Articles and blog posts written by team members, tutors and supervisors of the Mindfulness Association about how they bring mindfulness into their lives.
As part of my usual morning routine of practice I picked out one of the compassion cards from Pema Chodron’s compassion box. This morning it was ‘Examine the nature of unborn awareness’. I then read and reflect on the relevant part of her book ‘Start Where You Are’. After my practice on alternate days I…
One of the fundamental aspects of mindfulness is being body aware. Our mindfulness training allows us to direct our focus and our attention and in doing so we observe how we are lost one minute and present the next. Our monkey mind and our strong habit to be distracted from presence is how we exist…
It is very exciting! Our Joyful Club membership weekend (6-8th July) and retreat (6-11th July) at Samye Ling Tibetan Centre is nearly here (For more details, click here). At the Mindfulness Association our heartfelt motivation is to nurture a community of mindfulness practitioners so that we can come together and support each other in our…
I am on Holy Isle for the Year 2 & 3 year end retreat of the MSc: Studies in Mindfulness which we run in partnership with the University of Aberdeen. It has been another glorious week of sunshine and practice and we have taught two days of teaching skills and then three days finishing off…
The very first Mindfulness course Rob Nairn taught and which is the foundation of our Mindfulness Association Level 1 training began at Samye Ling 10 years ago on 26 May 2008! Choden was one of the tutors and I was one of the participants. The course was by invitation only, just for experienced practitioners (I…
I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful bank holiday weekend. We have had glorious weather here again in my part of Scotland and I am sitting in my garden being serenaded by birds. As part of the first UK Kagyu Monlam, I am still going to teachings at Samye Ling with Drupon Rinpoche each morning…
This week there is the first Kagyu Monlam (prayer festival) at Samye Ling. There are also morning and evening teachings by visiting Lama Drupon Rinpoche. So I am driving over to Samye Ling twice a day and working at home in between. Even though my days are quite hectic (although it’s just day two of…
I am just on the ferry to the mainland from Holy Isle off the Isle of Arran on the way back from the Year 1 year end retreat of the MSc: Studies in Mindfulness. It is a collaboration between the Mindfulness Association and the University of Aberdeen and this is the end of our 8th…
I think that many of us see many problems and challenges in the world around us: political; social, environmental and economic. And at times there doesn’t seem to be much light on the horizon. This is what motivates me to teach compassion based mindfulness – it empowers people in their lives to find their way…