• Freely offered resources

    Welcome to our community space. For dates of online zoom community events, please visit our CALENDAR 

    There are some mp3 recordings on the page, please feel free to share. As they were recorded live on zoom the quality is not as good as usual even though I have cleaned them up as much as I can.

  • Following on from the community workshop on Saturday the 28th of March, I have added the audio recording to the button below. In brief, we covered:

    • How to define a great online experience for your participants
    • Making sense of a new reality
    • Questioned how you can respond to COVID-19 with
      • Denial - its fake news!
      • Panic - OMG what am I going to do!
      • Plan rather than exhaustion! - the topic of the workshop
    • Short term plan, starting small with the 3 engagement levels for delivering mindfulness online:
      1. Record and upload short videos 
      2. Record PowerPoint presentations with voice over (don't be a perfectionist with slide design!) the second level 
      3. Deliver Facebook Livestream events
    • Longer-term plans:
      • Write a short mini-course/workshop or workshop, making sense of the stress reaction is a good place to start. Deliver it in one of the 3 ways listed above.
      • Consider running an 8-week MBSR course or shorter MBA course using a zoom or similar platform. Clear-sighted and compassionate self-reflection is needed here to make the decision if you are ready to teach longer courses with live interactive video conferencing. Your supervisor can support you with the decision making process.
    • Define a great online experience:
      • Keep in mind your resources
      • Keep in mind your content purpose
      • Keep in mind your participants - what do they need right now?
      • What engagement level will you use? 

    Some things to remember:

    • The majority of people are now at home with the whole family, so it may be impossible for them to commit to longer sessions or have a quiet place free from distractions, family, and pets.
    • High levels of trauma are not the best time to start to learn mindfulness, especially the 8-week format.
    • Bandwidths have been reduced by all governments to stop the internet collapsing. This will affect the quality of audio/visuals.
    • Money is tight!
    • Be ready to fail, learn from it, and move on.
    • Be prepared to abandon much of what you create! 

    Teaching Mindfulness Online - workshop mp3 audio recording

  • The intention of this practice is to cultivate the 4 Immeasurable minds or heart practices from wherever we are and without judgment, in the same way as we cultivate the intentions of our other mindfulness-based practices.

    When there is appreciation, joy is born.

    When the mind is joyful, the body calms down.

    When the body is calm, it feels happiness.

    And when the being is happy, the mind gathers.’

    The four are:

    Love: This is unconditional love, not romantic love. It can also be translated as friendliness. "May I/you/all our hearts and minds awaken with love, friendliness and understanding"

    Compassion: Responding with warmth and care to our suffering, this is kindness in action. "May I/you/we live with kindness in the lights of our hearts, free from attachement, aversion and indifference to pain and suffering"

    Joy: This is the attitude of rejoicing in the happiness of all beings including ourselves! This is appreciative joy, can we open towards what is well within us? "May I/you/we all recognise and touch the seeds of joy and happiness in this moment however small"

    Equanimity" This can also be translated as calm, composed and with presence of mind. Here we are embodied. "May I/you/we all be at peace with ourselves and the world around us in the midst of all that is happening"

    During daily practice we may also include the phrase:

    "what do I need to let go of to be at peace right now?"

    This practice is not about striving or trying to change ourselves into someone who is more loving, compassionate, joyful, calm or composed. Rather it's about practicing curiosity to our own innate capacities to genuinely help and care for ourselves and others with kindness.

    These capacities are often overlooked in our busy lives, so we start by offering the intention of care to ourselves, and if it feels right, then choosing to share outwards like a ripple from our hearts to the hearts of those around us. 

    One of my all-time favorite quotes that live in my heart (and next to my computer!) is from Sharon Salzburg from the book "The force of Kindness" Sharon shares that "when we are devoted to the development of kindness, it becomes a movement of the heart so deep and subtle it is like a movement of the sea close to the ocean floor, all but hidden, yet affecting absolutely everything that happens above. That's the force of kindness" 

    So as they say in Star Wars, "May the force be with you"!! 

    40-minute Heart Practice with Kathy Ward mp3

  • Other MP3 Recordings

    Many years ago whilst working as a Yoga Therapist I created therapy music using a system called the Neuro-Programmer. The limited research claims that it can change your brain waves using specially created brainwave entrainment music similar to a system called Holosync (which you can google.)

    Anyway, I thought I would share a few on this page for you to download if you wish. I use them for relaxation, for the best effect headphones are recommended.

    Binaural beats are safe for most individuals to enjoy. However, there are some people who really shouldn't listen to them, including people who suffer from seizures, because it can increase the probability of having a seizure, due to brain wave change.