Evolving Minds

The 8 week MBCT mindfulness course helps find new perspectives and to break out of living life in auto pilot. It offers tools that allow you to lead a more energised, fulfilling and alert life.

For more details of the Gay Men’s Mindfulness course starting on Thursday 30th April: https://bookwhen.com/evolvingminds =ev-ssnpj-20260430190000

Benefits of the 8 week MBCT mindfulness course for gay men.

Planting lobelia ready for the summer. This will grow blue flowering trailing strands that will hang down the sides of the pot. How amazing that something that will grow to around 20cm starts so tiny and fragile, feeding itself from the stardust in the soil just as our bodies are built and nurtured by the same stardust or food absorbs from the earth.

An 8 Week Course in Applied Mindfulness

Your journey to greater happiness, contentment and well-being

What you’ll get:
•⁠ ⁠A supportive group (max 14) that meets weekly for 2½ hours.
•⁠ ⁠Practical MBCT tools to ease depression, anxiety, worry and self‑criticism.
•⁠ ⁠A personal toolbox of meditations – gratitude, movement, body‑scan, breath – that you can keep using after the course.
•⁠ ⁠A full‑day retreat, workbook, downloadable audio guides and weekly email prompts.

Why it works – “Life‑changing” (Kensington Council participant, 2016): the course helps you stay in the here and now, cut rumination, and build emotional resilience.

Book here: https://bookwhen.com/evolvingminds =ev-ssnpj-20260430190000

During the session I’ll introduce a slightly different approach to mindfulness: the micro‑cosmic orbit. We’ll visualize the breath traveling up the spine as we breathe in and down the front of the body as we breathe out. For many people this creates a strong anchor that helps keep the mind from wandering. We’ll then add in an optional pelvic floor hold which helps to ground our attention and visualise drawing energy in form the earth as we breathe in.

We’ll then pair this visualization with the mantra “budho” (meaning “the one who is awake/enlightened”). The mantra serves two purposes:
•⁠ ⁠It reminds us that, in its natural state, the mind is intrinsically awake and pure.
•⁠ ⁠⁠ Like clouds obscuring the sky, thoughts can veil that clear awareness. Gently repeating “budho” as we breathe gives us a point of focus and a cue to recognize the mind’s true nature.

Commemorating the one year anniversary of my mother’s death visiting the Monastery where I used to live and wherever we spend time together