Mindfulness in Surrey

31/10/2024

Next Tuesday and Wednesday my friend and neighbour Kevin Webber is marking the amazing 10 year anniversary of his terminal prostate cancer diagnosis by running from his home to the Royal Marsden Hospital and back 10 times. I am glad and honoured to say that I shall be running alongside Kev for one of those laps.

Please take the time to read Kev's words below, but most importantly please show your support for Kev and his inspirational story by donating a tenner to Kev's Just Giving page (link below), in support of the incredible work of the Royal Marsden Hospital.

Steve x

From Kev:

"The 6th November this year will be my 10 year cancerversarie, 10 years to the day when I was told I may be dead in 2 years, hope for 3 or 4 if i am lucky. I think my unexpected longevity is something to celebrate and do something special for. A party? No. Holiday of a lifetime? No. Splash out on a luxury car? No.........Try to run further than I ever have in 24 hours? Absolutely.
I am planning to run from my house starting 5th November midday to my cancer hospital, the Royal Marsden in Sutton and back 10 times. Every lap for a year of my life, a different department of the hospital who have kept me alive and someone who has helped me along the way. I hope to finish by mid day 6th November and on this occasion as a one off I am raising funds for The Royal Marsden Charity general fund. I have chosen the general fund because I know so many others who have been treated there for many cancers, sadly some of those are not with us anymore and as such it gives an opportunity for people to do something to help all cancers on behalf of anyone special to them.
I am only seeking £10 from as many people as possible, that's just £1 for every year I have lived since my T4 incurable diagnosis (more is of course welcome!). These are my just launched sites if you can help me help the hospital that has kept me and so many others going" https://www.justgiving.com/page/kevin-webber-ten-years or https://www.sponsorme.co.uk/.../10-pounds-for-10-laps-in...

Help Kevin Webber raise money to support The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity

10/09/2024

At the heart of your heart make a circle.
Invite all the bits of yourself to come, sit by the fire.
This pressure in the chest,
That heat spreading through the cheeks,
This feeling of numbness, That feeling of rage,
The thought that says, "They're jerks," The thought that says, "I'm nobody,"
The need to be understood, That yearning to be loved,
And the orphans peering in, noses pressed against the cold window, And the shadows lumbering in the basement closet,
Invite them, too, for there is space for them and more: You are big.
You are more than the pounding in the temples-- It doesn't overwhelm you.
You are larger than the thought, "I'm worthless." It doesn't consume you.
And if it does? And if it does?
Invite Overwhelm into the circle, Make a place for Despair.
And notice how you know to hold Overwhelm in your arms, and Despair in steady embrace.
Cast no part of yourself away,
and being whole,
find all humanity joining you in the circle of your heart.

~Lucy Leu

26/11/2022

THE COURAGE TO STOP RUNNING

Trauma is the invisible force
that keeps us running, restless,
in pursuit of some intangible goal.
Caught up in some unnecessary activity.
Addiction. Compulsions. Distractions.
Makes us escape into thinking.
Makes the body feel unsafe.
Makes the present moment into an enemy.

If we slow down.
If we stop.
If we rest.
If we simply do nothing.
Then we will have to face ... ourselves.
We will have to face buried feelings.
All the s**t we were running from.
All the darkness.
The gunk.
The muck.
The loneliness.
The aches and the boredom.
The night and the emptiness.

Trauma says, “Run!”.
Trauma says, “Do Not Stop!”.
Trauma says, “Just keep going!”
Trauma says, “Stopping is unsafe!”.

We start by proving to ourselves
that it is safe to rest! Safe to be still.
Safe to do nothing, just for a moment.
Safe to think our thoughts and feel our feelings ..... and not ‘fix’ the moment in any way.

We can begin - one moment at a time –
to digest all the undigested things inside.
Stay with sadness for a moment longer.
Be present with our joy or shame for an instant more.
Breathe into our anxiety instead of running from it.
Become curious about our discomfort
instead of distracting ourselves with unnecessary food,
drink,
cleaning,
drugs,
s*x,
shopping,
Internet,
thinking,
talking,
overworking,
yoga,
seeking,
more thinking,
rumination,
fantasy and false hope.

We can challenge the core story at the heart of trauma:
That the present moment is unsafe.
That the body is somehow working against us.
That feelings, sensations or thoughts are dangerous.
That stillness and silence equal non-existence and death.
And that we have to ‘do’ something
in order to be worthy,
and loved,
and whole.

It takes courage to stop running.
It takes courage to lean into the storm.
It takes courage to touch the darkness inside
with the infinite light of our curious attention.

It takes courage to break the addiction to futures.
And be present.
And breathe.

And not know.

- Jeff Foster

25/04/2022

We are back for more mindful chat! Please share, in particular with the menfolk in your life..

🙏

NEW Episode 🙌

🔗 Click link to listen: https://linktr.ee/mindfulmentalk

12/01/2022

F R E E ONLINE MINDFULNESS SESSIONS - THURSDAY mornings 8.30 - 9am.

'Finding Peace in a Frantic World' feels even more relevant for what we've all gone through, and continue to go through, over the past couple of years. Trouble is, most of us have no real idea of what this sense of 'peace' means, let alone feels like.

At the beginning of the first lockdown I started weekly online mindfulness sessions for all with a simple invitation to 'just come' and see what may unfold when we deliberately step out of 'doing' mode and practise stepping into 'being' mode.

No pressure. No expectations. No prior knowledge. No commitment to a set number of sessions. Just an invitation to 'drop in' if or whenever you feel like it.

If you're interested in joining me at a future Thursday morning session then please message me or email me at steve@meditationsurrey.co.uk and I will send you all the details you need to join.

If not now, when?

🙏

16/12/2021

06/12/2021

We had such a wonderful time talking to Brian Dowling. Hilarious and moving in equal turns, I urge to take the time to listen to Part 1 of our chat, available now wherever you listen to podcasts.
🙏

19/11/2021

Today is International Men’s Day, the overall aim of which is to promote a positive conversation about men, manhood and masculinity.

To mark the day, me and my friend James have just released a special episode of our Mindful Men Talk podcast in which we take the 2021 theme, ‘Better Relations Between Men and Women’, as the basis for a discussion around how men can better meet others in ANY relationship (personal and professional) through developing a healthier relationship with their own thoughts and emotions and how we all have a role to play in reframing what it means to be a man in the 21st century.

In addition, at 5pm today (UK time) me and James will be taking to Instagram (mindfulmen_talk) for a live discussion about men that have inspired us.

Please use the link below to join us on Instagram at 5pm and / or to listen to the podcast and please feel free to share, in particular to the men in your life.

It’s time to get men talking. If not now, when?

https://linktr.ee/mindfulmentalk

24/10/2021

Me and James are so proud of this special episode of our Mindful Men Talk podcast in which we get to sit down and chat with our very first guest, Kevin Webber.

Kevin was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer in November 2014 and in our podcast he shares his remarkable story of what has happened since…

Please take the time to listen - details of how to listen are set out below.

🙏

Back in October 2019 we sat down to record our first-ever episode and Mindful Men Talk was born. Two years on we now welcome our first guest, Kevin Webber.

We’re both super-proud to have Kevin on the show, it was a real honour 🤝

You can listen to his incredible and inspiring story by visiting: www.mindfulmentalk.com/podcast or via all the usual podcast apps.

As ever, we value your support and feedback so please keep it coming 🙏

19/10/2021

We’ve just uploaded a NEW Mindful Small Talk episode 🙌

10/10/2021

Today is World Mental Health Day and it coincides with the release of a new episode of our Mindful Men Talk podcast in which me and James discuss “How Can We Better Take Care of Our Mental Health?”

Please listen and share, particularly if you know of someone who may be struggling, but most of all today remember to be kind to yourself and to others.

❤️🙏

14/09/2021

Season 2 Episode 2 of my Mindful Men Talk podcast is now available, details included in post below.

Please listen, feel free to share and do leave us a review on Apple podcasts, it all really helps me and James to ‘get men talking’…

🙏

What does ‘good mental health’ mean? 🤔

In our latest episode we unpack why so many of us struggle with our mental health.

We discuss how cultivating awareness, taking small steps and becoming better listeners, are essential to the development of good mental health.

Please continue to help us *by sharing our podcast link with friends, family and loved ones* so that we can keep spreading the word 🤝

Listen 👇
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