Guilty Feelings - a Community Enquiry by Alistair/ Mindsprings Guilt is one of those feelings that almost everyone recognises but very few people examine closely. But it can be corrosive, eating away at our well being and resisting analysis. I've been thinking about guilt a lot recently, and I suspect it's more complex — and more varied — than it first appears. I'd love your help exploring it. This isn't a formal survey — it's an invitation to look honestly at your experience of 'guilt-ish' feelings, and your answers will genuinely shape how I teach and write about this. There are no right answers. Take as much space as you need. And thank you in advance! Your name (optional) Email (optional — only if you'd like to hear what we find) Part One: The raw experience 1. When do you tend to feel guilty? Are there particular relationships, situations, or times that bring it up? Try to be specific — a particular person, a recurring situation, a time of day or week. 2. How does guilt show up for you — in the body, in the mind, in your behaviour? Is it a thought, a physical sensation, something you notice in how you act? Or something harder to locate? 3. How long does it tend to last, and what — if anything — makes it shift? Does it pass on its own? Does doing something help? Or does it tend to linger regardless? 4. Who is it usually directed toward? A particular person or group? Yourself? Something more diffuse — a sense of having let life, or your own values, down? Part Two: Looking more closely The next questions invite a little more reflection. You might find that guilt isn't one single thing — that there are different flavours of it, or that some instances feel quite different from others. 5. Have you ever felt a guilt that seemed entirely appropriate — where you'd genuinely done something wrong, felt bad about it, and found a way to make amends or repair the relationship? What was that like, and how did it resolve? 6. Have you noticed a guilt that persisted long after any reasonable amends had been made? Something that felt more like a permanent condition than a response to a specific event — and that no apology in the present could quite reach? 7. Have you ever felt exposed or unmasked — caught being less than the person you thought you were? Not 'I did something wrong' but 'something about me has been revealed'. This might show up as an urge to explain, defend, or deflect — or a hot feeling of wanting to disappear. Part Three: Language and nuance 8. When you use the word 'guilt', what do you actually mean? Does it capture one feeling, or several that got the same name? Are there other words that feel more precise — shame, remorse, regret, embarrassment? Do these feel meaningfully different, or roughly interchangeable? 9. How much does guilt — in whatever form — affect your daily life? (1 = barely at all, 5 = a significant and persistent presence) Anything you'd want to add about that rating? Finally: Is there anything about guilt, shame, or remorse that these questions didn't quite reach — something that feels important to you that you'd want to say? Thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to probe this sensitive subject here. I hope that our mutual exploration will be of benefit to beings. All best, Alistair Share your reflections

PSYCHOTHERAPY Thank you for your interest in my therapy work. Sometimes you might find that patterns from the past have left you 'stuck' in painful and unfulfilling life situations. And no matter how much you try to rescue yourself with your old solutions, things seem to stay stuck or get worse. Working with a trained and kind therapist can really help free up these stuck moments in a human life. Talking, reflecting, seeing things in a new way. Using energy work to unlock trauma patterns and safely dismantle dysfunctional coping strategies from early in life. Being heard. All of these can be gifts to yourself at the crucial pathways of your existence. I've been working as a therapist for more than 12 years now and believe that short, sustained stretches of psychotherapy (12 to 24 weeks) can make a massive difference to your mental health. Here’s a little about my training and how I work: I’m a qualified Psychotherapeutic Counsellor with an MA in Advanced Psychotherapy from Middlesex University. I trained at the Minster Centre with an integrative approach that highlights an awareness of the body and our relationships with one another. I have been a fully accredited member of the UKCP since 2014. My background in somatic meditation informs my work with clients. As a queer man I feel an affinity with the LGBTQ+ community and our mental health I’m also trained as a practitioner in AIT, a form of energy psychology that shows very powerful results in removing the energetic blocks left by the traumas of our past life. I work as a private practitioner in Penzance, Cornwall. Since 2020, most of my practice has been conducted online. We can arrange a free 20-minute consultation on Zoom and then decide if we are a good fit… Sessions are £70 a therapeutic hour (50 mins) and are arranged by private consultation. Please contact me via the form below. Or if you have any further questions, then please email me at therapy@mind-springs.org Request a Psychotherapy Assessment Call Please take a moment to fill out the form. First Name Last Name Email Phone number Give brief outline of the issues you would like to explore Submit

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The portal for adding to the monthly Mandala newletter. Please add your suggestions, books, teachings, YouTube links, favourite places, and projects you're running MANDALA Contribute to the Mindsprings Mandala bi-monthly mailout. If you would like to be an active participant in making the monthly Mandala Mailout and have some things you'd like to share this is the portal. Please use the form below to submit your book-, film-, music-, podcast-, life-recommendations for our Mandala of beautiful and wise things. Add to the Mandala... First Name Last Name Email Please let us know what you'd like to weave into the mandala... If there's a link to this, please add it here... How would you categorise your contributions. Film Books Podcast YouTube Link Music Featured Member Slot Submit Thanks for being part of the Mandala!

Alistair Appletons Mindsprings Videos 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 39:39 Windhorse Practice I During the Summer 2025 retreat on Holy Island, Alistair introduced a new, short meditation practice that is based on the Tibetan Windhorse practice. This was the first time he taught it to the Zoom community. #windhorse #guided Reproducir video Reproducir video 36:07 GM Windhorse III Reproducir video Reproducir video 36:03 Windhorse Standing and Sitting A 40' guided version of the Windhorse practice - both standing and sitting. A great everyday practice that uses 7x7 breaths. #windhorse #guided Reproducir video Reproducir video 32:06 Fighting Festive Frazzle The Annual Mindsprings session giving some tips and tricks from the world of therapy and meditation to navigate the ups and downs of Christmas #fightingfestivefrazzle #XmasFirstAid #holidaystress Reproducir video Reproducir video 22:09 Festive Do's and Don'ts A list of 10 Dos and Don'ts for getting through Xmas in one piece #FightingFestiveFrazzle 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 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 39:29 GM Energy Workout & Tune Ups Starting a new sequence of Tuesday teachings looking at energy psychology, Alistair explains the concepts of online/offline and guides us through Donna Eden's energy workout #energypsychology #tapping #online #tuneups #guided 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 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

Resources for LGBTQ+ and Allies in the Legal Profession This is a collection of resources and guided practices following Alistair's presentation 'Rainbows Brighten the Workplace'. Please feel free to browse and do get in touch in you have any questions. Excellent Online Resources https://pinktherapy.com/resources/ https://genderedintelligence.co.uk/ https://switchboard.lgbt/ https://www.consortium.lgbt/about-us/ https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/lgbtqia-mental-health/useful-contacts/ https://www.lawcare.org.uk/get-information/articles/lgbtq-lawyers/#links Four Exercises to Break the Stress Spiral THE DECOMPRESSION BREATH THE EYE STRETCH THE CALM POINT THE HA! Principles of Allyship don’t be prejudiced take action against discrimination have humility re. LGBTQ+ issues Four Thoughts Your Human Life is Precious It is Also Fleeting What You Do Matters Place Your Energy Wisely

Alistair Appletons Mindsprings In-person retreats and events IN PERSON Join me in stunning locations across Europe for weekends and longer retreats together. Mindsprings began on Holy Island and since then I have had the pleasure to teach in London, Dublin, Scarborough, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Iceland, Holland and Sweden. Please take a look to see what's coming up... Oferta de membresía Cabilla October Retreat jue, 15 oct CABILLA CORNWALL Leer más BOOK Oferta de membresía Rosemerryn November 2026 jue, 19 nov Rosemerrynwood Leer más BOOK Oferta de membresía London Weekend: Free Yourself from Guilt sáb, 12 dic Kagyu Samye Dzong London Tibetan Buddhis Leer más BOOK

ALISTAIR APPLETON Hello there! I'm so happy that you've taken a moment to follow your nose and find out more about the face on the telly! As well as my TV work on Escape to the Country , House Doctor and Cash in the Attic , I'm also an accredited psychotherapist and meditation teacher living down in Sussex with my husband, Daniel, and my dog, Ben. Please scroll down and have a nose around... Keep up to date with me Living more calmly... Following my own advice, I escaped to the country from London in 2013 and live near the sea in East Sussex. I'm a very enthusiastic Buddhist meditator and I've been teaching people how to meditate for more than 15 years! That passion gave birth to Mindsprings the organisations I run that explores the uses of therapeutic meditation. Learn to meditate with me Beating anxiety... Around 2012, I got ill. After a very stressful breakup, working crazy hours, finishing an intense therapy training and buying and renovating a London home. At the time I didn't know it was anxiety, but I couldn't sleep, felt constantly tired and worried about everything. In the last 10 years, I've worked hard to understand and transform my anxiety. And that's one of the things I help other people to overcome too. Master your anxiety safely Inviting you to stay in touch... I'm always so happy when people say hello or stop to say how much they like the show on TV. I'm also very happy when people pick up something from my on-screen work and follow a hunch that they might like to know more about me. So I've built this beautiful website to help you stay in touch and join the community of people who meditate with me or who are exploring therapeutic meditation. Please do explore the Mindsprings site Meditation Explore all the free teaching, video, podcasts as well as retreats, self-study courses and classes. Read More > Presenting If you're a producer or filmmaker and would like to contact me for TV and film projects Contact me > Therapy To find how therapeutic meditation can help you with anxiety, please click below Therapeutic meditation > Public speaking I'm always delighted to give keynotes, offer corporate training and give talks. Don't hesitate to ask me. Book me >

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Alistair Appletons Mindsprings Videos 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! Films and Fun Things Good for Beginners Tips and Talks on How to Meditate Bringing the Body Online Buddhist Dharma Soothing & Centring the Body-MInd Maitri: Loving Your Inner Parts Community Favorites Opening the Heart to Others All the Guided Meditations All the Teaching Untangling Thoughts & Thinking Films and Fun Stuff This is a collection of some short films and documentaries Alistair has made: An Introduction to Holy Island Green Tara Island Thoughts on the Sea Sitting the Downs 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 Films & Fun Stuff Reproducir video Reproducir video 01:55 Without string a violin is just a box A snippet from our Tuesday evening live sessions where the focus is on stress-reduction and anxiety. This was a wonderful exploration of grief. Come and join us - the first month is completely free : https://www.mind-springs.org/online-live Reproducir video Reproducir video The Island For those who have never been to Holy Island, Alistair gives some introductory pointers and a little taste of why it's so magical... Reproducir video Reproducir video Green Tara Island Alistair speaks from Holy Island about the need for clean, compassionate action in the world, represented by the Tibetan figure of Green Tara. Reproducir video Reproducir video Caves Alistair continues his exploration of Holy Island. In this video he ponders the magic of meditating in caves. Reproducir video Reproducir video The Sea! The Sea! Alistair ponders the role of the sea in spiritual practice Reproducir video Reproducir video Mindsprings - Sit the Downs Alistair Appleton teaches us how to open to the landscape below us using somatic meditation Reproducir video Reproducir video Head-in-the-Sand Land Alistair speaks to the psychological underpinnings of climate change denial. We can find a way of empathising with that desire to dissociate the unthinkable. 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 39:39 Windhorse Practice I During the Summer 2025 retreat on Holy Island, Alistair introduced a new, short meditation practice that is based on the Tibetan Windhorse practice. This was the first time he taught it to the Zoom community. #windhorse #guided Reproducir video Reproducir video 36:07 GM Windhorse III Reproducir video Reproducir video 36:03 Windhorse Standing and Sitting A 40' guided version of the Windhorse practice - both standing and sitting. A great everyday practice that uses 7x7 breaths. #windhorse #guided Reproducir video Reproducir video 32:06 Fighting Festive Frazzle The Annual Mindsprings session giving some tips and tricks from the world of therapy and meditation to navigate the ups and downs of Christmas #fightingfestivefrazzle #XmasFirstAid #holidaystress Reproducir video Reproducir video 22:09 Festive Do's and Don'ts A list of 10 Dos and Don'ts for getting through Xmas in one piece #FightingFestiveFrazzle 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 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 Maitri How to Meditate Buddhist Dharma Every Thursday, Alistair lets his 'dharma flag fly' and leads the Mindspringers in an exploration of Buddhist teaching (known as dharma). How do the 2,500 years of Buddhist practice and teaching help us suffer less, and how can we apply these amazingly useful skills in our meditation and in our everyday life? Some teachings are arranged in series (Karama, Atisha etc) and some are more diffuse. Please explore! Reproducir video Reproducir video 57:05 Thursday Meditation - Lojong: Tonglen I (01/10/2026) Quick recap Alistair led a Buddhist practice session focused on the second point of mind training, specifically relative bodhicitta and the practice of Tonglen. The session began with physical warm-up exercises and breathing techniques before diving into the central practice of Tonglen, which involves reversing the normal polarity of embracing positive experiences while releasing negative ones. Alistair explained that Tonglen is the key practice of Mahayana Buddhism and should be practiced with oneself first before extending to others, using the breath as a medium for sending and taking. Mal asked about applying Tonglen in everyday life beyond meditation, and Alistair clarified that while traditional practice occurs during sitting meditation, the underlying principle of reversing samsaric logic can be applied in daily activities. Teri shared challenges with accessing the "backspace" concept during chair meditation and found it helpful to connect with the windhorse practice and natural settings, which Alistair addressed by explaining the backspace as representing the unborn mind and open awareness space. Reproducir video Reproducir video 52:46 Tuesday Meditation for Anxiety — Pranayama & Polyvagal Theory (15 September 2026) Quick recap Alistair led a Mind Springs Anxiety course session focused on pranayama breathing exercises and polyvagal theory. The session began with five specific breathing exercises including equal breath, extended out-breath, box breathing, alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana), and bee breath, all designed to regulate the nervous system and promote relaxation. Alistair then explained Stephen Porges's polyvagal theory, describing the three nervous system states (dorsal, sympathetic, and ventral vagal) and how anxiety occurs when thinking triggers fight-flight-freeze responses. The session concluded with ventral vagal breathing, a practice that incorporates vocalized exhalations to help switch into a more social and engaged nervous system state, followed by a brief Q&A period where participants asked about breathing techniques and the scientific basis for chanting. Reproducir video Reproducir video 55:06 Thursday Meditation — Resting in the Alaya & Being a Child of Illusion (24 September 2026) The session focused on continuing the study of the Lojong slogans, specifically exploring the concepts of "rest in the alaya, the basis of all" and "in post-meditation, be a child of illusion." Alistair guided participants through breathwork and explained the Buddhist model of eight consciousnesses, emphasizing the distinction between the storehouse consciousness (alaya) and the fundamental awareness. The discussion highlighted the importance of not solidifying perceptions, both internally and externally, and maintaining a sense of openness and freshness in daily life. Participants engaged in breakout rooms to reflect on these slogans, and the subsequent discussion addressed questions about the nature of alaya, the relationship to the "beingfulness" practice, and the benefits of resisting solidification for a more peaceful life. Reproducir video Reproducir video 54:51 Monday Meditation — SOMA & the Aesthetics of Experience (14 September 2026) Quick recap Alistair led a Mindspring session focused on beingfulness practice, introducing a new acronym called SOMA (Showing Up, Owning Experience, Mandala principle, Aesthetic experience) to help people relax into the present moment rather than anxiously clinging to it. He explained how the mandala principle from Tibetan Buddhism can help us rest in the center while everything around us changes, allowing for a more relaxed and aesthetic experience of life's challenges rather than treating them as personal projects to be mastered. The session included energy work, guided meditation practices, and discussion about how aesthetic appreciation can transform difficult experiences into something to be celebrated and wondered at, drawing on concepts from Indian aesthetics and Buddhist scholarship. Participants shared thoughts about the connection between aesthetics and art, with Pamela discussing music and Jason referencing Michael Pollan's book "A World of Appearance" and Schopenhauer's writing on aesthetic experience. Reproducir video Reproducir video 56:34 Thursday Meditation — Lojong Slogans on Ultimate Bodhichitta (17 September 2026) Quick recap The session focused on exploring the Lojong slogans, specifically the first three slogans related to ultimate bodhichitta. Alistair guided participants through physical warm-ups and a meditation to connect with their aspirations for love and wakefulness. He explained the concept of ultimate bodhichitta as the wisdom aspect of compassion, contrasting it with relative bodhichitta, which is about compassionate action. The first slogan, "consider all things and events as dreamlike," was discussed in terms of perceiving the world as a creation of the mind, similar to a dream. The second slogan, "examine the nature of unborn awareness," invited reflection on the nature of awareness itself, emphasizing its formless and ungraspable quality. The third slogan, "let even the antidote be freed in its own place," advised against getting caught up in conceptual analysis, suggesting that even thoughts about emptiness are transient. A participant, Resource, raised a question about feeling disconnected when regarding reality as dreamlike, and Alistair responded by emphasizing the shared, co-creative nature of experience and the potential for change that this understanding offers. The session concluded with a dedication of the practice's benefits to the world. Reproducir video Reproducir video 46:47 Thursday Meditation — First Practice the Preliminaries (10 September 2026) Quick recap Alistair led a Buddhist teaching session focused on the first Lojong slogan "First practice the preliminaries," which introduces the four Mahayana preliminaries: the preciousness of human life, impermanence, karma, and the deficiencies of samsara. He guided participants through contemplative practices to understand how these reminders can help cultivate a non-selfish mind and prepare for Mahayana training. Rosie asked about the concept of "making things your friend" from Minja Rinpoche's teachings, and Alistair explained that it involves cultivating a gentle, accepting attitude toward change rather than resistance or fear, comparing it to maintaining friendship with someone who behaves poorly. The session concluded with an announcement that meetings would return to 8 o'clock starting October 1st. Reproducir video Reproducir video 49:37 Thursday Meditation — Introducing the Lojong Slogans (3 September 2026) Quick recap Alistair welcomed participants back to Thursday morning Buddhist Dharma sessions after a summer break, announcing they would return to 8 o'clock sessions at the end of the month. He introduced the new focus on Mahayana compassion teachings through the Lojong slogans, explaining that these 59 mind-training slogans from Tibetan Buddhism would be explored over the coming months as a continuation of their previous work on the Satipatthana Sutta. Alistair guided the group through a breathing practice and meditation exploring the concept of "lo" (mind) - distinguishing between basic consciousness and the discriminating, active mind that causes suffering through aggression and grasping. He clarified that while Hinayana practice focuses on wisdom and inner awareness, Mahayana practice addresses how the mind relates to the world, and both approaches complement each other in the path toward awakening. Reproducir video Reproducir video 54:01 Shantideva: Patience (14/05/26) Alistair led a Thursday morning session focused on Buddhist Dharma and the concept of love in Buddhism, specifically examining Chapter 6 of Shantideva's "The Way of the Bodhisattva" on patience. The session began with energy work and meditation practices before delving into Shantideva's teachings on how patience can help practitioners sit with difficult emotions rather than reacting to them. Participants, including Sian and Patti, shared personal insights about working with anger and hatred, with Alistair guiding the group to understand that emotions are temporary phenomena created by conditions rather than solid, permanent things. The discussion emphasized that patience is a foundational parameter of love, requiring practitioners to acknowledge and sit with difficult emotions without judgment, as a preliminary step toward emotional maturity and reducing suffering. 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 39:29 GM Energy Workout & Tune Ups Starting a new sequence of Tuesday teachings looking at energy psychology, Alistair explains the concepts of online/offline and guides us through Donna Eden's energy workout #energypsychology #tapping #online #tuneups #guided 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 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

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