Events

Recovering Mindfully

A free 8-week Mindfulness Course for people in the Borders who are in recovery from substance use and/or mental health issues.

The course aims to help you develop an in-depth personal experience of mindfulness and to lay the foundations for a sustained practice that can support you for the rest of your life.

Perhaps your addiction related struggle has been / drug related, food related, or perhaps more about clinging to negative behaviours and habits that are not serving you well? The practice of mindfulness encourages an attitude of curiosity and open-mindedness as your present experience arises and changes moment by moment.

Recovering Mindfully gives you the opportunity to suspend judgment as to whether you think these approaches work for you, at least until the end of the course. You will benefit most by approaching the course with open curiosity and with the spirit of patience and commitment. It means not knowing what the outcome will be or what will unfold, but trusting in the guided practices you are engaging in.

Mindfulness is a state of being which is accessible to everyone. Everyone can ‘do mindfulness’ and when you are in touch with the qualities of mindfulness you will begin to feel a sense of coming home to yourself, developing a more optimistic outlook and a sense of courage that can enable you to work with life’s inevitable challenges rather than avoid them.

Session dates:

10^th, 17^th, 24^th, 31^st July then 7^th, 14^th, 21^stand 28^th August

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. This kind of awareness nurtures greater awareness, clarity and acceptance of present moment reality. It wakes us up to the fact that our lives unfold only in moments. If we are not fully present, we may not only miss what is most valuable, but also fail to realise the richness and the depth of our possibilities for growth and transformation.” Jon Kabat Zinn.

This course is run with the support of Borders in Recovery and kindly funded by The Everyone Project

Mindful Workout: 1 x 3-hour Sunday Session

A SCATTERED MIND IS AN UNHEALTHY MIND

It’s great to feel fit and healthy! A good workout at the gym can do wonders to boost our physical strength, our mobility, and our attitude to our lives in general. But where are our minds when we’re pounding the treadmill, cycling or rowing all these miles – or when we arrive home afterwards? Do we notice?

Is your mind ‘in your body’ or do you notice yourself getting ‘lost in thought’ constantly striving, planning, problem-solving, remembering, ruminating about the past or perhaps worrying endlessly about the future? Whether we pay close attention to our physical fitness or not, it’s still easy to spend most of our lives ‘in our heads!’ For many, this can be stress inducing and anxiety provoking. It can become a serious obstacle to achieving a truly healthy and balanced life.

SIMPLE BUT NOT EASY

The above is simple to understand but it’s not quite so easy to do! Join mindfulness trainer Carol Carr in this 3-hour experiential workshop – an introduction to the 3 key elements of mindfulness that you can use to support you in your day to day lives.

Find out how to:

Pay attention on purpose with curiosity and care
Explore different ways of knowing and being, as ground for wisdom and self-care
Respond skilfully to life’s challenges
Begin to live in the present – life’s greatest gift

To book:

[email protected] / 07766 754 877 or [email protected]

An Introduction to Mindfulness: 3 x 1hour sessions

Join Carol Carr in exploring the 3 key themes of mindfulness training and how they can best support you in your day-to-day life.

Paying attention on purpose with curiosity and care – a gateway to experience

Different ways of knowing / being as ground for wisdom and self-care

Responding skilfully – a practice for all aspects of your life – quite literally for life.

Cost: £50, includes 3 sessions, teas and coffees, course manual and recorded practices

To book:

Email [email protected] or
Call 07766 754 877

Mindfulness for Life – New 8-week Course

Mindfulness for Life

Session 1: Thurs 7 Dec 2023
Session 2: Thurs 14 Dec
Session 3: Thurs 21 Dec
Session4: Thurs 4 Jan 2024
Session 5: Thurs 11 Jan
Session 6: Thurs 18 Jan
Session 7: Thurs 25 Jan
Session 8: Thurs 1 Feb
Plus, Day of Practice – date tbc

Mindfulness for Life (sometimes referred to as MBCT-L), is a course designed to cultivate mindful awareness of our body, emotions and mind so that we can live our lives with a greater sense of wellbeing, kindness and resilience. It is an evidence-based course, developed in the light of research at Oxford University and other leading research centres.

It has two main intentions: to offer you some skills to meet life’s challenges and difficulties, both internal and external; as well as skills to develop more awareness and appreciation of the pleasant moments in life that we can often overlook. In other words, to respond more skilfully to all of life’s inevitable ups and downs.

This course is not being offered as a treatment for any specific physical or psychological conditions. Please do not sign up for this training if you are currently experiencing severe problems in these areas.

The course includes a longer Day of Practice, usually held on Saturday or Sunday at a date to be agreed. This is an opportunity to deepen practice and, whilst an invaluable learning experience, does not form part of the core teaching.

What will I do on this course?

On this course you will:

Attend 8 weekly sessions lasting 2 hours and 15 minutes.
There is also a ‘Day of Practice ‘– usually 5 hours – which revisits practices introduced in the course an introduces some new practices
This is a structured course where each session builds upon what has been introduced before. This is why it is important to attend all the sessions
You will be in a group of up to 20 people, co-led by Oxford Mindfulness Foundation trained mindfulness teacher Carol Carr of This Kind Space, who is based in Scotland, and Shalini Grover who lives in Delhi.
Each session will have guided and structured meditation practices. Many sessions also have exercises drawn from modern psychology
Each practice or exercise is followed by a review of what you and/or other participants experienced or discovered in that practice/exercise. This review does not include a discussion of participants’ past history
Each session is followed by suggestions for personal practice of up to 45 minutes. This includes both recommended guided practices, and also ways to cultivate new habits of mindfulness in everyday life
Each session (except the first) includes a review of the previous week’s personal practice
You will have access to a web resource which gives you guided practices and written material to support each session

Learning Outcomes

On this course you will learn the following skills:

How to ‘stabilise the attention’: to recognise mind wandering and ‘autopilot’, and how to bring the attention back to where we want it to be – with interest, patience, and care
Learning more about two different ways of being and knowing: through direct experience and through thinking. Understanding more about how the mind creates meaning
Learning to recognise our patterns of reactivity and how trying to get rid of distress may actually keep us stuck
Bringing a sense of care and kindness to ourselves in those moments of distress and reactivity

MBCT- L – Technicalities: You will need:

A PC/Laptop/Macbook or Tablet. You can check the operating requirements of Zoom here, but contact Carol if you are unsure or have any questions: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-Requirements-for-PC-Mac-and-Linux,
A webcam and microphone
A stable internet connection, and

A private space where you can be undisturbed

To apply for a place on this course, please email [email protected] or telephone 07766 754 877

N.B: The sessions will be recorded, purely for your teachers’ continuous professional development purposes. The recordings will be sent to an OMF Mindfulness supervisor and no-one else, purely for training purposes. The recordings will then be deleted.

Cost: There is no formal charge for this course, but donations will be gratefully received. Bank details will be supplied, should you wish them, once your place has been confirmed.

Curious to know more?

What exactly is Mindfulness? How can it help me?

How can I find out without committing myself to anything long term?

On Monday 27th March from 2pm – 4pm, we’re running a brand new, open mindfulness Naturally session for those of you who are quietly curious about mindfulness, and who would like to find out for themselves why it has become a bit of a buzz word in our communities.

Mindfulness isn’t religious. It’s not a ‘quick fix’. It’s not therapy or analysis. Over time, it requires effort to maintain some of the new mindful habits that we learn to build into our lives. For those however, who are seeking to live a life that is more balanced, less ridden with worry and anxiety and in general, feels more content and happy, mindfulness is now widely proven to work. And everyone can do it. All that is required is that we simply start where we are.

On Monday we invite you to discover what mindfulness really is, while answering any questions you may have about it. We’ll introduce you to a short, guided observation exercise and a guided mindfulness meditation. Approaching this experience with friendly curiousity and an open mind, also gets us off to a good start!

Surrounded by trees freshly in bud, against the soothing soundtrack of spring birdsong and the rippling Ettrick Water, we invite you to savour your connection with the natural environment while perhaps connecting more deeply with yourselves too, – in ways that count.

This gentle introductory session, lead by Carol Carr of This Kind Space CIC, creates the opportunity for you to try something a little different – just to see if it’s for you. So why not give yourself a break with a difference, by joining us in the woods at 2pm on Monday 27th March. And bring your friends too.

(Suitable for complete beginners aged 18 and upwards and for those with some experience of mindfulness – maximum number 10).

Directions
Mauldsheugh Wood, on Philiphaugh Estate, is situated underneath and to the left of the road bridge that crosses the Ettrick Water on the outskirts of Selkirk on the A707 to Peebles, ‘beneath’ The Glen Hotel. Parking is available on Buccleuch Road and in nearby
Victoria Park. To reach the wood requires a short walk from where you
have parked, There is wheelchair access.

Participants are invited to meet under the road bridge from 1.45pm giving us time to gather, reach the site and settle so that we can all start the session together promptly at 2pm. There will be a 15 minute break at 3pm.

This session is kindly funded by Scottish Forestry, delivered by This Kind Space CIC and supported by Go Wild Scotland CIC. It is free of charge.

To book your place: email [email protected] or call 07766 754 877

You can also book on facebook @thiskindspace and @gowildscotland using Eventbrite.

Mindfulness for Mums - Naturally

Another hectic start to another hectic day?

Kids packed off to school? Sigh of relief? Or perhaps frantically trying to catch up with all the things you “meant to do yesterday”, while you have a couple of hours of quiet in the house? Sound familiar? – You’re not alone! Most mums experience this to varying degrees during a school week – for some it’s a familiar routine that they’re well used to – for others it may evoke stress anxiety, overwhelm even. Perhaps you’re full of nagging doubts about “getting everything done” in time, – or even feelings of guilt if you actually sit down with a coffee and do nothing for a wee while! Does it ever feel that you can’t win?

This is where mindfulness comes in. If you’d like to find more about mindfulness and how it can help you to reduce stress and feel more balanced in your life, you’re most welcome to come along to this new taster session. You will be introduced to the basic principles of mindfulness, in lovely Maudsheugh Wood in Selkirk, on the banks of the Ettrick Water. Learn how to start living in the present, free from judgment and self-criticism – mindfully.

Consider giving yourself a break by joining us in the woods at 10am,on Monday 27th March. Surrounded by budding trees, with spring birdsong and rippling water as the soundtrack, you will have the chance to attend to and explore the nature of any chatter, mental stress, anxiety and worry. We’ll be looking at how this affects the way we react to our immediate environment, to our families and friends and importantly – to ourselves.

Mindfulness is not a quick fix, but it has been widely proven – clinically and scientifically – to be of great help and support to people who would like to reduce stress in their lives. In many cases, it is at least as good as counselling or therapy and can work well in tandem with both of these.

Everyone can ‘do’ Mindfulness.

At first, many people feel suspicious about mindfulness having something to offer them. That’s ok. Also – many people find it quite difficult to get a handle on what mindfulness actually is at the beginning of a session or course. That’s ok too! It takes time to get used to the experience of being mindful. There’s sometimes a little fear too, around what you might have to do, or concern perhaps, that you will ‘look stupid’ and ‘won’t be able to do it’. That’s also ok. The good news is that yes, most people do feel a bit like this at first, – but even better – everyone can do Mindfulness. Yes. And no-one will ever be expected or asked to do anything they don’t want to do.

With mindfulness training, we ‘start where we are.’ There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to be. You’ll find out how short guided mindfulness exercises and meditations, can teach us all to become more present in your life. Too much time spent dwelling in the past, or worrying or fantasising about the future, often lead to the sorts of negative, destructive thoughts and behaviours that may not be serving you well. This is common and affects us all, yet has a profound effect on how we are able to live our lives and cope with the inevitable day to day challenges as they arise. Mindfulness helps us to recognise this, and over time, instead of reacting impulsively to whatever crops up for us, we are able to respond more appropriately, with awareness, understanding, care and kindness – to ourselves and others.

Local mums are warmly welcome to attend this taster session. It is funded by Scottish Forestry, delivered by This Kind Space CIC and supported by Go Wild Scotland CIC. It is free of charge. The session will take place outside, but we are exploring a contingency plan to hold the session indoors, in the event of bad weather.
Those who find the taster session helpful, who may wish to take their learning experience further, will be offered possibility of attending a FREE full 8-week Mindfulness Naturally Course in Mauldsheugh Wood, on completion of this taster session.

To book: email [email protected] or call 07766 754 877

Directions
Mauldsheugh Wood, on Philiphaugh Estate, is situated underneath and to the left of the road bridge that crosses the Ettrick Water on the outskirts of Selkirk on the A707 to Peebles, near The Glen Hotel. Parking is available on Buccleuch Road and in nearby Victoria Park. To reach the wood requires a short walk from where you have parked, under the bridge to the site entrance where you will be met. There is wheelchair access.

Mindfulness - Naturally - for Veterans

A 2-hour mindfulness taster session introducing the basic principles of mindfulness, through learning how to pay attention, to what is present for us in each moment. This session will take place outdoors, in the peaceful woodland setting by the Ettrick Water in the Scottish Borders

About You…
How are you feeling right now? Ok? Or perhaps you’re struggling a bit? Finding it difficult to get out of bed? Feeling a sense of dullness or isolation? Stressed or anxious at times? Pessimistic or cynical even about the future? Blaming yourself or others for not ‘getting your act together? All very common – but not easy to deal with, especially when you feel stuck.

Here’s an opportunity to give yourself a break from all this, by taking some time out to attend to the nature of the negative sort of self-talk, the mental stress, anxiety and worry we can experience in our lives due to no fault of our own, by learning how to bring mindfulness into our everyday lives.

Mindfulness is not about ‘chilling out’ and forgetting all our worries. Nor is it a ‘quick fix’. Combined with care, kindness and compassion however, it enables us to see more clearly our reasons for habitually reacting to things the way we do, then teaches us how we can respond more wisely to what we may perceive as difficulties, threats, fears, etc., as they arise – for own benefit and for those around us.

The Benefits of Mindfulness
Strongly suggested by clinical and scientific research

Mindfulness meditation improves emotional intelligence helping us to flourish. 5
Mindfulness meditation enhances brain function, soothing parts of the brain that produces stress hormones.
Mindfulness meditation improves the immune system reducing the risk of developing cancer, heart disease and numerous infectious diseases.
Mindfulness meditation improves heart and circulatory health by reducing blood pressure and lowering the risk of hypertension.
Mindfulness meditation reduces addictive and self-destructive behaviour.
Mindfulness is at least as good as drugs or counselling for the treatment of clinical-level depression. It can work well in tandem with other forms of support.

Everyone can ‘do’ Mindfulness
At first, many people feel apprehensive, suspicious or even cynical about mindfulness having something to offer them. That’s ok. Also – because mindfulness is essentially experiential – and not something we simply work out in our heads; it can be difficult to get a handle on what mindfulness actually is at the beginning of a session or course. That’s ok too! It takes time to get used to the experience of being mindful. There’s sometimes a little fear too, around what you might have to do, or concern perhaps, that you will ‘look stupid’ and ‘won’t be able to do it’. That’s ok too. The good news is that yes, most people do feel a bit like this at first, – but even better – everyone can do Mindfulness. Yes. And no-one will ever be expected or asked to do anything they don’t want to do. Everything is clearly explained and carefully guided where appropriate.

What does this session involve?
This one-off, taster session will last 2 hours with a 15minute coffee break in the middle. It will include 2 short, guided mindfulness meditation exercises, a brief explanation of what mindfulness is – and what mindfulness is not – and why we practice it. Following each exercise there will be a chance for sharing and discussion for those who are comfortable with this.

Military Veterans are warmly welcome to attend
This session is funded by Scottish Forestry, delivered by This Kind Space CIC and supported by Go Wild Scotland CIC. It is free of charge. The session will take place outside, but we have a contingency plan to hold the session under canvas, should the weather be inclement.

Those who find the taster session helpful, who may wish to take their learning experience further, will be offered possibility of attending a FREE full 8-week Mindfulness Naturally Course in Mauldsheugh Wood, on completion of this taster session.

To book your place, please email or call Carol Carr at This Kind Space.
E: [email protected] M: 07766 754 877

Directions
Mauldsheugh Wood, on Philiphaugh Estate, is situated underneath and to the left of the road bridge that crosses the Ettrick Water on the outskirts of Selkirk on the A707 to Peebles, near The Glen Hotel. Parking is available on Buccleuch Road and in nearby Victoria Park. To reach the wood requires a short walk from where you have parked, under the bridge to the site entrance where you will be met. There is wheelchair access.

Being Who You Are - with Mindfulness

For people who identify as transgender, living in a so-called cis-normative society can be extremely challenging at times. For some, it can also feel lonely and isolating. This can be especially so if you’re contemplating transition, have transitioned, or have wanted to, but have felt unable to transition, perhaps for decades.

Transition means something different for everyone. For some, it can involve a whole range of possible steps, including social, medical, and/or legal changes, or maybe none of these things.

Whatever your current situation, you are welcome to our new 8-week Mindfulness course for the Borders transgender community, starting with an introductory session on Thursday 17th November 10am – 12pm – and every Thursday morning until the course ends. This course is being offered free of charge. You do not have to register for the course until after the introductory session where all will be explained to you. If you do register, from that point, an 8-week commitment is expected for you to achieve maximum benefit.

The course is experiential with gently guided meditation exercises, talks, listening, and sharing – only for those who wish. We look at our habitual reactions and responses to some of the challenges we may all face in our lives, merely through wanting to be who we are and go about our normal daily business. We’ll explore the importance of cultivating kindness and compassion for ourselves – and perhaps others too. This is not always easy.

Developing kindness towards oneself can however be key to transforming any suffering you may experience, perhaps through internalising transphobia. Interested in finding out how you can learn to flourish in your life, by better supporting yourself, especially in times of difficulty or distress? Want to know more or book your space?

It is important that you contact us before the Introductory Session. Please either drop a quick email to Carol on [email protected] or call her on 07766 754 877. Or have a word with Charlie if you’re in The Geek Retreat itself. We’d love you to get in touch and do hope you’ll come along.

Being Who You Are - with mindfulness

Does your physical fitness receive a lot of attention? What about your mental fitness?

Perhaps you’ve never thought about it that way, but rather like physical fitness can enhance your life, so mental ‘fitness’, achieved through practising mindfulness can also substantially relieve your stress, help you to feel more relaxed, increase your self-awareness, your confidence and your sense of wellbeing too.

Weekly 1 hour evening sessions – open to all

Essentially, these weekly sessions are experiential, so that you naturally become more mindful over time. Guided mindfulness meditations follow a short talk. Togther these will equip you to better understand and to handle the usual stresses and strains of daily life, in a way that will greatly benefit yourself – and those around you.

There are many other proven benefits to practising mindfulness.

Mindfulness improves your immune system, reduces the risk of developing cancer, heart disease and numerous infectious diseases, teaches you how to sooth the parts of your brain that produce stress hormones and improves your emotional intelligence. It also improves heart and circulatory health by reducing blood pressure and lowering the risk of hypertension.

Furthermore, mindfulness reduces addictive and self-destructive behaviour and is at least as good as drugs or counselling for the treatment of clinical-level depression. It often works very well as a complement to other forms of mental health support.

If you’d like to experience the positive effects of mindfulness for the first time, or build on any practice you may already have then do come along to these weekly sessions.

Cost per session: £8

Further details and booking here by emailing [email protected]

Live Joyfully! - an invitation

Enjoy first-hand, experiential mindfulness training to enhance your daily life and the lives of those around you too. This course is open to all – regardless of location.

This sounds simple – but of course it’s not easy. Mindfulness is not a ‘quick fix’. It’s not about ‘getting rid’ of thoughts, feelings and emotions or about ‘chilling out’ – all common misperceptions. Practising mindfulness on a regular basis, can be challenging at times, and it takes a certain courage and motivation to engage, even with this foundational training. But don’t be discouraged… The many positive effects of mindfulness, and the long-term benefits of practising it, have been clinically and scientifically proven for many years as now widely documented on many platforms. And yes – in time – practising mindfulness can indeed bring moments of deep joy and inner happiness!

It is normal in life, to find ourselves repeating negative thought or behaviour patterns that may not have served us well for many years. We may be aware of this, or we may have a vague idea that this is the case, and yet have never had the undertanding, the will, the resources or been able to create the conditions, to give these the attention they perhaps merit. Sound familiar?

Practising specific mindfulness exercises including mindfulness meditation, enables us to experience how by approaching our ‘difficulties’ with kindness and compassion, we can learn to better support ourselves through the rough and the smooth – for our own benefit and that of others too.

This certificated Mindfulness course enables you to do this by increasing your self-awareness and equipping you with the training and the skills you may need to make better choices as your life unfolds.

8 x 2hr weekly sessions, including online meditation day retreat ( 2hrs – break – 2 hrs), and follow-up session. Course fee: £200

Mindfulness

Feeling a bit confused? Lost? Anxious? Want to feel less worried and less stressed about what’s going on for you right now? Want to calm down a bit? De-stress? Or perhaps you feel you more direction? Something that helps you feel more stable? More sorted?

You’re not alone. Loads of people feel like this a lot of the time, especially when faced with the millions of pressures and choices out there in the world – and on social media! But, don’t worry because there is something you can do about it which will serve you well right now – and in the future.

Mindfulness helps us how to reconnect withourselves and to recognise that we do in fact have choices in our live, even if it doesn’t always feel like that. This helps us to make wise decisions, and act on them for our own benefit, when life might feel as if it’s spiraling out of control. It can also help us to get on better with our friends and families.

If you’re aged 16 plus then this is the course is for you. It has been specifically designed to help you cope with the sorts of early challenges and changes that most of us have to deal with as we grow up. You get to experience first hand, how mindfulness exercises and meditation helps you to support yourself, now and for the rest of your life, if you choose.

It’s a great course and you go away with a course manual, packed with useful information and exercises as well as audio versions of the exercises which you can download onto your devices and use at any time you feel like it.

This course is free. It works best when you can make all of the sessions too.

It is kindly funded by The Everyone Project and supported by Cheviot Youth, based in the Scottish Borders.