MINDFULNESS WORKSHOPS FOR 2024 WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN THE NEW YEAR
Meanwhile you can listen to this podcast with Shalini Bhalla-Lucas on Mindfulness, Movement and More
WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?
It is awareness that arises through the purposeful cultivation of paying attention moment-to-moment non-judgmentally.
The Founder of the MBSR Eight Week Training Programme Jon Kabat-Zinn added that it is essentially about being fully awake in our lives:
‘It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness of each moment. We feel more alive. We also gain immediate access to our own powerful inner resources for insight, transformation and healing.’
Mindfulness is a naturally occurring basic human quality giving you direct experiential access to what is happening while it is happening in the present moment.
Being aware is knowing what is happening while it is happening, without preference. Knowing in this sense means awareness of what is arising in this moment in the mind, and knowing you are aware. This is the foundational practice that gives you a greater connection to your life both inwardly and outwardly, and allows the opportunity to take greater care of yourself by nurturing an understanding of the interplay between mind and body, thinking and feeling, and by giving access to your inner resources to grow at your own pace.
It means approaching your experience with an orientation of curiosity and acceptance regardless of valence and desirability.
The Training Programme employs a range of mindfulness practices and teaches skills that can be integrated into daily life to reduce stress, manage pain, enhance sleep, strengthen positive qualities, and improve the overall quality of your daily life by cultivating an observant, curious and compassionate relationship with inward experience, beginning with bodily sensations and then progressively exploring feeling states and emotions, and observing their relationship with thoughts and the thinking process.
Once we have become grounded in mindfulness, nurturing an embodied awareness of what is taking place both inwardly and outwardly, we can experience profound shifts in understanding that can radically alter our perception of how we see ourselves in relation to others and the world around us. This comes about through insight, which can be defined as recognizing what is happening while it is happening without preference, which means a realization or recognition of the underlying processes that give rise to the activity in the mind we have been knowingly observing. A deeper understanding of why phenomena we experience as sensations, feelings, and states of mind occur in the way they do is realized as we become aware of the underlying beliefs, assumptions and attitudes as conditions of self-limiting patterns.Having insight into these underlying habitual patterns can liberate by granting us a different viewpoint enabling us to see the same set of conditions but from a fresh perspective that can radically change the way we experience everything.
PLEASE READ THE SECTION 'MINDFULNESS COURSE' ON THIS WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE APPROACH TO MINDFULNESS.
Mindfulness Practice reduces stress, brings clarity, and restores vitality to our daily living.
Mindfulness can help us on many levels, allowing us to:
defuse stress and experience greater calm
explore the mind-body relationship
connect to our feelings
expand our sense of who we are, beyond our fears and self-judgment
find genuine happiness
discover inner resources that can change our everyday lives
awaken our capacity for insight and wisdom
transform our worldview from one of isolation and confusion to one of connection, clarity and compassion
broaden our perspective and deepen our courage, based on seeing things just as they are
While the practice has its source in the Buddhist tradition of insight meditation it is now established in many places as a secular practice. To engage with this programme of inquiry and meditation does not require any previous experience of meditation.
Recent Testimonials
"Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to experience and learn at DEEP CENTRE. These have been indeed very interesting and interactive sessions. I look forward to our next sessions."(Brenda, Physiotherapist)
"Thank you so much for the invitation. It was simply wonderful. I will bring some friends on Saturday. I am glad to be part of this compassionate lot." (Chebet)
"It has been my pleasure. The sessions were also at an opportune time for me personally. I liked the connection I felt in the last session during the interactive session, that was neat! I also look forward to seeing how we can package this for corporates in the coming year."(Joyce, Manager AAR)
"The Mindfulness Practice has been really helpful to me, in terms of controlling anger, and fully feeling and experiencing emotions without letting them weigh me down. I have also been able to own my own feelings. This has improved my overall relationships with my family, friends and even strangers. Thank you." (Grace Njenga)
PLANET HOUSE MINDFULNESS TRAINING COURSE NOVEMBER 2017
“Last year, after years of juggling family, travel and work abroad, I burned out. I’d heard of burn out but had no idea how debilitating it can be. It was as if my body decided to take matters into its own hands and, after months of struggling, came to a halt. I was exhausted, depressed, suffering from chronic back pain and panic attacks at the slightest sign of stress. I lost weight and couldn’t face food, but had to make myself eat every few hours just to function. Medical tests showed nothing was physically wrong; on paper I was fit and healthy, but in reality I was a wreck. The diagnosis was adrenal fatigue caused by chronic stress - or classic burnout. “The problem”, as my doctor put it succinctly, was “from the neck up”. My mind was the root of my problems, and the answer to their solution.
So started my journey into mind-body medicine, which led me to psychotherapy and mindfulness. On the recommendation of my psychotherapist, I signed up for David’s course in mindfulness-based stress reduction. It proved to be a lifesaver. I had no idea what mindfulness was, and although I’d done some meditation I didn’t understand its power or feel I was doing it right. After just a week I could already feel the benefits of the daily guided meditations we learned. I came to understand there is no right way or wrong way to meditate. I felt more at peace than I have in years. I looked forward to our Saturday afternoon sessions with their mix of teaching, philosophical and ethical insight, in-depth discussion and meditation. David’s decades of experience, knowledge and practice brought a unique depth to the sessions. This wasn’t “meditation light”; it was the real deal.
Mindfulness has given me peace of mind and tools to deal with the stresses of daily life. I no longer suffer from panic attacks or back pain, and my weight has normalized. Every day I look forward to the quiet time when I meditate, still my mind and relax. Mindfulness together with psychotherapy has given me my life back, and for that I’m eternally grateful.” (Rosalind Jackson)
MINDFULNESS TRAINING COURSE AT HOB HOUSE APRIL-MAY 2018
“Mindfulness training was an awakening experience in my life. It brought to my attention the knowledge that, I need to operate from the awareness of my thoughts, feelings and sensations, because all these interact and determine my present state. Mindfulness, I learnt transforms life and that we have to let go of the past and its insecurities, blind spots and defenses, to be able to connect to the present and the emerging future. There is need at all times to be aware of the source of where I operate from and to be conscious and mindful.
I loved the poems and the insights used throughout the training, a special one that I will carry throughout my life is “I don’t have to hide the cracks, I have to make them shine”, this was really motivating. The meditation was awesome I clearly remember the sound of the bell and Rain meditation specifically meant to be so refreshing, renewing, washing away fear, bringing freedom and enhancing one’s worth. This was powerful. I now have a tool that helps me pay attention to myself. This was a very awakening and insightful experience.
Learning to travel lighter in life without fear, anxiety, shame, shadows, boundaries and beliefs that impede our present day functioning was clearly elaborated….. I learned that anger, one of the negative emotions people struggle with, is not caused by other people but by our judgment. The insight that, thoughts take a reality they don’t have made me conclude that thoughts need not overpower and overwhelm me and since the heart is connected to the thought there is need to take care of the heart and listen to the body.
Mindfulness training has made me more committed to my work and I believe it will make me a better person as an individual, parent, teacher, trainer and counseling psychologist. I am happy that I have moved a step forward in my life and practice of counseling. I have so far used the seven attitudes (being aware, acceptance, letting go, patience, being in the present moment and trust of one’s worthiness) in my counseling sessions and it has been powerful. The conclusion of the training with what we need today; an open mind, an open heart and an open will, with a resolve to draw from a higher power, trust and love crowned it all. As a counseling psychologist many of the concepts in the training aligned with what I do, it was therefore very refreshing.
As a trainer David, was clear, gave relevant examples and explanations and was himself aligned to the present moment. He was committed all through to the training and the tenets of mindfulness and sent to us all the supporting documents for the homework. I am very grateful that I had this opportunity. it was indeed worth the time, it was transformational and has given me the confidence to live a better and balanced life. Thank you David Beatty, at USIU Africa we greatly appreciate your effort.”
(Lucy Kungu,Head Student Counsellor United States International University Africa, Kenya)
I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude following the Mindfulness course. This was a life changing experience for me.
I have been very skeptical about meditation because I thought that it was an Eastern Religious practice, however after the first day at the Hob House, things have been different. I am now quite at home with meditation.
I am still struggling with the challenge of finding a specific time to meditate, but my constant Mindfulness experience that makes me conscious by choice in short moments have brought great relief to my life. I am finding it increasingly possible to get time out, in the course of my day and focus on my breathing.
The knowledge that even my pains are transient has helped me to focus on anything that I wish without being disabled or feeling absolutely.
Thanks for taking time to educate us and being patient with me and my colleagues.
(Patrick Obel, Student Counsellor, United States International University Africa, Kenya)
“I attended David’s Mindfulness Program and learnt so much about myself and others. The program was amazing as it had a great balance of information, discussion and practice. During and after the course, I have been practicing mindfulness and meditation, which has helped me with my anxiety, confidence and focus. It has changed how I behave on a daily basis. It has really been life changing and I can’t thank him enough.”
(Rekha Kent, UK Trained and Accredited Leadership Coach, Facilitator and Consultant, Redstone Consulting Ltd)
How mindfulness changes the emotional life of our brains | David Beatty| Being Me show EP9
3.48K subscribers
Sep 10, 2020 #MentalHealth #Depression #Mindfulness
"Why is it that some people are more vulnerable to life's slings and arrows and others more resilient?" In this episode, David Beatty will discusses how mindfulness can improve well-being and outlines strategies to boost four components of a healthy mind: awareness, connection, insight, and purpose. He will also share simple technique to bring mindfulness to your busy life, any time, anywhere. #JichoTVKenya #BeingMe #Mindfulness #MentalHealth #EmotionalWellness #CarolyneGaithuma #SelfTalk #Depression
If you are interested and want more information that you cannot find on this site please email your query to the CONTACT PAGE or feel free to call on 0722 599187 or 0788 344037.
If you wish to enroll for the Course please visit this site:
www.kangastudio.co/nairobi
Please remember to bring a cushion or mat for sitting.
May all beings live wisely and compassionately.
Metta.