Mindfulness
'This is the one and only way (mārga) for the purification of beings, for overcoming sorrow and lamentation, for the complete destruction of pain and distress, for attainment of the noble path, and for the realization of nirvāna. That is the practice of the four applications of mindfulness.'
― Dīgha Nikāya (Collection of the Buddha's Long Discourses)
Finding Rest in Your Being Nature
In spite of its historical origins, mindfulness has become a keyword in today's secular world. The Sanskrit/Pāḷi import of the word smriti, or mindfulness, signifies a more global sense of being aware. By opening up to our experience in the present moment we can learn to work with causes and conditions to find more skillful and insightful ways of orienting ourselves to life.
Unlike the more ‘modern’ approaches to mindfulness, I offer something more wholistic, integrated and up-to-date whilst staying true to the original spirit of the teachings. Whilst far from merely a technique we use, there is a more comprehensive way (mārga) which we can learn to embody over time. Through it we can uncover new ways of relating to ourselves and others with more compassion, care and insight into the human condition.
I work with individuals as well as groups by making use of the following approaches to mindfulness:
Calm Abiding (Śamatha):
Insight (Vipaśyanā):
4 Immeasurable
(Brahma Vihāra):
Dyadic Inquiries:
development of mind through placing attention on one object so to collect and purify our normally scattered attention on one point in joyful stillness.
through the use of inquiry and examining our experience we can establish clarity of the self-structure and the ever-changing and interconnected nature of experience.
also known as the divine abodes, these meditations develop qualities of the heart, such as loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.
partnered exercises centred around a particular question or inquiry to reveal what is true for ourselves as relational beings in contact with another.