London Weekend: Free Yourself from Guilt
12-13 December 2026
Healthy remorse is good. But historic guilt can paralyse the heart.
In this weekend workshop, Alistair shares the insight he's gleaned from his therapeutic and meditative work over the last 20 years on this central human theme.
Do we need to feel guilty?
Is our present guilt just a shadow from the past?
Did we do anything wrong?
And if we did, can we atone?
What role does healthy remorse play?
What's the difference between shame and guilt?
Using his tri-partite model of SHAME- GUILT- REMORSE, he clears away a lot of the foggy confusion that can make us hold on to feelings of ambient guilt long after their actual causes have vanished and opens up the radical possibility of a life without guilt but with healthy mechanisms of remorse.
Learn to see through the delusions of guilt and walk through life without it
Many religious and cultural traditions have a place for healthy remorse. This is a clean recognition of a wrong done and a desire to mend what's been damaged. Healthy remorse is the way we move forward in life without fearing mistakes.
Guilt, however, is an overweening sense of 'wrongness' that often dates back to our early years.
We believe we're 'faulty ' because of something we took on as children and never really examined. And we carry that never-to-be-atoned sense of wrongness with us in our adult lives.
Seeing through the mirage of guilt is one of the most liberating moves we can make.
With insight, we can clearly distinguish it from healthy remorse on the one hand and self-circling shame on the other
Doing this work frees up energy in the workplace, in our relationships, in our day-to-day thinking and especially in our spiritual practice.
We know that times are tough, so we're offering two kinds of ticket for this weekend.
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.
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:
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helping people with anxiety, dissociation, stress.
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working with mental health in the LGBTQ community.
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exploring the growing field of embodiment and somatic practices.
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teaching Buddhist practices for mental health and well-being
Alistair teaches in England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Iceland and the Netherlands.
Getting to London Samye Dzong
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.