Mindfulness

Schedule

Mindfulness based programme - finding peace in a frantic world

Trainer: Mr James Formosa
Target Audience: All members of staff at UM
Course duration: 12 hours

Course Overview

Mindfulness reveals a set of simple yet powerful practices that you can incorporate into daily life to help break the cycle of anxiety, stress, unhappiness, and exhaustion. It promotes the kind of happiness and peace that gets into your bones. It seeps into everything you do and helps you meet the worst that life throws at you with new courage.

Finding Peace in a Frantic World is a modified version of MBCT, developed by Professor Mark William and Dr Danny Penman. It is aimed at people who are struggling to keep up with the constant demands of the modern world. It teaches the practitioner to become aware of patterns of one’s behaviour which contribute to unhappiness, stress, anxiety, and mental exhaustion. It focuses on promoting genuine joie de vivre, teaching joy and peace rather than banishing unhappiness. It is precisely focused to help people boost their happiness and confidence levels whilst also reducing anxiety, stress, and irritability.

Course structure and learning outcomes

The course is spread over six weeks with each session being 1 and a half hour long.

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the course, the participant will be able to:

distinguish between the being mode of mind and the doing mode of mind.
identify the moments when the mind is on automatic pilot.
recognise patterns of (negative) behaviour.

2. Skills:

By the end of the course, the participant will be able to:

use techniques to allow oneself to be in the ‘being’ mode.
evaluate one’s habits.

Unit Material

Appropriate unit material will be provided by the tutor/s during the sessions. There are no set texts for the unit, though the tutor/s may recommend appropriate manuals to students who would like to take their work in this area further.

Interested participants may purchase the companion book Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Finding Peace in a Frantic World for further reading in this field.

Deepening your mindfulness practice

Trainer: Mr James Formosa
Target Audience: Members of staff who have followed a course on Mindfulness
Course duration: 7.5 hours

“I’ve done the course; but what next?”

This quote is typical of participants who complete a mindfulness-based programme and find themselves wondering what happens after they have completed the course. Having become attuned to the central themes of a mindfulness programme: bringing kindness to oneself, and to others; noticing aversion; noticing the automatic pilot; and responding to emotions, thoughts, and body sensations rather than reacting to them; what happens next? This key aim of the course is to provide a supportive environment in which to consolidate and deepen their mindfulness practice.

The course is made up of 3 sessions spread over three weeks. Each session is 2.5 hours long.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding

By the end of the study-unit, the student will be able to:

Distinguish and categorise between their ‘being’ mode of mind, their ‘doing’ mode of mind, and their ‘striving doing’ mode of mind;
Identify and evaluate the moments when the mind and body are on automatic pilot;
Recognise and transform patterns of behaviour of mind and body;
Revise the key themes introduced in a mindfulness based intervention by practising the relevant meditations

2. Skills

By the end of the study-unit, the student will be able to:

Support oneself to be in the ‘being’ mode by selecting and using mindfulness techniques;
Evaluate one’s habits to create one’s which are more supportive of positive mental well-being;
Develop participants’ capacity and confidence to deepen and extend learning independently by sitting for one hour straight at a time;
Reinforce and deepen participants’ mindfulness practice.

Lesson outcome

Provide a shared community of practice by meeting regularly for 3 sessions

Unit Material

Appropriate course material will be provided by the tutor during the session.