Mindfulness Seminars
2 Hour Taster Mindfulness Seminar
Do you find yourself living on automatic pilot most of the time? Do you sometimes wake at night going over and over the same old thought process unable to get to sleep? Or perhaps life has simply lost its edge; you feel a bit lost, but want to find that spark again. A mindfulness taster will help you to understand better how mindfulness can improve your emotional health and wellbeing, and increase your happiness. Perhaps a bespoke seminar in your workplace would benefit your team and colleagues, not least because mindfulness training improves relationships, increases emotional intelligence and potentially team work.
Perhaps a short training in mindfulness may help you.
Mindfulness is simply a way of living with a full and rich awareness, a way of stepping out of automatic pilot and unconscious mental habits, and waking up to the life you live, with kindly attention. Although simple, the training is profoundly layered and not always easy.
By paying mindful attention to sensations in the body, and to thoughts and feelings as they arise, it is possible to develop day to day awareness that is more balanced and centred, even when life circumstances are challenging.
Mindfulness is gaining in popularity in many settings including schools. Transport for London, Google and even the Home Office, have started offering mindfulness courses for their employees, since they realise happier, less stressed employees are more productive.
What can this mean for you though? Mark Williams, one of the pioneers of mindfulness in the UK, from Oxford University, says that “Gradually we can train ourselves to notice when our thoughts are taking over, and realise that thoughts are simply ‘mental events’ that do not have to control us. Most of us have issues we find hard to let go, and mindfulness can help us deal with them more productively.”
So how do you do it? First by becoming more aware of the world around you; switching off the autopilot, noticing your thoughts and feelings and the physical sensations of everyday mundane events such as – washing dishes or eating a meal.
The second component is the recommendation of a formal mindfulness meditation practice daily – for anything from 15 minutes to an hour.
Mindfulness is not religious, despite its Buddhist origins, but has been developed for Western cultures as an aid to enhance wellbeing – which is backed up through research. Modern scientific psychology considers mindfulness to be a core healing factor.
Moreover, mindfulness is not difficult but needs practice. Which is why you need a trained facilitator to guide you.
Karen Duarte is a psychology lecturer and has trained with Exeter University’s leading researchers in the field of mindfulness. She will complete her MSc in Mindfulness based Approaches next year. Karen lives in Stratton and wishes to offer introductory seminars in Mindfulness to anyone interested in knowing more about how this practice could enhance their emotional health and well being.
MBSR Seminars
Seminars are for anyone who feels they may want to take part in an MBSR course but are not sure what the commitment entails. The 2 hour session will offer an overview of mindfulness and what you can expect from the full 8 week MBSR course. The cost is just £20 per person.
Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).
James Baraz