A mindful weekend in Yorkshire
Following a ‘Be Calm Be Happy’ retreat at the end of August, I find myself hearing Thich Nhat Hanh’s words in my head. I’ll think of his reminder to smile, breathe and go slowly or I’ll remember the quote that the teachers shared: “Nothing is more important than your peace or joy.”
The course, designed as an introduction to mindfulness, was a profound experience that’s encouraging me to take a more mindful approach in my everyday life. It’s helping me to consciously slow down, focus on one thing at a time and avoid my mind’s habitual wormholes of worry.
During lockdown, I started using a meditation app and enjoyed listening to recordings of Thich Nhat Hanh (aka Thay). His wisdom, calm and sense of humour shone through.
When my mother died at the end of last year, I started to meditate more often, and have meditated every day since her funeral in January.
I signed up for the course because I wanted to learn more about Thay and the Plum Village approach to meditation.
To get to The Briery retreat centre, you walk uphill a mile or so from Ilkley station, passing by one of Yorkshire’s famous Betty’s tearooms. There are rolling hills all around and the centre is surrounded by trees.
The group of 21 participants had travelled from all over the UK, and a couple had come from further afield. Some people were entirely new to meditation. Some had meditated on and off, like me. Others had meditated for years.
I was envious to hear that both our teachers, Lauri Bower and Ian Sneath, had been lucky enough to meet and study with Thay. They made a good team. Both were open about their own struggles, which made it easier for participants to feel compassionate towards themselves.
During the weekend, we practised stopping and calming down by taking part in guided sitting meditations and walking meditations.
We experimented with mindful consumption in an exercise that involved eating a sultana extremely slowly. This encouraged us to consider what we eat and how we eat, and to carry that mindful approach into other areas of our lives.
We discussed how to use mindfulness to overcome the brain’s bias towards negativity and how to nourish our sense of happiness. The teachers asked us to think about whether we were watering the seeds of anger, worry and resentment, and suggested being present with our emotions, rather than rushing to block out our feelings with food, news or other distractions.
In the final session, we learned about the five mindfulness trainings that can act as guidelines to a happy life. For me, the phrase that struck a chord was ‘I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions’.
It was a wonderful weekend of silence, singing and laughter, punctuated by the sound of the bell, bringing us back to the present moment.
I’ll take away the memory of so many lovely, supportive, funny, caring people, as well as a variety of helpful mindfulness and meditation techniques.
Would I recommend the course? Absolutely. If you’re intrigued about what meditation could do for you or if you want to deepen your existing practice, I’d say go for it.
Find out more about our upcoming Mindfulness Courses here>>>
