Welcome

In these disturbing times of a lingering pandemic, escalating warfare and manifest climate change - 

"May we be safe, may we be well, and may we connect with the whole earth with mindful, open-hearted presence."

'The more conscious we are ... of the interconnectedness of our thoughts and feelings, our choices and our actions in the world, the more we can see with eyes of wholeness, the more effective we will be when faced with obstacles and challenges and stress’

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full Catastrophe Living

"The more conscious we are ...our thoughts ...our choices ...our actions" - but how does one read this "we" of which Kabat-Zinn writes?

Does he mean ourselves as individuals? Surely. That is the practice of mindfulness as commonly understood. But is he also hinting at a broader we - a collective awareness of our "practice" in the world? Probably.

This sounds transformative, and also possibly rather ambitious! So how might we work towards such a state? Of course there are a thousand ways, but here is one approach that attempts, in all modesty, to broaden the focus of our existing group by sharing some of our thoughts and experiences, of our 'felt senses', evoked through the practice of mindfulness, in all its forms.

So the idea of Mindfulness Connect begins with the individual experience of mindfulness, but also moves towards engaging and sharing aspects of that experience with others. The group has no religious affiliation, however, it respectfully acknowledges the Buddhist tradition of mindfulness as well as the Christian practices of meditation and prayer and the many other related practices used by other spiritual and religious traditions.

To attend our monthly group we ask for a foundation of mindfulness practice, possibly following attendance at a mindfulness course. The group provides an opportunity to connect up once a month in order to refresh practice, to share experience and then finish with some refreshment. For further information on group practicalities, please see 'Joining Mindfulness Connect'. 

For some our monthly meeting will be enough to connect and hopefully act as a stimulus to continue with mindfulness practice in some shape or form. However beyond the group meetings, personal reflections on mindfulness practices and experiences, ideas and suggestions, useful resources etc. can be contributed using this website and our blog page which can be found under the menu heading "Connect". To contribute directly we ask that you attend at least one group session and have a wish to continue involvement with the group. You need to create an account and login before you are able to upload a contribution. We hope for an eclectic mix: reflections and practical ideas combined with poetry, imagery and music. Anything indeed that will enhance a collective movement towards a wider awareness...

There is a "Resources" menu item with recommended books and other materials and links. Over time this will be added to from recommendations posted on the blog page.

Contributions from others not attending the group are also welcome but in this case please send items for consideration first to the facilitator, Cherry Stewart. If you are not already a member of the group but live in the South Wales area and wish to attend, please click on the "Joining Mindfulness Connect" menu item for details.

The website structure is based on the widely used and freely available Joomla content management system. We are happy to communicate with other groups setting up a similar endeavour.