Meet Carol
I first benefited from mindfulness training in the mid 1980s while living at Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland. Later I travelled in China, Tibet and India where I was able to observe and learn in person from many senior Tibetan Buddhist lamas, working relentlessly within their nomadic and global lay communities. These unforgettable experiences still inspire me as I continue to navigate my own colourful journey through life.
My early years included the sudden death of a parent when I was four and its complex repercussions. I have a deep understanding of how childhood trauma, however it manifests, can feel like a burden that we may carry through our entire lives. Through practising mindfulness, I have gradually been able to let go of my ‘burden’ by learning to see it for what it always was.
In my early 30s, with mindful awareness as the key, I recovered from a life-threatening eating disorder, which plagued me for 14 years. I went on to enjoy a rewarding career as a BBC radio producer working in many corners of the globe. Because of my previous experiences, I was motivated, mentally equipped and enabled through broadcasting, to meet and work with severely challenged communities, including active gang members on south-side Los Angeles and Chicago; the victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse in this country, prisoners, adults with a range of mental health issues, racism and others experiencing the challenges of living in apparently disenfranchised cultures.
In more recent years I have been personally involved in a supportive context, in many of the challenging issues that can arise for the LGBTQI community, in particular those surrounding the needs of transgender people – and their families. On many occasions, I have experienced for myself how mindful awareness, when combined with kindness and compassion, can support all of us – regardless of gender, religion, class, colour or race – in coming to terms with our own truths as we learn how we can ourselves, unlock the inner freedom we all need to be who we truly are.
I hold a Post Grad Diploma in Mindfulness Studies from Aberdeen University. I am trained in trauma sensitive mindfulness and am fully qualified to teach the secular Mindfulness Based Living Course, (MBLC) and the follow-up Compassion Based Living Course, as devised by The UK Mindfulness Association.
From a professional and personal perspective, I regularly engage in mindfulness, compassion, insight and wisdom training, which keep me informed and in tune with both ancient wisdom and contemporary issues related to mindfulness and its developing role in the world.
5 Rhythms – mindful dance meditation is one of my enduring passions – that and walking in the countryside with my lovely dog.
I am deeply committed to sharing with you, the benefits of the goodwill, the support and the mindfulness training that I have been so fortunate to have had in my life, so that you and those around you may also benefit.
Carol Carr