Blooming with Smiles & Laughter

Reflections on the Art of Zen Mindfulness course in York (September 2025) by course participant Dr Fiona K O’Neill.

For me: The Art of Zen, in-person weekend, returned me to the essentials; thus refreshing my practice from the inside. My own practice of everyday mindfulness, and especially of silent meditation, had become appreciably frayed, in service to my coping with significant pain and disability. This weekend has returned my sense of surety in my own capacities to enjoy life, through these Zen practices; one breath at a time.

Through their calm, considered and mutually held Welcome, our Course Leaders embodied the feel of our group practice from the outset. I felt met at each moment of the training. As a trainer/facilitator myself, it was a relief to be so practically, ably and appropriately cared for. Although our group filled the small meeting room, it never felt claustrophobic, just respectfully intimate. The inner-city setting with access to a delightful, secluded sensory garden, was well chosen; providing ample scope for fresh air, quietitude, mindful eating and recumbent or walking meditations.

It was reassuring to step from my own practices – alongside reading Thay’s books, using the excellent Plum Village Mobile App and Podcasts – into a deftly held group. In presence, coming to more fully appreciate the nuances of tenor, simplicity and depth that the Plum Village approach embodies. I’ve now gained sufficient insight, to more confidently engage with a local Plum Village sangha.

I look forward to further Plum Village courses, in-person or online, in support of my renewed journey within the everyday mindfulness and deeper meditations of Zen. If nothing else, I can simply return to: Breathing in I feel Calm : Breathing out I feel Ease.