iam: improve awareness meditation [Weekly Group]

Meditation: Improving Awareness in Reepham

Background:
Over the past 30 years, there has been a considerable and rapid increase in meditation, locally, nationally and around the world. Meditation, of course, has a much longer history, largely as a result of the development over thousands of years of meditation within spiritual and religious traditions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism, Gaia and Christianity.
Mindfulness, an important feature of many meditative practices, has also become the focus of science and health services. Mindfulness groups can now be found in psychiatric and other medical services, schools, workplaces, prisons and even political parties. One reason for its spread and acceptability has been its fit with other mainstream academic theories and advances.
One example of this has been the increasing influence of cognitive behavioural (CBT) theories and therapies in psychology and mental health services (see, for example, the recent books published by Michael Jones in the United States (2023) and Steve Taylor in the United Kingdom (2024). Michael Jones summarises the developments as “ancient wisdom meeting modern Psychology”. I recall, some 30 years ago, knowing colleagues who conducted mindfulness therapies being mocked in some services as “a bunch of hippies”. Though No more! This is not to say that faddism does not need to be guarded against in rapidly developing areas of apparent progress.

Meditation Locally:
A weekly meditation group started in Foulsham 10 years ago. This group is now developing into a small weekly Reepham Meditation Group meeting for an hour each week.
In addition, the Field of Joy (www.fieldofjoy.org) has run a meditation group in the Field for almost three years for people with an interest in combining meditation with involvement in nature, animal welfare and education.

Kevin’s history:
Kevin, the facilitator, has been involved in meditation for more than 40 years. He has worked as a psychologist in the United Kingdom, Australia and North America (now retired). He has a PhD in Psychology and is an Emeritus Professor at Nottingham University

What is Meditation or Mindfulness:
- Awareness of what is NOW
- Presence
- Equanimity and acceptance
- Focus on now rather than excessively on past or future (see Eckhardt Tolle :The Power of Now)

Meditation is more than a relaxation method and is better described as learning to rest in your quiet centre, dealing with your “monkey mind” and enhancing the state of “loving awareness”. Typically, the meditations enhance awareness of breath, body sensations, sound, thoughts, memories and emotions.

Influential teachers:
Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Thich Nhat Hahn, Mark Williams, Eckhardt Tolle, Dalai Lama, Thomas Merton, Richard Rohr and many others. What is striking is the increasing awareness of common threads across the various traditions and teachers. The emphasis in the group is on finding your own path.

Costs:
Each session is £4 which covers any hire fees or administration costs.

Please feel free to contact us via email or directly on Facebook with any questions.

Also check out other Health & Wellness events in Costessey, Meetups in Costessey.