A Practical Guide to Finding Peace

Service Description

6x 90min session What will you learn? This is an introductory skills-based course rather than group therapy. It cultivates the following understandings: Mindfulness starts when we recognize the tendency to be on automatic pilot, which can rob us of our potential for living life more fully. We begin to practice stepping out of automatic pilot by bringing mindfulness to aspects of everyday present-moment experience that we might normally overlook. With greater awareness, we begin to notice how often we are lost in our thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness of the body and breathing helps us learn to recognize our thoughts, emotions, sensations, and impulses, gather the scattered mind, and return with appreciation to the here and now. We learn that when our attention is caught up in the past or the future, we can get trapped in unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting. Mindfulness helps us recognize these automatic reactions, understand them as normal human experiences, and bring kindness and compassion to them. As we cultivate attitudes of interest and friendliness toward all of our experiences, whether pleasant or unpleasant, we learn skills for keeping our balance through life’s ups and downs, responding skilfully when difficulties arise, engaging with what is most important to us, and opening up to moments of joy, contentment, and gratitude. We learn to flourish. What happens during sessions? Sessions follow a consistent pattern. After greetings and getting settled, we begin with a guided meditation practice, followed by reflection on the experiences of the practice. Then we discuss the experiences of the home practices during the week. Each session has a theme that is woven into the discussions. We often do another short practice or a cognitive exercise and reflect on what can be learned from that. Near the end of each session, we explain the home practices for the following week. If this is a course you attend in person (rather than online) then it’s best to arrive a bit early for each session. This helps to ensure a prompt start. Tea and biscuits are often available before the session begins. Traffic can be unpredictable however please do join each session if you are late arriving.