Courses & Offerings
Beinghuman is not a commercial offering but an offering from my heart. I have a wish to share that which was so generously shared with me.
The courses listed below are offered on a gift economy basis - please donate what you feel to be their value using the payal button at the bottom of the page. In retreat settings I seek to recover the costs of accommodation, and will indicate the cost with sliding scale options.
Over the last ten years or so I have created over twenty-five courses in the subjects of meditation practice and mindfulness.
Here, I offer some of these as self-study courses to work at in your own pace. These can be a good place for beginners to start.
Mostly I am working with those who have undertaken in-person courses with me in the past, or who have experience in mindfulness practice and listening spaces. I am inspired by working in small intimate groups of shared awareness, in which we can explore and learn together.
In the the topics that most passionately engage my own current inquiry I offer listening-space zoom groups, for those with experience in this format, as well as study groups where we can explore topics together.
I continue to have a passion for in-person teaching and will continue to share where I am co-leading events with my favourite collaborators. I look forward to meeting you and sharing in one of these spaces with you.
Women Being: A Listening Space
Running the listening groups in 'Women Being', has been a real privilege and delight ; a space in which we create intimacy and depth to explore topics that rarely receive the light of our own heartful awareness. Over five meetings we explore four topics: body; power & anger; relationship with mother and relationship with father. As an intentionally small and consistent group meeting over time, we have the chance to develop a sense of safety and depth as we explore our experiences of 'women being'. [Please note: this group is open to those with previous experience of participating in the listening space format.]
Venue: 5 Zoom meetings
Cost: by donation - pay as you choose (see paypal button below)
Booking: email to register interest
Format: zoom listening spaces
Date & times: Postponed from October dates - due to a last minute cancellation and the unsuitability of all five dates for participants I'm postponing this one until the New Year :-)
The Roots of Suffering: An Inquiry
I'll be running a second iteration of this reflection group, starting in late Autumn. Using the listening space format, we have the opportunity to meditate upon and share our reflective responses to a talk given by Ram Dass in 1994 of the same title. Participants have access to the hour long talk in which RD investigates the causes of distress and the role our perception plays in its creation and perpetuation. Over the month and in three zoom meetings, we explore our responses to the ideas proposed in this radical re-thinking of human suffering.
Venue: 3 Zoom meetings
Booking: email to register interest
Format: zoom listening spaces
Date & times: Tuesday 31st October 6-7.15pm; Tuesday 7th November 6-7.15pm; Tuesday 14th November 6-7.15pm
Wilderness, Wildness & Awareness:
A 3-day Residential Retreat
Following from the success of this retreat on the Irish coast in 2022 and '23, myself and my dear friend and colleague Veronica Ellis are delighted to offer a third retreat in wilderness and awareness. Run as a 4-day residential retreat, this time allows us to re-connect with our forgotten wildness; where did we last inhabit it? How does it feel? How does deep immersion in wilderness enliven our awareness and awaken us to life? Orientated by the simple but profound themes of nature and the elements, sessions will offer creative and reflective spaces where insight can emerge from awareness making contact with the material of our own individual lives.
Venue: Whitepark Bay Youth Hostel, Ballintoy, Co. Antrim, N. Ireland
Cost: £475 single occupancy, £360 triple occupancy, £310 dorm
Booking: please email mindfulnessconnect@gmail.com to book a place
Format: 3 night residential retreat Thursday to Sunday
Date & times: 5th Sept midday to 8th September midday
ANY TIME: IN YOUR OWN TIME
Mindfulness for Anxiety
This self-study course is designed as a four week or four session introduction to mindfulness for those with anxiety. In it, I explore what mindfulness is and how it can help with three barriers of anxiety; disconnection from the body; difficult feelings including shame; and the sense of isolation. It is also suitable as a general introduction to mindfulness for those who struggle with strong emotions. I invite anyone interested in accessing this course to contact me directly, as the materials are hosted on a seperate platform, which I can share directly with you.
Venue: engage at your own pace, from home
Cost: by donation - pay as you choose
Booking: via the 'register interest' button or email, below
Format: 7 video 'teaching' files; 8 audio 'guided practice' files; supplementary exercises & resources
Date & times: in your own time
ANY TIME: IN YOUR OWN TIME
A zen approach to listening deeply
These recordings come from an online retreat with a community of zen meditation practitioners in Scotland. The topic of the retreat was 'deep listening' and we explored it in three ways; listening to the body; listening to feelings and listening with a mind of unknowing
Venue: engage at your own pace, from home
Cost: by donation - pay as you choose
Booking: via the 'register interest' button or email, below
Format: 4 audio 'talks', video 'teaching' files; 4 audio 'guided meditations'; additonal resources
Date & times: in your own time
if you would like to make a donation in return for any of the offerings here, or on this website, these are very gratefully received.
