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My husband and I have followed Alistair on the BBC for years watching and listening to his calm manner helping others find their dream homes in the countryside. He has been my favorite to watch. On March 23, 2021 my heart stopped and I quit breathing. I had what is called an out-of-hospital Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Without warning you drop and lose consciousness. I was clinically dead for 18 minutes. When paramedics reached me I was cyanic (blue) and fully coded. They worked on me with CPR and AED shocks for an hour then transported me to a heart hospital 30 miles away (we had recently moved out to the country) where the ER worked on me for two more hours. Because of being without a pulse or respiration I have what is called an acquired brain injury so my memory is pretty well shot. People that survive not only an out-of-hospital Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) but also survive being discharged from the hospital are very rare - about 8% will survive. There is a Survivors group on FB that I am a member of with people from the UK, USA, Australia, and all over. We learn more from each other's experiences than we do from our medical teams. Because of my SCA I have a new perspective on life - when you code and go through something like this you come back different from before. You may look the same, but you're not. Dying was the easy part, living now with all of the changes your body experienced physically and mentally is a huge pain to deal with. Life goes on thankfully and I am blessed and thankful to have more time with family and friends. I have come to Alistair's site for calmness and learning, and meeting others who care deeply about changing their lives for the better through his teachings. I look forward to all I can learn and feel from Alistair and what others share. Thank you for allowing me to join this marvelous community.

Hello to the Mindsprings community ! I'm really happy to join again the community on this new platform. I know that I will meet wonderful people here, and also find some great resources about topics like emotions, stress and anxiety. It will help me for my inner trip, and move forward on the path to "freedom". As a very dear friend told me recently, even if it can be very difficult or maybe seem counter-intuitive : "The only way out is through !".

translated from the Pali by The Amaravati Sangha This is what should be done By one who is skilled in goodness, And who knows the path of peace: Let them be able and upright, Straightforward and gentle in speech, Humble and not conceited, Contented and easily satisfied, Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways. Peaceful and calm and wise and skillful, Not proud or demanding in nature. Let them not do the slightest thing That the wise would later reprove. Wishing: In gladness and in safety, May all beings be at ease. Whatever living beings there may be; Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none, The great or the mighty, medium, short or small, The seen and the unseen, Those living near and far away, Those born and to-be-born — May all beings be at ease! Let none deceive another, Or despise any being in any state. Let none through anger or ill-will Wish harm upon another. Even as a mother protects with her life Her child, her only child, So with a boundless heart Should one cherish all living beings; Radiating kindness over the entire world: Spreading upwards to the skies, And downwards to the depths; Outwards and unbounded, Freed from hatred and ill-will. Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down Free from drowsiness, One should sustain this recollection. This is said to be the sublime abiding. By not holding to fixed views, The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision, Being freed from all sense desires, Is not born again into this world.

Colette wrote asking if we might remember her friend's son as they go into chemotherapy: "Please can you make prayers for my friend Adele''s  10 year old son Reuben Levi who has Leukaemia and will be undergoing intense Chemotherapy in a weeks time and will  be  at risk of dying.Please can you also pray for his mum Adele and dad Dave to have strength through this very difficult time."

I can feel spring is approaching here in the Rocky Mountains. This is what the locals call Bluebird skies 🐦, so peaceful, quiet and beautiful.

Hello everyone, just to let you know that I'm off on retreat to Holy Island for the next two weeks. So please do welcome anyone who joins and re-assure them that I'll be more present after the 11th July! Sending you lots of Island blessing!

Teri asked a question on Monday which chimed with my thinking about what meditation permits. Worth a listen: https://share.descript.com/view/U65ycpFJlj1

We had a good discussion in our last Thursday morning session before my trip to Nepal, which also brought to a close the cycle of teaching on vipassana-shamata: https://share.descript.com/view/vgJFxv1eSdV

I couldn't have received a better Mothers Day present than this beautiful garden ornament. My daughter knows how much my garden and my meditation mean to me , so thoughtful. The tranquil expression on his face is wonderful. I hope to find him an equally tranquil space for him to rest in little garden.♥️🙏

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I have written and spoken a lot about how the News Industry does not mirror reality and that one of its main drivers is to make people anxious and watch more news. This is why I am an avid support of Reasons to Be Cheerful and Positive News, two excellent outlets of what has been going right. So please take a moment to look at the Positive News' round up of 2024. Not to make us complacent - but certainly to give us hope! https://www.positive.news/society/what-went-right-in-2024-the-good-news-that-mattered/

https://share.descript.com/view/DHACn8PIgax

https://share.descript.com/view/ra4Uw5JyuDF