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Hello from the Catskill Mountains of New York State

I'm so happy to have finally got the dates and details for our annual Yorkshire weekend in Scarborough. It's the 9-10th December and we're looking at "Thoughts That Harm. Thoughts That Heal" which promises to be a potent exploration! Here's the course page: https://www.mind-springs.org/scarborough-23 And my little intro video:

Daniel and I saw a great film the other night. Starting the amazing Michelle Yeoh as the flumpy Mrs Wang who becomes… well, something extraordinary. it’s wild and crazy but also quite profound. If everything is happening simultaneously all the time you can either become nihilistic or you can become compassionate. These are also the distinctions the Buddha made. Though he never made them like this!

Hi all - thanks so much to Mind-Springs for creating this beautiful meditation daily inspiration. I toy in and out with Meditation- always feel so much better for it. I could list many excuses why I am time poor and don’t make meditation a daily habit - but nothing of any great importance that I don’t allow this time for myself. I love that this series is bite size and doable.I enjoyed the first one⭐️ Photo is a recent wee hike with hubby at the Rotorua Redwoods - such a beautiful place and space. I guess you could call it a form of meditation walking with bird song and such graceful giant trees❤️

After 10 years of studying with the MA, I've been studying and practicing with Alistair for 4 years. I bring many of his teachings into my work in mental health, trauma and addiction services. Recently meet with Alistair's group in Edinburgh's Salisbury Centre for Meditating with the Nervous System. A great weekend of learning and practice. Wishing all a very happy Tuesday

Hi everyone! I attended the lovely meditation last night. We focused on the Tan Tien, (also called the Dantien). I had an experience where the Qi, or energy, started to circulate up my back and down the front of the body. It was enjoyable and I was asked to post here a picture of the Microcosmic orbit - which is what was happening. In Chinese Medicine the body contains many landscapes - particularly you can see here mountains (in the head) and a reservoir (in the Tan tien). A healing practice is to circulate the Qi in this way (up the back and down the front) however, …. I’ll add a note of caution. Some Qigong teachers advise against this practice - personally if I do it for too long I get dizzy!.. so please be careful and if you are interested in the Microcosmic Orbit - its best to do it with a skilled teacher. But…. I love the image of landscapes within the body! … so please take a look at this pic!

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

During our session today @James Tennet recommended the excellent Pixar movie Inside Out for a good road map of emotions. I heartily agree - it's essential viewing! But he also recommended this article:

Mindsprings's member @Michael Gaffney kindly shared this interview between Gabor Maté and his daughter on the terrible events in the Middle East. Much as we might want to shy away from the atrocities committed by both side since October 7th, Gabor gives some heartfelt and well-considered and compassionate thoughts here. Gabor Mate is a world renowned speaker and writer on mental health, addiction and trauma. He is also a Holocaust survivor who lost his grandparents in Auschwitz. Yet he also has well-researched critical thoughts about the actions of the Jewish state. He speaks very movingly about the horrors that both sides have endured and are enduring. I recommend making some time to watch. The interview is 35 minutes long https://youtu.be/SHDBw-wx6w0(https://youtu.be/SHDBw-wx6w0)

I'm posting the teaching from early March which was explaining the shamata path using the old Tibetan teaching aid of the Elephant path. Here's the full teaching: https://share.descript.com/view/p5x3rKWNimY

Having just completed this module of the wonderful Beingfulness course it reminded me so vividly of how profoundly moved I was by the movie Nine Days, where unborn souls get to see and hear images and sounds of life experience in the ‘real’ world, but can’t truly feel anything before they are ‘born’. It is one of my favourite films, and although it can be a tough watch at times, it left me floored, heartbroken, grateful, and uplifted all at the same time. An incredible score too. I had the ‘luck’ of a health scare over 20 years ago that gave me the gift of truly savouring every moment, every sight, sound, feel, smell, and taste (which can drive those around me crazy sometimes if I bang on about it too much, and can makes walks take twice as long!), but Alistair’s superb course and this phenomenal film both serve as excellent reminders to really be in the moment. I highly recommend the movie, but be ready for a few tears!

I wasn't able to record our session which I led from a service station on the A12 near Colchester last night. But we did have a good discussion about grief prompted by a question from Margaret. I re-recorded an audio version of my answer below: https://share.descript.com/view/LJeRsVFOlgo