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Public Courses: Background Information
Mindfulness: An Introduction  "The MBCT course has made a big difference in both my professional life and my personal life. I have a very different focus (the present!) in many areas and I think in particular parenting my teenagers has improved...For myself I experience more joy day to day." Participant
Mindfulness offers powerful awareness and acceptance skills which allow us to think clearer, act more wisely and shine more brightly. Mindfulness Centre training courses stand out through their focus and impact on the present. Participants find a change in the very way they think about and experience the quality of their life and relationships. Many find the Mindfulness tools to be invaluable in making their lives easier and freeing them from the inner mental and emotional self chatter and roadblocks which trip them up.
Courses
Each year we provide the general public with opportunities to access our in-house training modules by running a small selection of public Mindfulness-based courses. Typical public courses include: Transform Stress and Overwhelm, Introduction to Mindful Parenting and Mindful Relationships. To view course information, dates and locations across Australia visit the calendar page, and/or subscribe to our occasional newsletter with upcoming course dates and interesting tips and articles.
"Before I spent lots of time worrying about the future, or ruminating about the past, I learnt that the experience of reality is a freeing place to be." Participant
What do Mindfulness Courses include?
Experiencing mindfulness is the only way to learn mindfulness. Mindfulness courses include discussion, theory, models, varying types and amounts of meditation and practice. Experienced meditators, non-meditators, and people who thought they would never mediate alike, have all found our courses insightful, useful and aproachable. Many Health Professionals attend to use the skills with clients - if this includes you please ensure you register as a Health Professional so we know to supply you with the apropriate additional reading and homework.
In depth courses include a workbook, a CD and homework to facilitate integration and enable participants to gain the most from courses. Like most skills, mindfulness skills improve with practice, and many participants return to the centre to study a second module or deepen their knowledge by studying a module a second time.
Why Mindfulness?
Mindfulness-based approaches have become increasingly popular for health, well-being, peace, clarity of thought and life/work balanace. Used in settings as broad as Management, Psychology, Buddhism and Relationships, people from all walks of life attend our courses. Reasons for attending are as diverse as improving leadership, parenting wisely, addressing depression and finding peace. Mindfulness-based skills are able to help such diverse groups through providing tools that soften our perceptions of ourselves and the world, positively and profoundly changing our day-to-day experience. In real terms the tools help us:
- Quieten self critical chatter
- Act rather than react
- Find clarity of mind
An ever-strengthening research evidence base suggests that this soft and yet powerful approach to thoughts and emotions has a long term, profound effect on people's functioning.
Is Mindfulness a Religion?
No. In essence mindfulness training gives us a powerful framework to develop our own unique ways to positively transform underlying issues with how we perceive, understand and react to difficult thoughts and emotions. Mindfulness does not attempt to stop or change us feeling or thinking certain ways — instead it gives us the insight and skills to see and choose different options: ones that are personal and build on our strengths and account for our weaknesses. Whether in the leadup, middle or aftermath of a stressful situation, Mindfulness training and practice helps us follow through on what we think is really important. This includes developing the clarity to discover what is important, cultivating the focus to identify and solve problems that obscure what is important, and finding the confidence to act on what matters most to us in the long term: whether that is prioritising family, developing your career or finding personal peace.
What is MBCT?
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) forms the basis of much of the Centre's work and is a state of the art toolset which combines Mindfulness and Cognitive Therapy. Mindfulness was originally derived from Buddhist Mindfulness meditation and has been used for thousands of years, Cognitive Therapy was developed in the west during the 1960's and can have similar effects. MBCT draws heavily from Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and like MBSR was developed in a Western context for meditators and non-meditators alike. Our MBCT and Mindfulness courses combine Eastern and Western philosphies from the diverse fields of management, psychology, relationship research and meditation; and focus on teaching new techniques to approach, perceive, feel and react to thoughts and situations as they occur. Participants say the training helps them access a richer, clearer, more productive - and happier - state, more often.
"I have gone from 'burnout' to fired-up! Whenever I can, I introduce ideas and practices of mindfulness to clients and colleagues alike, and enjoy seeing how such simple yet powerful ideas can be so effective." Chris Ridley, Social Worker, Western Adelaide
How do I sign Up?
| Visit the calendar page to register, find dates, locations and information about courses. Alternatively peruse our resources page or read further information about us. |
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