Interested in Dzogchen readings, engagement and practice?
Dzogchen
A Canterbury Dzogchen practitioner is looking to establish a group for like-minded Dzogchen students, practitioners and aspirants in the East Kent area. If conditions permit, I would like to meet in person or online for readings, discussion, social meetings, Yantra and collective practice.
Trained by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, I am non-sectarian and welcome students of all Dzogchen traditions, new practitioners, and the Dzogchen curious. There is a vast canon of Dzogchen texts in English now, so establishing a reading group and/or book exchange might be a worthwhile project.
In-person or online interactions (or both) are possible, so anyone interested in Dzogchen from outside the East Kent area is welcome to get in touch. In the first instance, email me (Stephen) through this website’s contact form.
If you have never encountered Dzogchen, it is a collection of different schools within the Himalayan Buddhist traditions. It has been described as the ‘Great Perfection’ or ‘Great Completion’. Dzogchen practices are sometimes considered the most ancient and direct stream of wisdom within the Himalayan Buddhist traditions.
If you are looking for the Canterbury secular compassion group, click here.
Times and venues for the University of Kent Compassion Meditation group.
Compassion meditation at Kent, on-campus and online
Photo by Creative Vix on Pexels.com
This is a University based group; for details for our open Canterbury group, visit this page.
The compassion meditation group is free, suitable for beginners and is supported by Kent’s PG Community Experience Awards. For more information, email sgm34@kent.ac.uk.
The group practices self-other compassion specifically linked to health, happiness and wellbeing. We use a secular form of traditional Tonglen meditation, designed to integrate compassion for self and other. Following meditation, refreshments are provided, and there is a chance to chat or ask questions for details of meetings and meditation advice, email sgm34@kent.ac.uk.
The group is led by Stephen Gene Morris, a meditation neuropsychologist with twenty-five years of experience in spiritual and secular meditation.
Compassion meditation practice is designed to support health, happiness and wellbeing. A new compassion meditation group has been created at the University of Kent. Supported by funding from the Postgraduate Community Experience Awards, the group meets on the Canterbury campus every Thursday.
Compassion Meditation for health. happiness and wellbeing
A new meditation group has been formed at the University of Kent to teach students compassion-based methods. Funded by the Postgraduate Community Experience Awards, the group will learn traditional approaches that focus on health, happiness and wellbeing. Stephen Gene Morris, an experienced meditation teacher, researcher and neuropsychologist, will be leading the weekly sessions.
The group’s founder, Stephen, has practised meditation for 25 years and studied its structures and operational components. He will teach a secular compassion practice, rooted in traditional methods, supported by reliable scientific evidence. Care for oneself and the wider community is a foundational concept in many spiritual traditions, and compassionate meditation has been used in Mahayana Buddhism for almost a thousand years. But in recent decades, scientists have been investigating the relationship between compassion and health; several interventions such as Compassion Focused Therapy have demonstrated the importance of kindness towards others in our thoughts and feelings. The group will be using self-other compassion training to think positively about oneself and the wider community, bringing benefits to the meditator and a sense of interconnectivity with the people around us.
‘The goals of this self-other compassion meditation are health, happiness and wellbeing. I use a well known Buddhist form of compassion training, Tonglen, as the basis for this method. But while the original psychological elements have been retained, the imagery and context are adapted for a modern secular audience. In my experience, this is a form of meditation that can bring long-lasting benefits to practitioners, and it’s suitable for beginners and more experienced meditators
Stephen Gene Morris
Compassion meditation classes take place every Thursday at 5 pm in room CNWsr5 on the University of Kent Campus in Canterbury. The meditation is followed by a brief social when people can ask questions and share experiences. Soft drinks and snacks are provided. A second session is held two hours later online using the Zoom platform (7 pm) for those who wish to participate remotely. For more details or to register for the online session, email Stephen at sgm34@kent.ac.uk. To keep in touch with the group’s activities, follow the @KentCompassion Twitter account.
Brain Renewal Meditation – Compassion based mindfulness designed to improve wellbeing and maintain cognitive function for all ages.
Canterbury meditation classes
Meditate in Canterbury
Classes are currently being run through Teams and Zoom, email us for more details.
FAQs
Is it suitable for non meditators?
Many people attending are likely to be new to meditation or have limited experience.
Will I be able to do it?
Almost everyone can do it, it is a form of mind training so it may require some concentration but it is appropriate for adults of all ages.
Is the teacher qualified or experienced?
Our teachers tend to be among the most qualified and experienced of any meditation teachers. The Canterbury class is run by a trained cognitive psychologist/neuroscientist with extensive experience of traditional and contemporary meditation systems.
Are discounts available for advanced bookings?
Yes as we teach relatively small groups we cut down on a lot of admin time if people book several weeks at a time. We pass these savings on to our meditators. Significant discounts are available for bookings of 3 weeks, 5 weeks or 10 weeks. Contact us for more details: stephen@brainrm.com
I can’t get to a class but I want to practice
We also run online meditation classes and 1 to 1 sessions, get in touch for more details.
Are there minimum age requirements to enter the event?
This is an adult meditation class so it is open to everyone over the age of 18.
What are my transport/parking options for getting to and from the event?
There is very limited parking at the venue, a range of public car parks are within walking distance. Canterbury can be accessed through a range of public transport options.
What can I bring into the event?
Just yourself, no special clothing or equipment is necessary
What’s the refund policy?
Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
That’s up to you
Is my registration fee or ticket transferrable?
Yes anyone over the age of 18 can use the ticket
Is it ok if the name on my ticket or registration doesn’t match the person who attends?
No problem
Terms & conditions
If you have any special requirements let us know in advance.
The basic cost of a lesson is £10, buying your ticket through Eventbright or using the PayPal service attracts a small surcharge.
You can always pay at the venue before the class begins.
We offer discounts for advanced bookings of 3, 5 and 10 classes.
Concessionary tickets of £7 are available for people not in paid employment.
Online training and 1 to 1 instruction is available, confirm the availability of the teacher before booking.
Meditation and brain health, the latest research urges that we prioritize dementia prevention.
Meditation and brain health
The need to prevent dementia highlighted in latest research
The latest large scale research into dementia, Parkinson’s disease and stroke has confirmed that one in two women and one in three men will develop at least one of these diseases during their lifetime. The research offers insight into the long term health of people in their 40s. But in addition to highlighting the stark statistical probability of succumbing to neurodegeneration, the study suggests that delaying the onset of the these illness for 1 – 3 years may reduce the risk of avoiding them altogether by 20% to 50%.
It is widely recognised that a number of lifestyle factors can increase the probability of avoiding dementia. Stopping smoking, adopting a healthy diet and taking regular exercise have long been associated with improved physical and mental health. Recent scientific studies have also given the strongest indications yet that some forms of meditation might be directly reducing the rate at which a brain ages, enabling us to maintain full brain (cognitive) function for longer. We know that cognitive decline begins in our late 20s and early 30s. It will normally be visible by the age of 45. If our cognitive ability continues to shrink through middle age it can lead to a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and eventually even dementia.
“one study revealed that at the age of 50, regular meditators had brains several years younger than non-meditators”
Research has shown that meditation can lead to a slowing of brain ageing and an improvement to certain brain functions such as memory and attention. Although the understanding of how meditation is able to help create new brain structure is still at a preliminary stage. There is compelling evidence that some forms of meditation are related to maintaining, and in some respects improving our brain health. Although brain training (including meditation) can reduces the risk of developing dementia it is just one of a number of things we can do to live longer healthier lives.
Mindfulness researchers and practitioners from across the south east are being invited to a one day free event by the Eastern ARC and the University of Kent. The day will be structured in two parts, the morning will be given over to presentations explaining the applications of contemporary mindfulness in different contexts. The afternoon sessions will be workshop driven, focusing on skills training.
The event is free, will be based in Keynes College in Canterbury and is open to students, staff, and external partners.
Ethical consumerism. New vegan and vegetarian market in Canterbury, Kent.
I wanted to share the news that a new weekly vegan market is being set up in Canterbury. From the 1st of July 2018 the Kent Vegan Market will convene on the first Sunday of each month. The venue is the North Lane Car Park and the market will open at 11am and close at 4pm. For more details visit the Kent Vegan Festival Facebook page.
As our own network contains many people engaged in compassionate practice, the level of suffering experienced by both humans and animals is an object of positive concern. Non dual compassion isn’t about taking the weight of universal suffering on our own shoulders, rather to start to integrate care for others in a practical and sustainable way. There are many reasons why people may choose not to become vegan or vegetarian. But for anyone interested in compassion for self and other, spending a few moments thinking about the impact of what we eat is probably time well spent.
Compassionate consumerism need not be radical. Any attempt to support the environment, encourage ethical, kind and sustainable consumption is a useful activity.
For more information about veganism you can visit the Vegan society.
News this morning that Canterbury was successful in its bid to bring a medical school to the city has been widely acclaimed. For those that don’t know, the city is an important global centre of education. It boasts three universities, a regional further education college and a wealth of private educational institutions along with some excellent primary and secondary schools. This latest announcement underlines what a great place the city is to live and work in. Teaching meditation here feels like a privilege, there’s always new meditation students, as well as interaction with scholarly Buddhist academics and advanced practitioners.
And yet the numbers of homeless people in Canterbury has never been higher (in living memory), the inequality in living standards is shocking and there are a number of areas described as economically deprived nearby. The local NHS trust is also one of the most lowly ranked in the UK. So what is the real picture? There are opportunities and challenges everywhere, how you view where you live and the people you live with is central to your happiness and wellbeing. If you are not happy with your conditions you need to try and improve them… but the worst option is to be unhappy and not do anything about it.
This is not about blind optimism, don’t ignore the problems and issues in your community, try to contribute to the improvement of your environment. But to denigrate your conditions and to imagine the grass is always greener somewhere else won’t make you feel great with life. You need to find real positives and build upon them. One of the root causes of unhappiness that I encounter in my day to day life is the idea that the conditions aren’t right for development and progress. In reality the conditions to improve things are never perfect, it’s much more a question of making a choice rather than waiting for your problems to resolve themselves.
“find real positives and build upon them”
Happiness !
From the nondual perspective thinking of things constantly as better or worse builds limitations, particularly if you apply this thinking to yourself. Relatively there is no perfect time to meditate, no perfect place to meditate and no perfect meditation practice. You have to work with what you have and progress to where you want to be. If happiness is your goal, start to think about your own happiness and the happiness of others, work towards greater happiness generally and disengage with things that you know create unhappiness or harm.
Meditation for Health 