In my weekly blog, Heather’s Musings, I write about what has been happening in my life and how I am applying my mindfulness, compassion and insight practice to it. The process of writing the blog is often an opportunity for me to gain more clarity and recognise what is happening and I find it highly beneficial. My wish is that it is also helps other meditation practitioners who are on a similar journey.
The opinions and beliefs that I express in this blog are my own and do not represent the opinion of the Mindfulness Association.
I have had the great good fortune this week to be teaching at Samye Ling with Choden on the new Access to Insight retreat. During the retreat, it was a great chance for me to practice along with the participants. We practiced acceptance, self-compassion, the four immeasurable qualities of loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity…
We had our annual Board meeting for the Mindfulness Association in Edinburgh yesterday. I travelled over there with Choden from Lockerbie and Norton travelled down from Aberdeen for the day. Kristine, who lives locally, and who is going to be taking on half of my management role in the new year joined us in the…
The last few months have felt like living in a kaleidoscope. With each new possible outcome, my mind has imagined a future in full colour. Then as the causes and conditions changed again, another potential future was imagined, also in full colour. While this has been fascinating to observe, it has taken up a lot…
I have not been able to write my blog for the last two weeks, which is strange for me, as the words usually come quite easily. However, my life has been in a very uncertain state of change. My old home was sold, I didn’t know where I was going to be moving to, and…
This last weekend I was teaching weekend one of the Level 1: Being present course at Samye Ling with Graeme Armstrong and Anna Kane – a fabulous team. There were a lot of people on the course who were pretty much new to mindfulness. Many had the motivation to find a calmer state of mind…
This weekend I had a day trip to London on the train from Lockerbie to visit the Mind Body Soul experience at Alexandra Palace. It was an interesting day, with the train filled with thoughtful, serious and at times jolly looking people on their way to London for the People’s Vote march. Many with children…
I am excited that we now have confirmation for our 10th anniversary celebration of the Mindfulness Association. Ten years seems like a long time but seems to have passed in an instant. I vividly remember my first retreat teaching with Rob Nairn and Choden on Holy Isle in June 2009. For me this was a…
I have been working on a new Online Compassion Course, to go with the Online Living Mindfully Course and the Online Rob Nairn Insight Course, which both run over ten weeks. The home practice during the first week of the course includes the nurturing and depleting activities exercise. This exercise is set out in Chapter…
I am feeling anxious today. My life is in a period of massive and unexpected change. Just over two years ago I experienced a period of massive, but expected and planned change. One big change was that my daughter finished school and began a gap year on her way to university and leaving home. The…