Hi everyone One of the criticisms which I increasingly come across with regards to mindfulness is that through helping people to deal with stress by engaging differently with their thoughts, rather than addressing the external cause of the stress, mindfulness further individualises suffering. The blame for suffering is placed on the person - 'if only … Continue reading Mindfulness, social change and the ‘neoliberal self’

I hope this finds you well and adapting to the ever new and surprising challenges that our students bring to our doors! I have a few exciting updates and resources that I want to share in this blog. Firstly, thanks to Iddo Oberski plans are afoot for our next event which will take place at … Continue reading Save the date, virtual book groups & valuable resources

Through the Association of Contemplative Mind in Higher Education mailing list and discussion with teachers in the US over the last year I have come into contact with dialogue about tackling oppression and promoting social justice through higher and further education. This has made me painfully aware of my own naiveté, particularly about racism and … Continue reading Contemplative Practices for Anti-Oppression Pedagogy – Food for Thought

Having upgraded our website using a slight underspend from the Contemplative Pedagogy Weekend at Emerson College in June we can now insert audio files. To test this out, I have included the audio of my presentation from that weekend entitled 'What does contemplative pedagogy mean for us as teachers'. I have written some notes on … Continue reading We can now include audio files 🙂

Before I go off for a weeks holiday I wanted to review the comments that were made following the Contemplative Pedagogy Weekend at Emerson College back in June and consider the implications of those reflections for the network and for us as individuals. I have tried to bring together everyone's comments into a few main … Continue reading Thoughts emerging from the Emerson Weekend

During my session for the weekend I was keen to explore what contemplative pedagogy meant for us as teachers. I was very pleased with how the session was received. The majority of participants really welcomed the space to consider these issues more deeply than their working life usually allows. The reflective practice that we carried … Continue reading Rethinking teaching – what does contemplative pedagogy mean for us as teachers?

I have had a busy week back at my desk following the Contemplative Pedagogy Weekend at Emerson College but I think it  is really important to take time to reflect before the event disappears into the distance. I'll share some of my own experiences and thoughts from the weekend in this blog and then next … Continue reading Thanks and reflections

Hello all Over the last few blogs I have been introducing some of the speakers at the Contemplative Pedagogy weekend which is now just two weeks away! Today is the turn of Steven Stanley who is doing some very interesting mindfulness research, with a particular interest in mindfulness meditation as a psychosocial research methodology. I … Continue reading Contemplative pedagogy weekend speaker on mindfulness and normative public conduct

Dear All The two workshop leaders I am pleased to introduce today are Robert-Louis Abrahamson and Alasdair Honeyman. They both came along to our first meeting in London and both have a lovely habit of unexpectedly pikcing up the phone to offer support and guidance when most needed for which I am very grateful. Although … Continue reading Two more inspiring contemplative pedagogy workshop leaders…

Dear All I thought it might be nice to also introduce to you some of the others who will be running workshops at the upcoming contemplative pedagogy weekend. So I thought I'd start with George Perry who has been working hard with me to get the event organised and off the ground. I first met … Continue reading Introducing other workshop leaders