Mindhaven has been 50 years in the making!
I have spent much of my life working as a community and youth worker with a wide and diverse range of groups. I have also worked in adult education for over twenty years. Equality and fairness are issues that I am passionate about. I have always loved my work, but I had developed the habit of working too hard. I repeated the same patterns in every workplace. I had developed a tendency of wanting to make things better for people or wanting to “fix” things for others. I suppose I could argue that my intentions were noble, however, I often ignored my own self-care and repeatedly ended up in familiar situations of being stressed and running on empty.
I noticed that I was finding it hard to relax even when I wasn’t at work, so about 10 years ago I became really curious about mindfulness.
For several years I participated in mindfulness courses, retreats and trainings both in Ireland and Scotland.
In 2018, I graduated from Aberdeen University with an Msc in Studies in Mindfulness. This three-year masters programme is run in conjunction with the Mindfulness Association at Samye Ling retreat centre in Scotland and is an indepth immersion in mindfulness, compassion, insight and wisdom. I chose this particular Msc because it places huge emphasis on compassion, including self-compassion.
I also trained as a teacher with the Mindfulness Association and I currently teach their Mindfulness Based Living Course (MBLC). As a teacher member of the Mindfulness Association I fulfil all the teacher requirements of BAMBA (UK) and (MTAI) Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland. I engage regularly in CPD, addressing topics like trauma and, more recently anti-racism.
Mindhaven 