Positively Mindful
  • Home
  • About
  • GROUPS
  • 1:1
  • Work
  • Blog
  • CONTACT
  • Home
  • About
  • GROUPS
  • 1:1
  • Work
  • Blog
  • CONTACT

Blog! Seize the day, then let it go 

BLOG INDEX

My Summer So Far

17/8/2016

1 Comment

 


​This Summer has been a wild adventure. I haven't made much (or any) money in the Mindfulness work, but I've offered and been part of some beautiful things and I wanted to briefly share them as a more personal update. 
Picture
Sitting Meditation at Free Harmony
PictureDancing at Free Harmony
Festivals

In July I went to Free Harmony Festival and participated at Buddhafield. These events provided a lot of learning, connection and insight. I taught morning meditation at Free Harmony with an emphasis on connection with the environment - inviting people to explore the natural environment and pick an object and bring it back to the circle, where it was examined and shared - everything from pine cones to rocks. We then went into sitting meditation and then gratitude sharing. It was a great way to start the day. 

I was feeling really grateful and happy after that. I treated myself to two swims in the lake. I played with bubbles, dogs, children and did some dancing. I even got to walk on the slack line. I received a massage before my final teaching class of the day - Laughter Yoga. We had a group of 20 people, from 15 years old to 50! Over the course  of 40 minutes we mixed yogic breathing with childlike connection and laughter, grounded in occasional meditations. I love the contrast in these classes - afterwards we always feel alive, connected and joyful! 

In July I went to Buddhafield as a participant and I was kicking myself at first for not getting my act in gear and sorting out workshops in time for the deadline. I felt that dancing and laughter yoga would fill a gap at Buddhafield. Perhaps also the sensual touch workshop too. Nonetheless I forgave myself and soaked up the sunshine, learning and connections. My favourite moments were in the mindful communication classes I attended - one was taught by  Erwin Tielemans of Human Matters. - who provided clear ideas about working with teenagers and a handy pack of feeling/need/emotion cards, which I'll be using in my own classes. The other mindful communication class modeled by Jayaraja - a buddhist monk and chair of Buddhafield. His style was simply to engage with the class in a fun way and model Non-violent, compassionate and heart connected communication. In my opinion it was extraordinary and inspiring. 

I came away from these workshops and the whole experience of buddhafield full of love, insight and inspiration to sort my own workshops out for next year so that I can pass on my gifts.

After Buddhafield I ended a loving relationship in my life, because it wasn't feeling right. It wasn't quite in line with what I needed and wanted and I think this is one of the tough parts of self love and self-awareness - realising what we want and fear and then acting to change things. It creates pain, but in that pain is growth. 

Picture
Investigating the natural wonders
PictureThe room ready for the Mindfulness Recharge
Sessions:

Over the summer I've worked with clients ranging from pain-mamagement focused people to people wanteing to expand their skills and productivity. This is where my work ranges from counselling, to coach, to teacher. I love this range. I also got  to offer some outdoor sessions which often sees me working with families and children, which is extremely rewarding. Pain and tantrum management has been a big part of this work!

The sweetest session from my summer came from a Hen Party! Originally they had asked me to provide a laughter Yoga session. After some discussion they decided to do some meditation instead, which I presented as a 'Mindfulness Recharge Morning'. We gathered the group of 15 women in a circle, laid down with their heads near the centre of the circle. I led them on a meditation using words and sounds from my singing bowl, bringing them into their body and in observation of thoughts, feeling and sounds. I then invited them to raise their hands over their body and explore the hands of the group. It was a magical morning and we ended with a gratitude share and energising power pow (you'll have to ask me what that is!). They came away feeling grateful and energized!


Feedback:

I had some beautiful feedback from my workshops including:

"This morning's meditation really helped me arrive at the festival and in my body. I loved the exploration of the area and it helped me to appreciate the little things both inside and out. (Niall, Free Harmony Festival, July 2016)

"I booked the Mindfulness Recharge for my sisters hen do as a lovely relaxing end to a full weekend. Neil was so welcoming, understanding and made me feel relaxed immediately. Doing something new can sometimes be daunting but I felt totally safe and trusted Neil straight away. He was calm, friendly, warm and kind. We had an hour session and wish we had booked for longer. The session was relaxing and energising all at the same time. The sounds from the singing bowl were a wonderful experience and something I would like to do again. It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend. I hope Neil does some sessions in London soon!" (Phoebe, Hen Party Session, August 2016)

"It was amazing, really connected with the world around me, felt really secure and held. I have never eaten anything so mindfully! It was the most amazing experience and the perfect end to a lovely weekend in Bristol, connecting with lovely ladies! I would definitely recommend it!" (Coralie, ​Hen Party Session, August 2016)



Other Lessons Learned

The summer is a time for joy for me - I love to get out and enjoy the sunshine, water, woods, beaches and mountains. But this summer has been more of a time of introspection. I ended a long relationship, I ran out of money and I faced limitations in my work. What this is teaching me is that limitations are useful. I've simplified things. I get to say no more often and spend time sorting out my thoughts, my primary connections and focusing on what is important to me. 


If I have learned anything this summer it is that there is no rush. I can enjoy the process. 
Picture
Free Harmony: Boy and Bubble
PicturePreparations
What's Next?

I'm about to leave to teach morning meditations at my next festival, The Summerhouse Weekend. I'll also be teaching dance with Gina and enjoying the decadent party. I go with an intention to be relaxed, present with my feelings and authentic in my interactions. I have really seen in the last two years how fear of missing out has led me to be rushed, distracted and subtly dishonest with myself and others. This year I'm giving myself permission to be a bit crap and alson totally me, totally wonderful. 

I'll be running more courses in September - take a look here to find out more! 

Bon Voyage!
​

1 Comment
Szymon link
8/9/2016 07:20:55 pm

Excellent post! I love your "Lesson learned" part as it's showing exactly what I do for some time right now.
I know that ending a long relationship can be hard, but if you know that it is going to be better in a long term, it's good to do sooner than later.
I hope that everything will be now as you wish!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Authors

    Neil Morbey is a meditation teacher, group facilitator and inspiration guide for Positively-Mindful.com

    Newsletter Sign Up
    Blog Index
    1. How To Do A Daily Check-In And Intention Setting 27/11/23
    2. Fuel inspiration by pondering the beginning of all life 23/7/23
    3. The Gentle Village - A place to talk about relationships ​3/3/23
    4. Imagine if... you loved healthy habits ​24/12/22
    5. Philosophy is BS 7/11/22
    6. 3 Powerful Journalling Tools To Process Troubling Thoughts 27/9/22
    7. SAFER communication to help in emotional conversations 2/9/22
    8. Re-Schooling Ourselves: Refreshing Our Narratives 25/8/22
    9. Grounding: Stabilize your Wobbles 22/7/22
    10. How to appreciate your struggle 10/3/2022
    11. Allowing Ourselves To Rest 2/2/2022
    12. Committing To Your Deep Truth: Your Mission 19/1/2022
    13. The Attention Wars - Know Your Enemies! 24/11/2021
    14. Practices To Improve Polyvagal Tone 12/11/2021
    15. Being good enough - letting go of 'exceptional'. 8/11/2021
    16. Reschooling and Reparenting - Heal and Train Yourself (Like a Kitten) 26/10/2021
    17. Compare and Despair? Remember Now is Wow! 12/10/2021
    18. Using Self Awareness to Overcome Negative Emotions and Heal Your Trauma Patterns 5/10/2021
    19. How to find true love using meditation 28/9/2021
    20. 7 Steps To Establish a New Habit 20/9/2021
    21. Understanding the Main Styles of Counseling 21/5/2021
    22. When to listen to your gut: The power of intuition and instinct 1/3/2021
    23. Breaking the Lockdown Blues 4/2/2021
    24. Trying to Change a Habit? Forget Dopamine Fasting, Take a Holiday! 20/11/2020
    25. How To Liberate Yourself From Wounded Patterns 3/11/2020
    26. Overstimulation - The reason you struggle to focus 16/9/2020
    27. Reminding myself everyday: The MORNING routine 12/9/2020
    28. How to STOP reacting to anxiety 11/5/2020
    29. Creating a Meditation Space for Your Home - Top Ten Tips 5/3/2020
    30. Top 5 things the children loved about Mindfulness classes 9/12/2019
    31. What I learned from my week of being perfectly imperfect, ME 27/11/2019
    32. 5 things I learned from a retreat for fools 5/11/2019
    33. How To Meditate - An Example Practice (Body Scan) 25/9/2019
    34. How mindfulness can help you to enjoy the journey. 31/7/2019
    35. Has Mindfulness sold out and become McMindfulness? 24/6/2019
    36. How Nature Can Enrich Your Mindfulness Practice 19/6/2019
    37. Radical Coaching: Shadowing 25/4/2019
    38. Timed Talk & Listen - a tool to practice in relationship. 22/3/2019
    39. 5 Things SOME People Regret On Their Deathbed 6/3/2019
    40. Mindfulness at work: more ways to create balance, focus and clarity. 25/1/2019
    41. Everything you need to know about meditation posture and structure. 19/12/2018
    42. Mindfulness Coaching - is it for you? 23/10/2018
    43. Happiness: How Do We Find The Balance? 19/9/2018
    44. The Work of Ghostbusting: Meet the mind with kind inquiry 25/1/2018
    45. Youth Mindfulness: Why is teaching mindfulness in schools so helpful? 12/11/2017
    46. Youth Mindfulness: Why is teaching mindfulness in schools so helpful? 12/11/2017
    47. Removing Drama Is As Easy As A-B-C! (Part 2 - Spot the signals, name the role.)  24/10/2017
    48. Using Mindfulness to Sleep Better 7/9/2017
    49. 3 Ways you can help your workplace become more mindful. 16/8/2017
    50. Top 5 things the children loved about Mindfulness classes 9/12/2019
    51. What I learned from my week of being perfectly imperfect, ME 27/11/2019
    52. 5 things I learned from a retreat for fools 5/11/2019
    53. How To Meditate - An Example Practice (Body Scan) 25/9/2019
    54. How mindfulness can help you to enjoy the journey. 31/7/2019
    55. Has Mindfulness sold out and become McMindfulness? 24/6/2019
    56. How Nature Can Enrich Your Mindfulness Practice 19/6/2019
    57. Radical Coaching: Shadowing 25/4/2019
    58. Timed Talk & Listen - a tool to practice in relationship. 22/3/2019
    59. 5 Things SOME People Regret On Their Deathbed 6/3/2019
    60. Mindfulness at work: more ways to create balance, focus and clarity. 25/1/2019
    61. Everything you need to know about meditation posture and structure. 19/12/2018
    62. Mindfulness Coaching - is it for you? 23/10/2018
    63. Happiness: How Do We Find The Balance? 19/9/2018
    64. The Work of Ghostbusting: Meet the mind with kind inquiry 25/1/2018
    65. Youth Mindfulness: Why is teaching mindfulness in schools so helpful? 12/11/2017
    66. Youth Mindfulness: Why is teaching mindfulness in schools so helpful? 12/11/2017
    67. Removing Drama Is As Easy As A-B-C! (Part 2 - Spot the signals, name the role.)  24/10/2017
    68. Using Mindfulness to Sleep Better 7/9/2017
    69. 3 Ways you can help your workplace become more mindful. 16/8/2017
    70. How to overcome psychological abuse, mindfully 21/7/2017
    71. Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish 23/6/2017
    72. 3 Steps to returning to your nature 10/6/2017
    73. The words you speak become the house you live in 29/5/2017
    74. Low Energy? Listen to your needs. 12/5/2017
    75. How to stay inspired (not impotent by importance). 29/4/2017
    76. What is Spirituality? (And how does it relate to thinking?) 14/4/2017
    77. Breath Works: practices to program BOLD focus. 23/3/2017
    78. Procrastination part 3: TURNING THE SHIP AROUND 10/2/2017
    79. Loosen your TIES to suffering 20/1/2017
    80. Understanding Procrastination Part 2: Just do it now. 15/12/2016
    81. What happens in a 1 hour mindfulness class? 23/11/2016
    82. Transforming Hatred with Kindness - Storytime! 1/11/2016
    83. When Feedback hurts - Own your Shit - Take a SEAT 4/10/2016
    84. No pain, no gain? 22/7/2016
    85. Life is like an echo... echooo... echooooo.... 8/6/2016
    86. Etymology and Mindfulness of Language 13/5/2016
    87. An Awesome or Choresome Life? 24/4/2016
    88. Mindfulness for Young People? 8/4/2016
    89. Explore the depths of your ocean. 29/3/2016
    90. Let Go and Be - escape the Drama triangle! 22/3/2016
    91. THE IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK 2/3/2016
    92. Don't Mindfill 22/2/2016
    93. Love is messy, scary, risky... Love and need? 9/2/2016
    94. Awareness of the road! 30/1/2016
    95. Dealing with the emotional drop 12/1/2016
    96. Tools for patience in meditation and in life. 6/1/2016
    97. Useful language and tools for creating healthy discussion 12/12/2015
    98. Craving the crux: 10 lessons learned from my rock climbing addiction 9/12/2015
    99. PLAYFULNESS AND PRESENCE: TEDX BELFAST 2015  30/11/2015
    100. Orestes, The Furies and The Eumenides (Kindly ones). A story of vengeance, guilt and forgiveness 5/11/2015
    101. Learning barefoot: feeling more 26/10/2015
    102. Musings on Choice and Obligation 20/10/2015
    103. What is enlightenment and what's the process of getting there? 10/9/2015
    104. What is Mindfulness and Why Practice? 3/9/2015
    105. ​​My Vipassana Retreat Experience 9/7/2015

    Archives

    July 2023
    March 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly