I became interested in Meditation back in 1994 when I spent 6 months in Nepal – some of this time was spent on a Meditation Retreat in the Himalayas inside a Buddhist monastery.
This was a great introduction to the power of Meditation.
I remember practicing breathing Meditation for the first time and thinking:
‘Why was I not taught this at school ?!’
This thought was to be the seed for the Meditation in Schools Project. Even though I missed out at school learning Meditation hopefully many children in the future will have the opportunity.
Upon returning to England from my trip abroad I stumbled across a Buddhist Meditation Centre in my home town of Birmingham and then started studying and Meditating.
After 6 months I decided to move to a quieter location in the countryside where I joined an 10 year study program – which took place in Derbyshire and the Lake District. I had the good fortune to receive teachings from some of the most experience Meditators in the world.
Living as a Buddhist monk I trained and studied Meditation, Mindfulness, Buddhist Philosophy and Psychology.
This 10 year training included receiving teachings, giving teachings, Meditation, Retreat and Discussion.
During this time I worked with the community to raise money and build a Buddhist Meditation Community in the area where I was born ‘The Black Country’.
as a way of giving something back to my community by creating an Oasis of Peace.
This project came to fruition in 2005 and we bought a building. I moved to the area and began teaching Meditation to the local community and traveling to surrounding cities. Also guiding week and month-long retreats in Italy, Spain and Derbyshire, England.
Whilst working in the local community I saw the need to for a vehicle to bring Meditation to New Frontiers. I realized that many people are put off Meditation because of the packaging. Although Buddhist Meditation is very effective and beneficial it is limited to the amount of people who it can reach.
I felt the organization I was in, although of great benefit, due to its ritual, lack of interest in humanitarian work, increased wealth & grip on copy-write its ability to be of most benefit to others was stifled.
I wanted to share my experiences of Meditation with as many people as possible. Thus Mind Space was born. I helped to ‘start up’ Mind Space during the winter of 2008. It is quietly being of benefit to more and more people. Mind Space has grown into a team of volunteers joyfully working to ‘Bring Meditation to new Frontiers.’
In a relatively short amount of time (as of January 2012) our Guided Meditations which we offer for free online have now been practiced by nearly 200,000 people from 180 different countries. Our articlesabout Meditation by around 35,000 people. Although this is just a drop in the ocean we are delighted to have already reached these people.
We have visited schools and univesities, hospitals, business’s throughout the UK & Europe introducing Meditation and offering Mindful techniques to renew focus and increase concentration. We also offer live workshops and one to one meditation sessions.
We have an online resource on the Guardian website for Teachers who want to integrate Meditation into their classroom.
We are working on a European Partnership to bring Meditation to students education with a team of organizations across Europe.
The Meditations taught at Mind Space originate from the Buddhist tradition which has a 2500 year history of practice.
However, they are accessible to everyone regardless of their view as a tool to increase Mindfulness, peace, focus and concentration.
Through working with the team at Mind Space I hope to share these with as many people as possible.
As well as working to integrate Meditation into society I try to make time to contribute to essential humanitarian causes throughout the world and I encourage you to do the same by visiting and engaging with these charities.
Water Aid, Oxfam, Save the Children
For further information see below:
info@mindspace.org.uk
www.mindspace.org.uk
http://www.facebook.com/createmindspace
http://www.twitter.com/mindspaceuk
watch on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/onlinemeditation
