So welcome to those of you participating tonight. And for those of you that know me, it's, it's Mike, Doctor Mike Scanlon, and I've done a lot of work with the vets and unfortunately, the dog has just walked in, but, as vets, I'm sure you'll, manage that. Billy, come and sit here.
Come on. And, tonight we've got a few things actually including the bottom there. If you see the bottom of the bullets there before we start, I just wanted to talk you through this and sort of bring some context to tonight.
I went away on holiday. I've just got back actually, first day back at work tomorrow, so it's really nice to be doing some mindfulness, some extra mindfulness tonight, on top of my normal meditations. But when I went away this time, one of the things I took with me was this Urquhart Tolly 7 day course, and it's completely free, and I just really, really liked it.
So I've sent Dawn the URL for you guys and if any of you'd like to do it, I'll just tell you a bit about it. Urquhart Tully is just a really brilliant mindfulness practitioner. The Power of Now is, is his great book, and he's very into the stillness and he makes mindfulness in a similar way to myself, I suppose.
He tries to make mindfulness really, really accessible. So when you get the tonight's mindfulness. Recording sent through to you.
I'm hoping that Dawn, wonderful Dawn from the webinar that will be able to also send you the URL. Now you click in, when you do go into it, it's a seven-day course, and they send you a different meditation. A different sort of teaching he calls it each day for 7 days.
If you click yes to getting stuff from Urquhart, you'll get a lot of it, but it's all really good stuff, so I did click yes. If you click no, you just get the 7 day course, and the 7 day course is made up of some morning meditations and some evening ones, and it's not long and it's very, very doable. So, Tonight what I wanted to do was, I guess I've done this backwards.
I've let you know about this wonderful free option, and there is no sort of link there. There's no expectation for you to fork out later on, or if there is or anything pops up, just ignore it because the course is entirely free. And I took it away with me to the Picos Mountains in northern Spain.
And my wife and I, spent some time, on the course and used, used our holiday to sort of, kind of try and deepen that experience. So I guess I just thought it'd be nice to share it with you guys tonight. So I thought I'd start rather than with a meditation but in the In the sort of Spirit of Urquhart, really, just to take you through this some mindful ways to surf.
And challenging experiences and those challenging experiences might be linked to work. They might be linked to our personal stuff. They might be linked to bereavement.
They might be linked to change occurring in our lives. It doesn't really matter, but it's very similar to the three stage breathing space with difficulties, you know, when we stop, we ask ourselves, so what's going on in my life today? And when we do that meditation and when we ask that question, so what's going on in my life today, we feel like a tsunami of emotion accompanies that very simple, gentle question, and that would probably tell us that we were in the middle of what could only be described as probably a challenging experience.
And so, I guess I would just like to just take you through. So the first suggestion when you're trying to work through. A challenging experience is to actually stop and so much of mindfulness is about that initial stop, but rather than stop, which kind of sounds a bit glottially doesn't it, and it has a big full stop after it.
I think what we're talking about here is the polls. And I will take a pause now while Billy Barks. One of his mates walking past the house.
We're not meditating, so, I'll just be pleased about that. Now the idea of pausing is just central to the whole process of mindfulness, and what mindfulness teaches us to do is to get much better at using our breath to just take a simple breath, gentle breath in. Breathe in, breathe out and pause, and it sounds simple.
But when we're going through a challenging experience, most of us, I, I believe it's certainly my own experience. We, we sort of push and we fight and we struggle harder in order to push our way through that difficult experience, whereas, The mindful response to a challenging situation 1st and 1st always is to stop, take a breath. Take a moment to just be.
And instead of chasing life, as it were, create some space so that life flows towards us rather than us pushing stuff away or wrestling with it. So When I'm in the middle of a challenging, difficult experience at the moment, what I try and do, and I don't always manage this. I, I, I, I'm .
I think we're always learning with mindfulness. I'm on that journey with you. As I always remind myself, Mike, just pause.
Create some space and find just a sense of flow because what comes in will also go out. Exactly in the way that we breathe. If this is a challenging experience that is likely To be challenging for a little while, a new job, a new project, learning a new skill.
Difficulties in relationships that aren't going to remit very quickly. My second suggestion is to exercise mindfully. And channel Any of that frustration and excess energy like anger, agitation, or fear.
And Walk work out. Run on the spot, skip. But expend some energy, lose that sense of agitation, that physical response.
And then afterwards once we have sort of cleared that pent up energy. That's very often the moment that we can transform that sort of difficult dark energy into something more positive and lighter, and it's at those times that we can then once again find that step one, that pause. Take that space.
And perhaps then. Step 3, I think, is seek guidance. And I guess that somewhere in your life, there'll be people that will be able to see things from a different perspective.
Than the one that you are currently observing. And When we're deep in the turmoil of our own situation. Not enough of us reach out.
And Try and sort of find somebody and there's a saying that comes from the Buddhist, meditative school that says when the student is ready, the teacher will come. And it's just trusting in that. Knowledge that you know, reach out, look around us, don't reach for the very first person that comes to mind.
Use that calm, use that mindfulness to get the right person, because what we're just looking for is not answers, but we're just looking for a bit of guidance to give us a greater sense of choice. Now you'll see the words here in my bullet point on the screen there, 6 mindful ways to surf. A challenging experience because what we're doing here is we're trying not to get caught up in the tsunami to be Rolled over by the wave, but to actually place ourselves on top of the wave that is flowing through our lives and to stay with it.
And these 6 tips, I suppose, or 6 ways, pause, expend some energy if there's too much going on, if you're too pent up. 3 is seek guidance. 4.
I think it's a really interesting one, and I think this, this calls for some planning, but I have 2 or 3. Books usually lying around, one of them actually being The Power of Now. My other current favourite book is called A Liberated Mind.
I've always got a couple of John Cabot in mindfulness books, . Sort of lying around in my therapy room and it's at those times just stop. Create that pause and have a look through the glossary.
And find something that's going to help you. And very often the words in these books hold the wisdom and the guidance that's been valuable to me in the past, and maybe I've underlined stuff in my pencil. I usually have actually.
And what I'll do is I'll just reach in. And I'll refind something that I've read before. I made use of it.
5, as you would expect, is meditate. And one sanctuary I always come back to in difficult times is the stillness that one can find amid all of the turmoil of this challenging situation, and I've always found one constant that always comes with mindfulness is a stop, a pause, and a sense of stillness. But the gateway to that stillness.
Where the wave becomes a mill pond just for a while is meditation. And it's meditation is the foundation that we can call upon to get through these difficult times. So There's a A Sanskrit word actually, that I struggle to say, but I'm gonna have a go at it.
Nvitatum. Ntatum, and it actually means transcend where you are. Go to the stillness and find peace.
And I think that Once we have paused. Once we have recognised that there's just too much going on to meditate, got rid of some of those frustrations through vigorous exercise usually. Once we have looked around and seen who is there to accompany me and help me, we then move into reading something.
Just getting some wisdom from the pages of a very wonderful book. And then meditate. And once we've completed our meditation.
Number 6 in this tips to deal with a challenging situation is to just be mindful. And I guess mine for is. Just allowing yourself to sit with the thinking processes.
To be one. With the nature of the thoughts that are revolving around. And often, We run on autopilot, not even aware that we have been thinking or acting in a certain way, but as we use mindfulness and being mindful, which is slightly different, it's living mindfully, we move much more into our observing self.
And that allows us to look at what we're doing. And ask ourselves that simple simple truth. Is the way I'm responding to this challenging situation taking me towards the human being I want to be?
Or is my response to this challenging situation taking me away? And choose. To respond in a way that takes us towards So I hope that's been helpful.
The 6, the 6 steps. Let me just run them past again. Step number one, always, always, always is find that pause.
When we find that pause, check in. And if we're too discombobulated, we're too agitated, we're too upset, we're too full of adrenaline. Work out, you know, run on the spot, skip up and down the stairs 2 or 3 times.
Something just to lose some of that pent up energy. And then seek guidance from someone in your life that can help. Once we have that calm, once we have that sense of surety that we're not alone in this struggle, we then sit and I think it's really powerful to read something that we know resonates with us and works.
Then meditate, and I think back to the real tried and tested and we're doing that tonight, back to the breath, but really mindfully. And 6, take that mindfulness into your life. Move into your observing self and have a look with no judgement, no hardness.
As to whether your response is taking you towards and away. Choose towards. It's a great way.
So, I think help so many of us deal with these challenging situations. So, with no more ado, having shared. I suppose again, Eckhart would call that a teaching.
I, I just think I prefer to call it a sort of. Mindful discourse. Let's now get right back and let's do a mindfulness of the breath, but more mindfully.
And what I mean by more mindfully is that when we're doing this. I'm actually going to be, it's a slightly longer mindfulness of the breath, and, I'm going to be taking the opportunity to just remind us to Manage our thoughts whilst we're meditating mindfully. So I'm just going to give everybody just 2 or 3.
Moments really just to get yourself into that dignified position where you're looking dignified, perhaps your feet are shoulder width apart placed on the ground. Your hands are resting gently in your lap, and I'll just give you a moment to find that pause before we start. OK.
If we're all sitting comfortably but not too comfortably. Let's enjoy getting back to our breath. But more mine so.
And the meditation will start with the bells. And the meditation will finish with the bowels. And So let's just find that pause.
That momentary. Slow down. And stop and let's just.
Begin this meditation by Checking in on our body. Just noticing whether our face is in repose. And if it isn't just letting it smile.
Finding that lovely mindful smile. Tells our brain that we're OK. Let's just check out the position of our neck.
Is it square? Is it supported? And our shoulders, are they relaxed?
Maybe just shrugging. Let them go. Check out our hands, are they open?
Relaxed and soft. And then we find our breath. We do nothing without that, we just follow it.
We are finding the stillness. It's a company. Just breathing.
And gentle breath in. And we let the breath go. Breathing in.
And breathing out sometimes you know it helps to quietly. Say that in our minds are very quiet. Breathing in.
And breathing out and let's just sit with our breath. For the next minute or so. Just breathing.
So there's probably still a few thoughts rolling around in your head. Perhaps more than a few. That's OK.
We just accept that. And we let it be. Knowing that.
We're in the process of journeying. Towards a greater stillness. Thoughts are a natural part of that journey.
Just breathing. If our mind has become distracted, let's smile. And let's greet that distraction.
Allow it and make space for it. And that's Be curious and. Just follow the.
Thought tendrils and fine, what was it pulled my mind away. From just breathing. And we find it, and we smile.
And we allow it, and we accept. But my mind wanders. My mind wanders.
And we bring our attention back. And we anchor it once more. Barbara.
And we find that wonderful mindful curiosity just about the breath. And we become curious about it. Where does my breath start in my body?
Mindful curiosity, the stance of the. A curious scientist. So it's, where does it start?
Does it start in the tummy. Does it start in a solar plexus chest? Maybe your shallow breathing, it starts just below its septum.
Just below your nostrils maybe. And we follow that breath in. And we notice where the in breath turns and becomes an out breath.
And I smile at that recognition. And we let it go. We notice when the in breath and the out breath begin.
And end and begin again. Just breathing. And allowing our mind.
To be distracted, just allowing it. Making space for it. Thoughts are just wobbles in your meditation.
And they're to be expected. As you stay, Just anchored. Your bra.
Perhaps noticing the temperature of the air. As you breathe in, Again, finding that curious scientist's response to find. Does my Breath warm or?
Change in temperature as I breathe out. And allowing that curiosity. Then once more, Charles back to the row.
You Your practise. And your breath. And that's you Stay with the brave.
You may gradually experience. A deepening sensation of. Relaxation.
And it may even feel like you're Pretly. But your mind, notice, is still alert. You're still conscious and aware.
I thoughts. Perhaps like an echo. It comes and goes.
This is what we call transcendence. Even a lovely word is no transcendence. And we just said.
And we allow Just in this moment. You And your breath. My thoughts come.
And they distract us. We observed them. Rather than engaging with them.
And if you reach that transcendental state of meditation, This too can be a. Peaceful. And serene.
It's Seeing our thoughts from a distance, smiling at them. Allowing them Bringing curiosity to them. And returning to the ground.
As we stay with this process, it can even feel freeing. As though we've connected with her. Silent awareness.
Inside you. I finding the real you. Just you.
And your breath. And for the last Couple of minutes of this meditation. You ask us to just sit in perfect, wonderful silence.
Just breathing. And observing. Our thoughts.
Of physical experiences. Finding that transcendental sense of self. Until we hear the bells just gently.
Bringing us back. Well done. I every now and then There's so many different med meditative scripts that we could.
Be using, but sometimes I think we just go right back to the mindfulness of the breath, and I think one of my real go to's is just sitting me my breath. And the stillness that comes with it. I was reminded I had a thought pushed its way in.
And I went with it. I moved into my observing self and I I can see I'd like to share it with you when the the meditation finished. I think it might be helpful.
I had . I was a deputy headmistress actually that we've been doing some therapy together. I've been, I think mindfulness would be so helpful for her because she has such a chattery mind that just never shuts up and it's always a bit critical.
And we started sort of meditating and she came back and she said, you know, I can't do it. So I just can't do it. And I said, What do you mean you can't do it?
And she said, Well, I just thoughts make me wobble all the time. I'm always kind of wobbling with my thoughts because I just about get to that sort of sense of transcendent dental meditation where we can hear the thoughts as a bit like an echo. I just about get there and a flipping thought comes in and just brings me back and I And I find myself sort of wobbling again.
And I was reminded, and I just said, you know, if I asked you to stand on 1 ft and balance for the next sort of 10 minutes. I'll lay any money that you'd wobble and you'd move about, but as long as you kept 1 ft off the ground, you could truthfully declare, do you know what, I'm standing on 1 ft, just as you asked me to. And I said, I'm asking you to meditate because I think it'll help you loads and you're wobbling.
But after each wobble, you're pulling yourself back into the moment by reattaching to the breath. So in the same way that standing on one leg. You know, you don't fail.
It's all, you just wobble a bit and mindfulness is exactly the same. Expect to wobble. We all wobble.
That doesn't mean we're not being mindful because we are. Thank you all so much for, participating tonight. I hope you found that useful.
I really would encourage you all to, have a look at the, The Urquhart Tully course that I've sent through, it's called Deepening Into Stillness Seven Days of Teaching and Meditation. And I, I loved it. I thought it was just wonderful and it's free.
So, I'm asking Dawn just to send through. I've sent through the, the, URL so people can access it. You'll see when you go into it, as I said, it'll say, do you want to receive free content from Eckart?
You can unsubscribe at any time. I said yes because I get some really nice stuff sent through since then, but it's up to you. And if you say no, you can still then click for the free programme.
And the way it works is you get sent a different meditation each day, and I really like that. I was sort of excited each day to see what, what the next teaching was going to be like a little gift that came via the internet each day. So good luck with that and thank you all so much.
If anyone's got anything. They'd like to share. Let me just pop in and have a look.
I've had a lovely thank you from a few people. That's really sweet. Thank you, everybody.
I, look, Dawn, isn't she incredible. She's really put the deepening into stillness up. So, if you click on that, you'll see it'll take you into the course.
So thank you all so much, for Being with me tonight. And we'll get the next one organised a bit, a bit quicker. I'll speak to Carol, I'll speak to Dawn in the next couple of days.
So thank you again and have a lovely, lovely Sunday evening. Good night, everybody.