St Peter's Centre,
a place for Mindfulness as a way of living,
a place for contemplation.
We are a group of Christian and Non Christian persons who are passionate about Mindfulness and Spirituality.
As part of our vision at St Peter's we wish to answer to the needs of our Local community by promoting
St Peter's Church as a Centre for Mindfulness and Spirituality.
Deeply rooted in the Christian Tradition of meditation and contemplation,
the St Peter's Centre encourages the participants to the different courses to learn the contemplative practice
as a skill and as a discipline that helps open doorways to live in the present moment.
Through our courses and workshops we promote mindfulness as a state of being.
Hospitality, openness, and refraining from judging are key aspects of human mindfulness.
According to the Great religious Traditions, mindfulness is awareness, awareness of a presence. Along with the Desert Mothers and Fathers, and the Great Mystics of the world we advocate for a school of mindfulness as
"full consciousness and great awareness", the doorway to authentic prayer and contemplation.
At the Centre for Mindfulness and Spirituality we offer courses and workshops about
Christian Meditation and Mindfulness learning from the experience and expertise of the teachers who share their wisdom through Art, Creative Writing, Yoga for Adults and for Children, Mindful Eating and Music.
The Oak
At midday it would softly draw me there
To marvel at its timeless knotted form
My soul entranced, in peace, and in repair
Absorbed and from all earthly conscience torn
With dust and leaves entwined through nooks and veins
So many tales could flourish in its web
Yet somehow they would never take the reins
And form clear thoughts within my dreamy head
I cannot now imagine how and when
these simple pleasures could with ease reboot
And I could now return once there again
To find pure joy and bliss within a root
Such memories form an image I embrace
While others fade and sink without a trace
So, to this oak tree I will make a vow
To honour and respect the here and now.
by Susannah S.
Thank you so much for arranging this course. It was a well thought-out and structured way of taking someone who had no real knowledge of mindfulness (me) from zero to having a much better understanding of it. The only thing stopping me is more practise which is now up to me to incorporate into my life using your course as an example. As they say, "Practise Makes Perfect!" Although I suspect that in my case good enough will have to be good enough.
Ela
Thank you very much for running the course. At first I found it hard to work out what it was all about but by the time we got to the third session and especially the last one I began to grasp how mindfulness could influence the way I live. The handouts are really useful and I plan to read them again from time to time as I try to put mindfulness into practice. I feel I am at the beginning of a journey and the course has just opened the gate: there is a long way to go! As someone quite elderly the course and the concept of mindfulness reawakened
a sense of purpose in my life which I thought had gone forever.
Alison
Testimonies
More testimonies
Thank you very much for a very informative and engaging course, it was very helpful and I hope the following sessions also continue to help us with our diving into this fascinating world. I have found it a good mixture of theory and practise, where we have learnt a great deal about the theoretical aspect of things, but have also been able to put some of the concepts into practise. I do agree with most of the participants that doing group sessions can be very helpful, not so much for the group aspect of things, but I suspect because of the guidance you provide.
Pablo
The Mindfulness and Creative Writing Course began to benefit me from day one. The classes were very well taught, engaging, and balanced. The practical exercises were challenging, very useful/relatable, and enjoyable. I met some amazing people, and learnt so much… I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in creative writing. Combining both subjects proved to be a genius collaboration. Everyone present fully participated. Awesome!
Lola
ST PETER'S CENTRE FOR MINDFULNESS AND SPIRITUALITY
AT A GLANCE
Why a Centre for Mindfulness and Spirituality?
“When the inner life is ignored, violence erupts in some form or other, whether in physical or mental illness in the individual, or civil unrest within a nation, or war between nations” (Gerard W. Hughes)
Along with Gerard Hughes, we firmly believe that “our treasure lies in our inner life. It is our inner life which affects our perception of the world and determines our actions and reactions to it. We tend to ignore this inner life, but it refuses to be ignored either in individual or in national life. If ignored, the inner life will erupt in some form of violence. In religious language, this inner life is called ‘the soul’, and the art of knowing it, healing it and harmonizing its forces is called spirituality”.
Therefore, we believe that religion should encourage us to become more aware of this inner life and should teach us how to befriend it, for it is the source of strength and storehouse of our wisdom.
YESTERDAY IS TODAY'S MEMORIES,
TOMORROW IS TODAY'S DREAMS.
Mindfulness is about staying in the present moment
HELPING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
Being mindful is a state of mind accessible and relevant to all of us. Hospitality, openness, and refraining from judging are key aspects of human mindfulness. The practitioner is encouraged to take an hospitable attitude to whatever thoughts and experiences arise, to consider them as they are, without evaluating them or getting bogged down in analysing them. Being mindful then is about letting the thoughts flow as well as being open to them, while trying to not let them become our identity.
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he could no longer restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”
“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
CONTACT ST PETER'S CENTRE FOR MINDFULNESS AND SPIRITUALITY
St Peter's Church, Southfield Road, London, W4 1BB
020 8994 4281