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Join Mindsprings for our Reading Group: In Love with the World, where we'll dive into this inspiring book by my teacher, Mingyur Rinpoche. Over a six week period, we'll explore its Buddhist focus on the Bardos of death and everyday life, delving into a few chapters each week through guided questions and friendly discussion. This 90-minute weekly exploration is the perfect opportunity to deepen your understanding and connect with like-minded individuals in a supportive environment.

Hi everyone! Make a date to practice with the Mindsprings gang every Monday morning at 8am UK time. This is a chance to use the mind-cleaning Beingfulness practice to steady our awareness, see all the phenomena that are making up our experience and learn to love them! There'll be clear instruction each session so anyone can join - even (or especially) complete beginners. We practice for about 30 minutes and then have some time to talk and discuss what's going on. It's a lovely communal way to start the week.

Hello! This Tuesday 6pm UK session is a chance to plug into the Mindsprings methods for soothing the nervous system and unpicking the mechanisms of anxiety. We'll be practicing body-based techniques, breathworks and energy psychology each week. There'll be clear instruction each session so anyone can join - even (or especially) complete beginners. We practice for about 30 minutes and then have some time to talk and discuss what's going on. Many people find sharing their anxiety a great boon. Come along and finally do something about your shredded nerves.

Thanks for signing up to SleepDeep. Not every recording will work for you so please try them all out when you need them. We're starting with a real knockout practice - the Eye Stretch. Download and let's see if we can get to sleep...

Next time you're awake at 4 am (or whatever is your 'witching' hour) then listen to this - it recaps the Eye Stretch and adds Collar Bone Breathing. Some people find this one much more effective at cutting through those stressful thoughts.

If all else fails this beautiful Buddhist practice often helps me sleep. Reflecting on the millions of people who are sleepless too and taking in their insomnia and sending them restful sleep. Somehow this topsy turvy approach really works.

Edinburgh Weekend: Tapping into Freedom 18-19 November 2023 Turbo charge your meditation. Clear troubling blockages. Alistair shares with you his secret weapon in powering meditation. And life. Book your place for November now For more than 10 years, I've been using the techniques of energy psychology (tapping, chakra clearing) to break through blockages in my life and the life of my clients. And - until recently - I only spoke about it in the context of therapy. ​ But now I've decided to share how I work with tapping in my meditation practice. ​ Mastering the basic EP skills of tuning-up, muscle testing, tapping and chakra clearing have consistently helped me along the meditative path. And I want to share them with you . ​ On this in-person weekend in Edinburgh you will: ​ get an overview of energy psychology and how it works learn to bring your mind-body 'online' when it's scrambled communicated directly with your mind-body using muscle-testing integrate EP techniques into your meditation practice master 'central clearing' to remove troubling patterns that stymie practice expand EP into dharma practice and into your life What is Energy Psychology? Energy Psychology is a relatively recent arrival in mental health, starting in the field of kinesiology in the 1980s. Still, its roots go back to the yogic practices of the subtle body (chakras, meridians etc.) and to the Tibetan practice of Vajrasattva. In essence, EP works to clear the debris of trauma from the human nervous system/energy body. A common metaphor is that of a river. Trauma leaves big boulders in the river of life and water has to take a highly-pressurized or distorted route to continue. EP removes the boulders and allows the natural health of the body-mind to re-establish itself. Combining cognitive elements (phrase making) with meridian work (tapping on acupressure points or holding energy centres) this unusual form of therapy achieves astonishing results. Many people feel that psychic knots that have bedevilled them for many years are released all at once without remainder. Combining EP techniques with meditation practice can lead to great leaps in our spiritual path and a much more optimistic viewpoint for enlightenment. Master the basics of EP to improve your life FEEDBACK FROM LONDON Thank you so much. I feel this has given me new and refreshing energy to get unstuck. Your teaching was really engaging. Thank you Alistair! I really enjoyed the course. I think it's the most beneficial one I have attended. I appreciated the respectful approach to personal issues (no pressure to explore personal issues with strangers) Thanks! 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. Enquire about bursaries here What to expect at the Salisbury Centre this November... ​• the course begins at 10am and finishes at 5pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday. We'll have an hour for lunch and a couple of 15 minute tea-breaks. If you can get to the Salisbury Centre a little early on Saturday to make sure we can start promptly that would be great. ​ • The postcode of the centre is EH16 5AB t heir website is www.salisburycentre.org and their number is 01316675438 . ​ • The centre has a kitchen with a microwave so some people like to bring their own lunch but there are also several nice eateries along the nearby Newington Road. ​ • we'll be using the beautiful Studio Room at the Centre (upstairs) 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 Studio Room is usually lovely and warm but please bring 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. Join us in London this April Join us in Edinburgh this November Getting to the Salisbury Centre By Train The nearest train station is Waverley Station. By Bus Buses from the city centre that pass Salisbury Road: 2, 14, 30, 33, N30 (west end of Salisbury Road, Commonwealth Pool stop – nearest bustop) 3, 5, 7, 8, 29, X29, 31, 37, X37, 47, 48, 49, N3, N31, N37 (on Newington Road, Salisbury Road stop – a two minute walk) By Car Parking: The Salisbury Centre is in the City of Edinburgh restricted parking zone 7. There are 12 pay parking spaces on the street with more in adjacent streets. Parking is free after 5.30pm. We are 5 minutes from the nearest unrestricted parking area. Park & Ride If you driving from out of town, please consider using Park & Ride on the South-West of the city P&R SherrifHall postcode EH22 1FF : busses 33 and 49 P&R Straigton, postcode EH20 9NP : busses X37, 47, X47 Any more questions?

VIDEOS Dive into this library of video teaching from Alistair. ​ Guided meditations (usually around 30-40 minutes) Teaching on various topics: body-based meditation, compassion, internal family systems and much more Alistair's answers to students ​ We've organised the 150+ videos into different channels and categories. You need to be a supporting member to access the golden ones! ​ Good for Beginners Tips and Talks on How to Meditate Bringing the Body Online Untangling Thoughts & Thinking Soothing & Centring the Body-MInd Maitri: Loving Your Inner Parts Opening the Heart to Others All the Guided Meditations All the Teaching Community Favorites Beginners Good for Beginners Here are a dozen practices that give you a good taste of embodied meditation. Many of them done standing up: ​ Starting with a lovely set of energy practices, bring energy into the standing body Then moving into the classic Mindsprings relaxation, Polyvagal Tuning . Then a brace of practice looking at tracking the energy around the somatic circuit And three practices working with awareness and stillness: 3 Objects , Mantra and the Practice of Fives Then there are two tasters of Beingfulness and Tonglen Finishing with a recap of the energy workout with my dog, Ben. Reproducir video Reproducir video 39:37 GM Kaleidoscope Returning to a classic Beingfulness practice, in this Monday session from Spring 2024, we enjoy sitting in the four fields like a child playing with a kaleidoscope. #kaleidoscope #beingfulness #guided Reproducir video Reproducir video 42:23 GM Expanding Through the Senses Reproducir video Reproducir video 39:38 Three Objects 2024 Starting 2024 with the classic meditation for sharpening our experience of awareness and how we have the power to move it at will. A wonderful practice for any occasion. #threeobjects #Beingfulness #Monday #awareness Reproducir video Reproducir video 36:59 The Four Ingredients From January 2024, we take a fresh look eat the Beingfulness practice of the Four Fields. A great meditation for sorting out all the elements of our life in order to live more joyfully. #beingfulness #fourfields #joy #clarity Reproducir video Reproducir video 35:33 GM Three Objects III Continuing our exploration of the first Being, Being Aware we look more deeply into the mysterious quality of awareness and how we can move it around. #beingfulness #threeobjects #awareness #guided Reproducir video Reproducir video 40:55 GM Three Objects II From the Coronation Bank Holiday in May 2023, we look again at the crucial experience of awareness in our life. How phenomenon + awareness = experience. #threeobjects #beingfulness #guided Reproducir video Reproducir video 38:12 GM Elephant Path From our 2023 sequence looking at shamata or calm abiding, this session Thursday 6th April introduces the famous Tibetan diagram of the Elephant Path and how we can use that to navigate the mind's tendency to distraction #shamata #guided #elephant #calmabiding Reproducir video Reproducir video 20:53 GM Bodhicitta Breathing I Starting the New Year of 2023 with some bodhicitta work, I lead the group in a 20 minute exercise using the breath to explore our kindness, compassion and blocks to both. #bodhicitta #practice #breathing #compassion #selfcompassion #thursday Please do come along to our Thursday Morning sessions - they're free for Baobab members.https://www.mind-springs.org/online-live Tips and Talks on How to Meditate After and during many of the live Mindsprings sessions, Alistair talks about some of the misconceptions and common questions arising for meditators. These 13 short talks address a potpourri of subjects: ​ Eyes shut or open during meditation? Not identifying with our thoughts The goal of the 'aerated' self Meditation on the cushion vs. meditation in the 'real' world Not falling into the pitfall of looking for calm Some practical unpacking of practices like kapalabati and the practice of fives How to Meditate Reproducir video Reproducir video Kapalabati unpacked Another nuts and bolts explanation of a practice we often do in Mindsprings sessions, Skull Brightening Breath (Kapalabati). This is potential energy clearing breath practice #pranayama #explanation #kapalabti #meditation #short Reproducir video Reproducir video Is meditation in the real world better than meditation at home? Is meditation another thing you do or is it part of your everyday life? From the car park of M25 Services at Cobham, whilst away filming for Escape to the Country, .From the carpark of M25 Services at Cobham, I answer Jane's question about the benefit of formal practice vs. everyday practice. #short #meditation #practice #dzogchen #shamata Reproducir video Reproducir video Images for suffusing awareness As we practice the rising-descending torus meditation, the question of how to describe the process of 'suffusion' in energy leads to discussion of various images #short #imagery #awareness #meditation #suffusion #Pali #Tripitika Reproducir video Reproducir video The purpose is not to be calm Jane speaks about John Kabat-Zinn's refutation of meditation as a 'calming' thing. And I agree... It's much more powerful than that. Reproducir video Reproducir video Intro to the Practice of Five The introduction to my shamata-vipassana meditation called 'The Practice of Five'. This involves an alternating practice of calm abiding and beingful awareness, measured out by the fingers of each hand #explanation #practiceoffive #shamata #vipassana #meditation #teaching Reproducir video Reproducir video Practice of Fives unpacked From the car in Pembrokeshire, I unpack the practice of fives, which combines shamata and vipassana in an alternating sequence. #teaching #shamata #vipassana #explanation #meditation #guide Reproducir video Reproducir video The aerated sense of self Following on from Valerie's description of her experience in the four fields practice, I talk about the 'aerated' sense of self which comes when we learn to see our self as constructed of discrete phenomena. #fourfields #beingfulness #noself #self #teaching Reproducir video Reproducir video The Three Stages of Shamata Following Dameon's question about the shamata / self-soothing practice (without mantra) I go through the three stages of the practice and outline some of the benefits. #teaching #meditation # shamata #soothing Bringing the Body Online Bringing the Body Online Mindsprings grounds a lot of the meditation we do in the body and this is a great selection of somatic practices: We start with two simple energy exercises which you can use before any practice session. Then there's little talk on the specific nature of somatic practice. Two practices introduce Alistair's Polyvagal Tuning which is a great somatic practice for bringing us into a positive body-mind state. Then there is a suite of practices introducing the Somatic Circuit - a great way to find your way back into the body. Next, are practices opening up this space: the Somatic Tent . Followed by a more advanced energy practice known as the Torus . Finally, there is the classic practice of Earth Breathing and some somatic practices opening the heart for Compassion work. Reproducir video Reproducir video 42:07 GM Being with the Body Following the May Cliffhouse retreat with the subject of "Sitting with the Body", this Monday morning session took up the same theme. #4fields #7cycles #body #beingfulness Reproducir video Reproducir video 39:18 GM Earth Breathing & Ego Loop From our Tuesday evening session in late March 2024. Combining the classic earth breathing practice with an exploration of the source of our anxiety - the ego loop. #earthbreathing #egoloop #tuesday #meditation Reproducir video Reproducir video 34:56 GM Voo & The Jellyfish From our Tuesday session in April 2024. This was in 2 parts. The first using the VOO breath to calm the nervous system and then a lying-down practice exploring the vagus nerve. #vagus #nervoussystem #calming #guided #breathing Reproducir video Reproducir video 42:43 GM Shamata on Sounds From our 2024 season looking at Shamata - Vipashyna. This Shamata practice uses sound as the anchor. #shamata #sounds #guided Reproducir video Reproducir video 33:15 GM Polyvagal Tuning The classic stress busting exercise from Mindsprings. Lie down and let the ventral vagal tone take over. #PVT #Stress #guided Reproducir video Reproducir video 33:36 GM The Blind Body From our Monday session in mid June 2023, where we were exploring the body-from-within. #beingfulness #body #somatic #guided Reproducir video Reproducir video 43:12 GM 8 Cycles of the Body From our Monday session on 3rd July 2023, looking at the body field in our exploration of Beingfulness. This is a lying down practice exploring the 8 interlocking and inter-nested cycles of somatic phenomena. #beingfulness #somatic #cycles #guided Reproducir video Reproducir video 35:30 GM Shaking Tree - Pendulation From a Tuesday evening Anxiety/Stress session at the beginning of July 2023. I had just fallen off my bicycle and was in need of some trauma release - so we shook the tree and explored Peter Levine's understanding of trauma release. #stress #trauma #shakingthetree #pendulation #PeterLevine Thoughts & Thinking Untangling Thoughts & Thinking After and during many of the live Mindsprings sessions, Alistair talks about some of the misconceptions and common questions arising for meditators. These 13 short talks address a potpourri of subjects: ​ Eyes shut or open during meditation? Not identifying with our thoughts The goal of the 'aerated' self Meditation on the cushion vs. meditation in the 'real' world Not falling into the pitfall of looking for calm Some practical unpacking of practices like kapalabati and the practice of fives Soothing & Centring the Body-Mind Central to all meditation is the ability to calm and soothe the body-mind. Without this, all further therapeutic elaborations tend to disappear in a morass of fizzy distraction: The soothing practice of Earth Breathing Shamata or calming practice: the practice of Fives Working with mantra Frond breathing Tonglen and compassion for our own experience Soothing & Centring Maitri: Loving Your Inner Parts Before we can love others we have to be aware of and love the multiplicity of parts within our own psyche. The practice of maitri (of self-compassion) explores this with the help of Richard Schwartz' Internal Family Systems. ​ Beginning with a short overview, we dive into the crucial experience of the 'backspace which gives us the somatic field of loving-kindness into which our parts can peep. we can explore the parts that Schwartz identifies as firefighters, managers and exiles in our practice and bring some kindness and clarity to them. These parts often manifest in specific somatic ways as explored in the teaching around cylinders Two more talks about the wider ramifications of this work in our lives. Maitri Opening the Heart to Others Ultimately all our practice comes back to how we relate to others. The cast-iron patterns of selfishness are hard to soften. But therapeutic meditation turns a lot to Buddhist practice here: Guided practices to feel the embodied 'backspace' essential for compassion practice Embodied versions of the Buddhist practice of tonglen Explorations of the awakened heart or bodhicitta Discussing the practical challenges of loving others ​ ​ Compassion All the Guided Practices The Mindsprings Video library contains more than 50 guided meditations ranging from 10 to 50 minutes. Please use the search function to pinpoint the practice you want or look through the categories to find inspiration. All GMs All the Teaching The Mindsprings Video library contains more than 100 recorded teachings. Some are short answers to questions Alistair gave during sessions. Some are longer teaching on meditation, therapy or Buddhism. Please use the search function to pinpoint the practice you want or look through the categories to find inspiration. All Teaching

COMMUNITY Para ver esto en acción, dirígete a tu sitio ya publicado. Categorías Todas las entradas Mis entradas Crear nueva entrada Sharing Space Seguir Vistas Entradas 144 A place to share pictures, momentary flashes of inspiration, books, films, music. Share away! Meet the Gang! Seguir Vistas Entradas 49 Please say hello! Post a picture of yourself and some words of introduction. It's a friendly space and nice to be known! Let's Remember Seguir Vistas Entradas 6 The space to remember anyone we know who is dying, or sick. Or who needs our thoughts right now. Can be you as well! Questions & Answers Seguir Vistas Entradas 24 Ask Alistair and the Mindsprings community questions you have about meditation, self-care or anything at all! Alistair Clips Seguir Vistas Entradas 28 This is the space where Alistair posts his musings, his spontaneous videos and various other bits and pieces. Nuevas entradas Alistair Appleton 08 sept How to find the Zoom link for the sessions Sharing Space I've been puzzling with Wix about the problem of people not getting email confirmations for the bookings. Most people do get them, but a few don't. If you don't, it's fine: you can find the Zoom link in your Mindsprings account. Click the box below to see the walk-through... https://share.descript.com/view/MoJpb75RJfm Log on to your account on your computer then click My Bookings this will show everything you have coming up. Click on the one you want to attend and then on Zoom details. This will take you to the meeting. Or you can click the symbol to the right to copy it for later. The same thing pertains to the app. Click the My Profile button on the bottom right and then on bookings. Remember: • you do need to book each session individually to get the details. Each session has its own Zoom code. • you will need a valid Baobab subscription. (You can also check, cancel and control your subscriptions in your Mindsprings settings, as above.) The system gets confused if you have multiple subscriptions running. • Please check your spam box. You might get personal emails from @mind-springs.org but your server might be sniffy about automated emails from the same domain. So if possible 'whitelist' @mind-springs.org in your mail server settings. Me gusta 4 1 comentario 1 Jane Bell MeditUnedit Star Guión · 05 sept Befriending impermanence. Sharing Space For me it was a lovely session this morning. Thanks Alistair. And oddly enough found my book The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts! Time to re- read it. 🙏 Me gusta 3 2 comentarios 2 Fran Pappert-Shannon 06 sept Your recommendations, please. :) Questions & Answers Greetings of peace, Alistair and wonderful community members! I am looking for your recommendations for a beneficial Mindsprings video, post or suggested reading about the topic of suffering. I am an Imana and coordinator of a Mosque in Canada (near Toronto), and I have recently found that many of my beloved Mosque members are suffering from life challenges, loss, grief and heavy burdens. I am happy to respond, support and bring love to all of these members, but I find that at the end of the day, I feel overwhelmed with sadness and the weight of human suffering. Would you mind recommending to me a Mindspring video, post, or a reading on suffering with a Buddhist or mindfulness perspective that you have found helpful? Thank you, and blessings! xx Me gusta 1 11 comentarios 11 Forum - Frameless