Steve Ware writes about how redundancy offered a new beginning with the OMC and Mindfulness. Having been made redundant after many years with IBM, Steve chose to focus on the positives and how this ending was also a new beginning.

We urgently need a vaccine and treatment for COVID-19 and our best scientists will develop them. But we also need a response at the level of the human head and heart. Equanimity in the midst of challenging times is not a surrender of innovation or action —rather, it is a wholehearted responsiveness that values human health and human well-being. It is the steadier ground on which we can stand and meet the challenges in our lives.

Liz Lord, from The MYRIAD research team and Associate Teacher for the OMC reflects on the challenges we face amid the COVID-19 pandemic and how mindfulness can help us navigate this time of uncertainty. This blog focusses on our ability to be grounded in these changing and challenging times.

"When life is so hard, how can we be anything but kind?"

In Podcast #1 from the Oxford Mindfulness Centre the subject of discussion concentrates on finding steadiness in uncertain times, focusing on three central themes. The podcast gives the listener an introduction as to how various mindfulness practices can be utilised to help individuals steer themselves towards steadiness in any unprecedented and uncertain time. It has been produced, participated in and released for free during this particularly difficult time for us all.

Unpleasant though it can be, a spiralling mind is a fascinating thing to watch. Kitty Wheater explains why our minds can spiral, and how to interrupt these thought processes.

Connection with ourselves and others in a time of “self-isolation” and “social distancing.”

Together While Apart: Feeling Gratitude for My Past OMC Summer School Experiences and Looking Forward to Learning, Practicing, and Connecting during the 2020 Summer School in this Challenging Time of COVID-19

We can develop mindfulness; it can be cultivated through mindfulness practice. A question I am often asked is, “What is the difference between mindfulness and meditation?” Meditation is a way of cultivating mindfulness. Instead of the word meditation, which can have all sorts of religious overtones, I tend to use the term mindfulness practice.

Fantastic opportunity to join a research study. Express interest by 15/08/2020.

We've put quite a lot of information out on our social media channels over the last week. This blog post serves as a short round up with links to anything you may have missed.