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London Weekend: Liberating the Ego Loop

16-17 March 2024

Melt the mechanism that makes you moody!

The Ego habit makes us suffer. Meditation breaks that habit.

So much of our mental anguish and boredom comes from an endless loop of self-regarding thought and emotion. And over the last year, Mindsprings has been exploring a powerful and effective way of breaking through that loop. Firstly, in meditation we can use phenomena from the field of the body or our senses to 'put a spoke' in the endless cycle of dreary 'selfing'. And then secondly, we can deepen our awareness of the mechanism that underpins this 'ego-loop' in the first place. During this weekend London workshop you will learn: * what the constituent elements of the ego-loop are * how the body and the senses can break up the seamless running of the mechanism * peer deeply into the nature of the cogs that keep the loop spinning * recognise how freedom from the loop benefits us but especially those around us

What is the Ego Loop?

Since we were little we have been trained to bounce from strong emotions to thoughts and then back again. Over the decades, we've acquired so many ideas about what we feel that the two tumble into a never-ending cycle of thought-emotion-thought-emotion. The whole practice of mediation is - in some sense - about seeing through this loop-the-loop. In our work with Beingfulness we come to see our experience more like a field than a thing and this insight allows us to see what is driving the mill wheel of our discontent. It's actually not a thing (and, therefore, not an unchangeable problem) but rather a sticky fly-wheel of mental formations and embodied emotions. This structure is what psychologists and Buddhists call our Ego - and the crucial thing is to recognise that it's not a thing but rather a habit. And with the insight and tools of mediation we can break the habit. And get happy and loving!

Pricing

Mindsprings is well aware that many people are having to tighten their belts at the moment, financially. So we offer two prices for this weekend. A full, supporters fee which helps us cover our costs and a subsidised concessionary rate for any of you who are struggling financially. 

Paying the full fee allows us to invite more people on the lower rate. But if you would even struggle to pay that reduced ticket rate then please do drop us a line.

We never want people to miss out on meditation because of poxy old money. We can sort something out for you. 

Book the two kinds of tickets here.

What to expect at Spa Road

• the course begins at 10am and finishes at 4pm each day. We'll have an hour for lunch and a couple of 15 minute tea-breaks. If you can get to Spa Road a little early on Saturday to make sure we can start promptly that would be great.  • the nearest tube station is Bermondsey on the Jubilee line though there are buses that get a little closer. The postcode of the centre is SE16 3SA and their number is 020 33271650.  • there is a very nice tea room at the Centre and they can make soup and sandwiches (we'll pre-order in the first tea break) or there are several nice cafes at the near end of Bermondsey Road which we can give directions too. There's also a lovely park opposite if you'd prefer to bring your own picnic.  • we'll be using the beautiful Shrine Room at the Centre and sitting in chairs in a circle.  • the weekend will consist of practice sessions, some instruction and discussion, working in smaller groups and some individual processing.  • we'll provide electronic notes after the course so you don't need to write things down though it would be great if you could bring a pen and some paper or a notebook for some of the exercises. Recordings of the teaching will also be sent out after the course.  • the Shrine Room is usually lovely and warm but please brings some layers, especially if you feel the cold.  • If you have any specific psychological concerns, are on prescription psychiatric medication or have a condition that you think I should know about before the course then please do let me know in a private email.  

About the teacher

Alistair is a broadcaster, psychotherapist and meditation teacher.

 

He's worked for the BBC for more than 20 years and works as a UKCP-accredited therapist in East Sussex. Since 2004, he's run Mindsprings, his therapeutic meditation organisation which teaches body-based and Buddhist solutions to many of our everyday problems.

 

Mindsprings offers popular meditation-based courses on many subjects:

  • helping people with anxiety, dissociation, stress.

  • working with mental health in the LGBTQ community.

  • exploring the growing field of embodiment and somatic practices.

  • teaching Buddhist practices for mental health and well-being

 

Alistair teaches in England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Iceland and the Netherlands.

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Getting to the London KSD

Kagyu Samye Dzong is in the old Victorian library building on the southern side of Spa Road Gardens in Bermondsey. The nearest tube station is Bermondsey on the Jubilee line though there are buses that get a little closer. The postcode of the centre is SE16 3SA and their number is 020 33271650. 
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