Warm greetings from Compassionate Wellbeing. We hope that 2016 has got off to a bright start for you. There are lots of wonderful compassion related events coming up, a few of which we have included below (like the new 8 week Compassionate Mind training with seasoned Compassion Focused Therapy practitioners Dr Chris Irons and Dr Charlie Heriot-Maitland). Our next two Compassionate Wellbeing workshops take place next month too, and it would be lovely to see you there. We're also very excited about our friend Vidyamala Burch's new book Mindfulness for Women.
Most of the pictures on the noticeboard are linked to further information, so give them a click to go straight to the relevant websites. As ever, we'd hugely appreciate it if you could forward this on to friends, colleagues, students, etc.
We'll be back next month with another update, including news on our next Spirituality and Wellbeing conference and the launch of Compassionate Wellbeing's blog. In the mean time, may you be well, may you find joy, may you flourish.
We love this Tricky Brain Infographic (informed by CFT) designed by Australian clinical psychologist James Kirby.
MINDFULNESS BASED COMPASSIONATE LIVING: FOUNDATION
with Erik van den Brink
1st-3rd April 2016 in BIRMINGHAM
Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) is a mindfulness-based programme in the form of an 8-week course that supports the development and training of compassion to enhance mental and physical health. MBCL supports individuals to cultivate a friendly and compassionate attitude toward themselves and others. MBCL exercises also help individuals to experience key aspects of emotional wellbeing including warmth, security, acceptance and connectedness with oneself and others.
During the course, individuals are also introduced to some of the background information underlying compassion training, as well as the ways in which it can be anchored in everyday life. A further theme is nurturing compassion with oneself and others in the face of difficult emotions and challenging living situations. MBCL can be particularly supportive for clients living with depression, anxiety, illness, chronic pain and traumatic experience. The MBCL course is suitable as a follow-up course to an MBSR or MBCT programme. It consists of eight weekly sessions of 2.5 to 3 hours and a silent, all-day practice session.
Participants will practice the main exercises of the MBCL programme as well as engage in mindful dialogue (inquiry) with the teachers. The 8 sessions of the MBCL programme will be reviewed in terms of the content and themes of each session. Participants will receive a brief overview of the scientific foundation of Compassion Training and the theoretical background in western and Buddhist psychology.
"This was wonderful - I cannot recommend it highly enough" (participant feedback)
"With tremendous wisdom and skill this book offers a way to deepen and develop the learning that has started in an 8-week course of MBSR or MBCT... A wonderful contribution." - Rebecca Crane, Director of Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice, Bangor University, UK, and author of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (Routledge, 2009).
MINDFUL COMPASSION: A PERSONAL PRACTICE WORKSHOP
with Prof Paul Gilbert OBE & Nicola Petrocchi
30th March - 1st April 2016 in EDINBURGH
This experiential workshop retreat will allow participants to have a direct experience of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), and to benefit from the strength of several core CFT practices.
It will give people direct experience of mindfulness and compassion practices drawn from a synthesis of Western therapeutic and Buddhist approaches as outlined in ‘Mindful Compassion’ (2013). By integrating mindfulness into the practice of compassion, we will find a step by step approach to cultivating the inner compassionate self.
By creating a stable base through mindfulness practices of soothing breathing and grounding, we will build on this by establishing a warm and receptive inner environment through working with voice tone, facial expressions and wise acceptance of our changing emotions.
Through conscious identification with qualities of strength, wisdom and commitment we learn to embody the compassionate self. From here we are then in a position to relate compassionately to the parts of ourselves that struggle, and to broaden our compassion to other people in our lives. In this way we will experience the healing qualities that come from a stable and compassionate mind and develop new and transformative ways of being with our self and other people. Participants will also acquire a deep insight of how the functions of the heart are relate to our feelings and how we can work with both by training a compassionate motivation.
This workshop, which will be full of practice exercises, will give participants a direct experience of how being compassionate towards self and others shapes our body and brains, enabling them to experience more self-warmth, safeness and acceptance of themselves and others.
"Paul is so full of life and wisdom"
"Loved it, loved it, loved it! Relaxed yet rigorous training - loved the interaction with delegates and facilitators. Life changing - empowered by the dynamic tools we have gained, inspired 'to the be the change that I want to see in the world.'"
"Transformative. Nothing will look quite the same, at least for a while. I'd definitely attend a future Compassionate Wellbeing workshop." (participant feedback)
“This book is a brilliant synthesis of two grand psychological traditions—mindfulness and compassion. In clear, compelling prose, Gilbert and Choden illustrate how the human brain gets us into trouble time and time again. Then, they explain why we need both compassion and mindfulness to liberate ourselves from unnecessary suffering, and they offer elegant exercises to train the mind in those vital human capacities. Wise and hopeful, this landmark contribution to mindfulness literature is a modern reevaluation of human nature and the path to emotional freedom and cultural sanity.†- Dr Christopher Germer
FEBRUARY BOOK OF THE MONTH
This wonderful new book from inspirational Breathworks founder Vidyamala Burch is a practical guide to coming home to yourself in each present moment. It's about finding the ledge behind the waterfall. To resting in the depths of the ocean rather than being tossed about by surface waves.
Mindfulness is a potent antidote to anxiety, stress, depression, exhaustion and irritability. It leads to a greater sense of contentment and can also reduce addictive and self-destructive behavioural patterns. This book will enable you to experience the benefits for yourself. It's not designed as a lengthy course but is solutions-based. It's fast - evidence shows that a little bit of mindfulness goes a long way. It's also bespoke - you can read all of it cover to cover, or simply dip in and out, depending on what you want to focus on. You can listen to whichever meditation track suits you at any given time and you can run tracks together if you want to meditate for longer periods. It's designed to suit your life and priorities now and well into the future.
The Way of Shamatha: Soothing the Body, Settling the Mind and Illuminating Awareness
Join internationally renowned Buddhist scholar B Alan Wallace for this special retreat in the beautiful surroundings of the Samye Ling monastery in Dumfriesshire. This retreat will run from the 23-30 June 2016. For more information, and to book, please visit http://mindfulnessassociation.net/AlanW.aspx
Dr Rick Hanson’s online, yearlong program has recently started its next annual cycle, but its not too late to sign up. The Foundations of Well-Beinguses science-based methods to hardwire more happiness into your brain and your life. It’s a transformative program that uses the power of positive neuroplasticity to turn everyday experiences into a deep sense of contentment, love, and peace. It's thorough, it's deep, and it works—with insightful talks, guided practices, revealing quizzes, creative activities, and inspiring guest experts like Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield, and Gretchen Rubin.
It’s all too easy to be extremely tough on ourselves; we need – at points – to get better at self-compassion. Here is an exercise in how to lessen the voices of self-flagellation. This short is from The School of Life, based in London.
Cost: £245 single room, £185 per person twin, £145 dorm. Course fee £350
Workshop Outline
The program is an intensive, week long version of the empirically-supported, 8-week Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) developed by Chris Germer and Kristin Neff. Now being offered all over the world we are delighted to be able to offer this on wonderful Holy Isle.
Self-compassion is a skill and way of being that can be learned by anyone, even those who didn’t receive enough affection in childhood or who find it embarrassing to be kind to themselves. It is actually a courageous mental attitude that stands up to harm—the harm that we inflict on ourselves every day by overworking, overeating, over-analyzing, and overreacting. We have come by these habits honestly and are always doing the best we can.
Self-compassion gives emotional strength and resilience, allowing us to recover more quickly from bruised egos, to admit our shortcomings, forgive ourselves, and respond to ourselves and others with care and respect. After all, making mistakes is part of being human. Research has shown that self-compassion greatly enhances emotional wellbeing. It boosts happiness, reduces anxiety and depression, and can even help you stick to goals such as enhance your diet and exercise routine. And it’s easier than you think. Most of us feel compassion when a close friend is struggling. What would it be like to receive the same caring attention whenever you needed it most?
