our lives more holistically from a place where we inhabit the whole of our experience: mind and…
Paul Gilbert is a friend and mentor of mine. I first met him at a Neuroscience and Buddhism conference in Holy Isle in 2008. I remember going swimming with him off the sandstone rocks at the north end of Holy Isle (he loves swimming!). I recall too his energy and enthusiasm, and how he decided…
One of the features of our 2017 Summer Conference: Mindfulness In Society- Changing The World, One Mind At A Time is a series of Masters Classes that will be run by our Core Tutor team. Angie Ball and Anna Zubrzycki will be delivering a Master Class that explores a unique blend of Compassionate touch and…
Being like a mountain It came as a surprise to me initially that the ongoing work we do in mindfulness training involved so much bodywork or embodiment (why is it called mindfulness? I found myself asking). Grounding in the body comes on the back of our settling the mind practices and this “somatic descent” is…