This is a delivery of zoom sessions (see the Schedule and Join page for dates and times) mixing mindfulness and creative writing. There is no charge for these sessions but we are experiencing wide interest so please ensure you are available for sessions that you book - we are close to the limit for numbers. These are practices that you will then be able to do on your own, and many people who have been doing Adrienne's mindfulness and Bev's creative writing have declared they helped with the difficulties of the pandemic.
Let us help you return to a calm and creative state of mind.
Adrienne Hannah mindfulness
The aims of these sessions are to help you to develop an in-depth personal experience of mindfulness and to build the experience of mindfulness in to your writing. They are experiential and we would like to invite you to immerse yourself as best as you can into this process. This means adopting an attitude of curiosity to your experience of the present moment and suspending judgment as to whether or not you think these approaches will work for you. It means letting go of opinions and ideas and putting aside for a while any plans you may hold about applying these skills in a personal or professional capacity.
What is Mindfulness? (with thanks to the Mindfulness Association)
Mindfulness is a life skill which can deepen your sense of well-being and fulfillment. It involves paying attention to what is occurring in your present moment experience, with an attitude of openness and non-judgmental acceptance. It engages all your senses as you open to your entire experience, becoming aware of your body, emotions, thoughts and the external environment. It is about “coming back to your senses”, being in touch with yourself, with others and your surroundings in the present moment. It is a natural and an intuitive state of presence in which you can feel more connected, real and alive.
Mindfulness is a state of being which is accessible to every one of us. It is also a skill which you can cultivate more deeply in your life. Some experience of mindful presence will have been felt by all of us during some moments of our lives, but perhaps we did not know what is was when we experienced it.
Perhaps you have felt this in more peaceful moments, when you have been present in places of natural beauty, and simply “breathing it in”, whether this was a beautiful sunset or standing next to the sea or a waterfall. Perhaps you have felt this in some heightened moments, such as being with a loved one, during the birth of a child, or even being present with someone who is dying. These are the moments we may be more likely to remember and are less likely to be distracted by other more trivial concerns.
Adrienne continues to deliver mindfulness sessions and courses to a variety of organisations including some that support people with problematic drug use or neurological conditions.
Bev Schofield
creative writing
Bev's Water Story project has been running since 2016 and is currently part of Lapidus Scotland's Words Work Well for All programme. Water Story is a search for written experience either involving or simply inspired by water. The current group began at a Maggie's Centre and most of our writers have had, or are still dealing with severely challenging health journeys. For this reason they are welcome to keep attending as long as they feel they are benefiting from Water Story.
Lapidus Scotland
Lapidus Scotland (LS) works with people, groups and organisations, offering reading and writing activities to promote health and wellbeing (often referred to as ‘bibliotherapy’). Our programmes offer a creative approach to supporting self-management of long-term conditions and can, for example, help with mild to moderate depression, isolation, dementia, recovery from stroke and other illnesses that impact on individual identity. Our facilitators work with statutory and voluntary organisations across a range of settings, including Maggie’s Centres and Woodlands Community Garden.
During the current lockdown LS has been able to transfer its ongoing creative writing sessions online to meet participants’ need for continuity, routine, social connection and creative activities. Adrienne Hannah has also experienced increased demand for mindfulness sessions throughout Scotland, delivering to groups that include Neurological Conditions Support Group, NHS and social work staff and people working in addictions services.
2021
Lapidus Scotland gratefully acknowledges the support of Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership via the Wellbeing for Longer in Glasgow Fund managed by Impact Funding Partners.
2020
The first projects were funded by Foundation Scotland from Response Fund