Saturday 7 March – Sunday 29 March 2015
For more detailed descriptions of all events please check www.mesp.org.uk
Event: Day Workshop: Wellbeing and Resilience.
Facilitator: Mike Wilson.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 7 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Day Workshop: 10am-4pm.
Event Description: '...inner strengths are stable traits, an enduring source of well-being, wise and effective action, and contributions to others.' ~ Rick Hanson
Drawing upon ideas and practices from transpersonal psychology and neuroscience, this workshop aims to:
support and strengthen your natural self-resourcing capacities
increase your capacity to manage many of life’s challenges
build upon mindfulness based practices
This workshop is for anyone who would like to develop greater mastery of their lives, and cultivate practices which help tilt the mind away from its negativity bias.
Using a balance of conversation, relevant theory and practical exercises, the main emphasis will be the practical application of methods to daily life.
Facilitator: Michael Wilson is a psychotherapist and counsellor (UKAHPP Acc. UKCP Reg.), transpersonal psychologist (MSc), and lecturer in Higher Education, with over 20 years of experience in these respective fields. His co-authored book Creative Ethical Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy is published by Sage (2012). www.michaelwilson.uk.com
Cost: £50/£40 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Afternoon Workshop: Celebrating Your Story: the joy of sharing stories with others -
a story-sharing event with Michael Williams and the Playback Edinburgh Theatre Company.
Facilitator: Dr Michael Williams.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 8 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 3pm-3.30pm. Afternoon Workshop: 3.30pm-6pm.
Event Description: “There is no greater burden than bearing an untold story within.” Maya Angelou.
Everyone is a storyteller; everyone has a story to share. Yet not everyone has the opportunity to tell their story and be heard. If you have a story that needs to be heard, then join us in this special story-sharing event. Using a variety of methods designed to transform your personal experience and shape it into a story, I and members of the Playback Edinburgh Theatre Company will help lift the burden of silence from your shoulders. In the company of others, we will support, honour, and celebrate your personal tale. Together we will experience the joy of sharing stories together, an activity known to build community and improve our health and well-being.
No previous experience of storytelling is necessary. Wear comfortable clothing. Bring pen and notebook and be prepared to share stories “eye to eye, mind to mind, and heart to heart.”
Michael Williams is a professional StoryCoach and storyteller with more than 30 years of experience working with children, young people, and adults. He has performed and worked throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East where he worked with groups of Jews and Arabs using storytelling as a way of encouraging dialogue and mutual understanding. Michael is an accredited Child Care Worker, teacher, peace education facilitator, and StoryCoach. In his practice, he uses narrative therapeutically and as a transformative means for exploring leadership, artistic performance, professional and personal development. He co-facilitates the Aberdeen Leadership Forum and is the host of the popular radio programme “The Teller and the Tale” on Blues and Roots Radio. Learn more about Michael’s work at www.michaelwilliamsstorycoaching.com.
Playback Edinburgh Theatre Company offers an innovative form of theatre that plays back the stories of any community and the roles of the individuals within it. The purpose of this form of theatre is to engage the individuals who make up the audience in a process that empowers and validates their experience as vital participants in society, their local community and their social group. Our aim is to honour each person’s experience with careful listening, then, using dramatic forms that involve music, voice and body, to capture an essence that is the playback performance. As the audience warms up, stories are shared and touch the hearts of others who are then moved to tell their experience. Playback Edinburgh Company members are professionals, variously trained in music, drama, narrative storytelling, arts psychotherapies, social work, dance and movement. The company was formed in 2009. Learn more at http://playbackedinburgh.weebly.com
Cost: £8/£7 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Evening Workshop: In Connection - Share, Connect, Create.
Facilitator: Corinne Harris.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 8 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 6pm-6.30pm. Evening Workshop: 6.30pm-9.30pm.
Event Description: An exploration of life from a bird's-eye view - as individuals and community. Bringing our thoughts, ideas, our hopes our fears into a space where magic can happen through stillness, in story, in breathing, in sharing, In Connection.
Corinne Harris has been involved in theatre for thirty years as an actor, director and musician. Her belief in the transformative potential of theatre as an art form and platform for life changing possibility has led her to exploring the theatre of possibility both on and off stage. She received an MA from RADA and King’s College, London specialising in directing – her primary focus being the practice of Eastern European directors. In the past year she has been to Poland with Wojtek - Theatre Objektiv and New York with Messages from a Mental institution with The Elements World Theatre. Corinne is currently co-artistic director of Lucida Performance Lab who are in development with Ashes on Canvas.
Cost: £8/£7 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Day Workshop: A Sufi Perspective on Loving One’s Enemies.
Facilitator: Alice Fateah Saunders. Musical support from Gavin and Clare.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 14 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Day Workshop: 10am-5pm.
Event Description: This is the second in the series of one-day “Sufi Perspectives” workshops.
Life brings numerous conflicts into our daily lives, resulting in feelings of disharmony with others. But one might say that our “enemies” are within as well as without, for as we grow and develop we realize there are inner struggles also to be faced.
So what might the phrase “loving one’s enemies” really mean? And how can we go about doing this?
During the day we will use the words, chants and movements of several Dances of Universal Peace to help us. Also, we will focus on other Sufi practices involving breath, repetition of sacred words from various spiritual traditions, walking meditations and sitting in silent meditation. Readings from various Sufi mystics will accompany our journey. There may be sharing of experiences in small groups.
Fateah Alice Saunders has been following a Sufi path for over 20 years and previously trained for several years in psychotherapy and counseling skills. Having worked closely with several senior Ruhaniat Sufi teachers in the UK and US, she leads Sufi sessions and Dances of Universal Peace in Edinburgh, further afield in Scotland and overseas such as the Czech Republic and Latvia.
Fateah delights in introducing the Sufi path to newcomers and welcomes queries at any time. You can contact her by phone or e-mail. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131-664-6206.
She is currently leading a twice-monthly Sufi Healing Hour at the Salisbury Centre, Edinburgh on Wednesday afternoons: www.salisburycentre.org
Cost: £25/£20 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Kirtan: Chant for Peace.
Organisers: Jointly organised by the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace, EICSP, Scottish Charity, SC038996, and ISKCON Scotland, Scottish Charity, SC001127.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 14 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 6pm-6.30pm. Kirtan: 6.30pm-9pm.
Event Description: KIRTAN (pronounced keertan) is an ancient participatory enchanting mantra music experience. One of the oldest sacred music traditions of the world, the kirtan call-and-response chanting genre comes to us from India. Using ancient Sanskrit mantras to the accompaniment of instruments, the kirtan calls upon sacred energies which serve to quiet the mind, remove inauspicious things from the heart, to bring us back to the centre of our own identity and awaken divine peace and love within us. It is the yoga of sound.
The word “mantra” means to deliver (tra) the mind (mana), and it is one of the easiest methods to use. The mantra itself, depending on which one used, often incorporates a vibrational formula to call various energies or powers to oneself, or to awaken one to higher states of awareness, perception and realization.
Kirtan is a spiritual journey: usually starting off with a slow tempo, gradually building up to euphoric crescendos bringing with it the concomitant emotions of joy and elation. The captivating nature of the melodious tunes fused with the eclectic blend of instruments induces the heart with deep sentiments and enlivens the self to profound levels of delight.
All can participate in this chanting, the more participants, the greater the efficacy. Whether one is musically gifted or hasn’t got a rhythmical inclination, not considering caste, creed, colour, religious background or gender; all unite through the medium of this musical experience, transcending the mundane platform and transporting them to a spiritual realm
Vegan food will be served.
Cost: £5.
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Mindful Peace Walk.
Venue: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5NZ.
Date: Sunday 15 March 2015.
Time: 9.30am-11am, meet at West Gate entrance to the John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place, at 9.30am.
(Introduction to mindful walking at 9.45am and walk begins at 10am). No access from East Gate.
Event Description: This silent walking meditation is an open event. It will be led by the lay members of the Edinburgh Sangha of the Community of Interbeing, who follow the practice and teachings of Zen Buddhist Master, Thich Nhat Hanh. The walk begins at the John Hope Gateway of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Before the walk begins there will be a brief introduction to mindful walking as meditation practice. This is not a protest or a campaigning event, so please do not use any banners. Children are welcome when accompanied by adults. Please remember to wrap up warmly.
‘We walk just for walking. We walk with freedom and solidity, no longer in a hurry. Let us enjoy every step we make.’ Thich Nhat Hanh.
Cost: Admission Free. Just come along on the day. For further information:
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Day Workshop: Towards a Visionary yet viable Peace Policy for the Middle East:
How do we get where we want to go from here?
Facilitator: Dr Thomas Clough Daffern.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 15 March 2015
Time: Registration: 3pm-3.30pm. Day Workshop: 3.30pm-9.30pm.
Event Description: This workshop will focus on generating ideas for a viable and practical peace policy to enable the fastest possible transition to peace in the Middle East. Numerous unresolved conflicts are raging in the region (Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen etc.). Numerous international actors have made huge financial commitments to ensuring security through military involvement, costing millions of pounds, yet true peace seems as elusive as ever. Some argue that smarter military intervention is the answer. Others say we can do a great deal more to prevent and resolve such conflicts through applied diplomacy, utilising agencies such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Commonwealth, The Quartet, The Arab League etc. What role can Britain play for peace here, and how can Scotland and other parts of the UK play a more active role in promoting a peace policy for the UK and Europe as a whole? What role can education, spirituality and science play, alongside politics, diplomacy and international relations? What kind of peace do we really want for the region? This workshop will empower participants to come up with creative ideas and goals that can inspire all those tasked with thinking up UK and European policy options to think more about peace policy, and less about defence or military policy options.
Dr. Thomas Clough Daffern B.A. (Hons.) PGCE. D.SC. (Hon), PhD. is a philosopher, historian, teacher, poet, author, lecturer, musician, thinker, educator, consultant and peace studies specialist. His academic background includes degrees in European and world history (with political philosophy) and religious education, plus a long period of intense personal study in philosophy, religion and the history of ideas – together with over 30 years teaching experience in the same fields. He has also trained and practised in conflict management within communities and schools, specialising in multifaith and multicultural mediation. He is also a trained and experienced teacher in secondary schools, specialising in philosophy, religious education, history and citizenship studies. He was awarded his PhD from the University of London for a thesis which explores the history of the search for peace from 1945-2001 and which proposes a new field of historiography, Transpersonal History, as the best way to establish a rigorous discourse on peace among rival and contending spiritual and intellectual traditions, currently battling for hegemony on the planet. He is an expert in research techniques and methodologies on all aspects of history, religious studies, the history of world philosophy and transpersonal psychology. He has lectured in peace studies, philosophy and religious studies for many years at the Universities of London and Oxford, and has spoken twice at the UN Headquarters about the role of Universities in changing the climate of fear and violence on the planet to one of trust and wisdom-seeking. He is a founder and coordinator of International Philosophers and Historians for Peace and has worked with philosophers and intellectuals from many countries worldwide to help establish intellectual and spiritual networks for peace and goodwill. He is Director of the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy (IIPSGP) which works across many academic fields to bring together all those with an interest in and a commitment towards the study of peace and philosophy on all levels of the personal and global and to applying the qualities of love and wisdom to the resolution of the problems and tensions of today's world. IIPSGP arose out of a feasibility study which Thomas undertook for the University of London into the proposed establishment of an Institute of Peace Studies (from 1989-1992). It is now based in a castle in Scotland but works globally on many peace projects. Thomas is Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the Middle East and has taught and lectured in over 33 countries worldwide. He is a dual Canadian-British citizen. He founded the Centre for Peace Policy Research in 2007 and has co-chaired over 30 meetings in the UK House of Lords dedicated to generating new peace thinking.
Cost: £25/£20 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Day Workshop: Health, Wellbeing, and Healing through Spiritual Dance and Movement.
Facilitators: Cathy Ferris (An Introduction to the Nia Technique); Barbara Wesolowska (My movement - the way to My-self: Dance Movement Psychotherapy); Catherine Wright (An Introduction to the Practice of Movement Medicine); and Linda Wyman (An Introduction to the Alexander Technique).
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 21 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Day Workshop: 10am-5pm.
Event Description: Join us for a joyful day of sharing spiritual dance and movement for health, wellbeing, healing and peace. We will all be together throughout the day, building community and celebrating diversity through spiritual dance and movement.
9.30am-10am: Arrival and Registration.
10am-11.20am: Linda Wyman: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique.
A simple and effective way of regaining natural balance and ease of movement improving physical and mental wellbeing. It is a learning process which teaches you how to best use your body helping you to increased energy and more efficiency in all you do.
Linda Wyman trained at Fellside Alexander School in Cumbria for three years and did her post graduate term at the Institute for the Research and Development of the Alexander Technique in New York in 1991. She currently teaches in Edinburgh and East Lothian. www.lindawyman.co.uk
11.20am-11.40am: Tea/Coffee Break
11.40am-1pm: Cathy Ferris: An Introduction to the Nia Technique.
Nia is a movement practice that honours the body, mind, emotions and spirit. Through form and freedom we connect to sensations in our bodies, finding pleasure and bringing body awareness and self-healing. Practiced barefoot, Nia creates a diversity of movement and expression by blending dance, martial arts, and healing arts with music that will touch and inspire. No prior experience is necessary. For more information about Nia please visit www.nianow.com.
Cathy Ferris is a Blue Belt Nia instructor based in Aberdeen. She started doing Nia 14 years ago, and from her very first class it became a joyful, empowering part of her life. Cathy first trained as a Nia instructor in Houston, Texas in 2008. Since moving to Scotland in 2011, she has built a local Nia community in Aberdeen and has been a guest teacher in England and in other parts of Scotland. To learn more about Cathy please visit www.nianow.com/cathy-ferris.
1pm-2pm: Lunch Break
2pm-3.20pm: Barbara Wesolowska: My movement - the way to My-self: Dance Movement Psychotherapy.
Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) recognises body movement as an implicit and expressive instrument of communication and expression. It is based on the principle that body and mind are connected. Any changes in our body may have a profound impact on the mind. Thus, a better understanding of the body opens new doorways to unravelling the unconscious side.
From the earliest stages of human culture dance was a tool to build a collective identity and language to communicate emotions. Dance was always present within rituals and supported individuals with both their celebrations and life difficulties.
The discipline of Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) originates from contemporary dance and developed during the 1960s & 1970s in both Britain and USA.
This dance and movement has been rediscovered as an innovative way of making connections between a therapist and patients. Dance and movement supports the process of unfolding relationships with self and others.
On the workshops you will have a chance to explore:
How the body stores and memorises life situations
Connecting with yourself through the contact with your body
Discovering movement qualities – how it reflects personality and responds to ones’ current life situation
The ability to dance, nor a dance background, are not required, however the workshops are recommended for those who have the willingness to move.
Barbara Wesolowska RDMP, a qualified Dance Movement Psychotherapist from Queen Margaret University’s School of Health Science, Edinburgh. Previously trained in the Theory of Theatre at the University of Silesia, Poland.
Since moving to Scotland in 2008, I have focused on working with people with disabilities and supporting them with their daily lives. Meanwhile, for many years I have been fascinated with how art can be used in the therapeutic process to support a patient’s healing.
Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) gave me the opportunity to develop my fascination and put the theory into practice; with the therapeutic use of movement and dance, and with people with disabilities and mental health issues.
During the therapeutic process of DMP a client and therapist engage in an empathic creative way by using body movement and dance to assist the integration of emotional, cognitive, physical, social and the spiritual aspects of self.
The aim of DMP is not dance by itself, but the attempt to unravel the feelings and emotions which cannot be verbalised.
I have clinical practice experience with: children on Autistic Spectrum; children from disadvantaged families; young people with learning disabilities and mental health problems; people with Parkinson’s disease; clients with Anxiety, depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
3.20pm-3.40pm: Tea/Coffee Break
3.40pm-5pm: Catherine Wright: An introduction to the practice of Movement Medicine.
Movement Medicine is a dance practice and an awareness practice. It reconnects us with our hearts through our bodies. You need no prior dance experience, only a desire to move your body and connect with your own wisdom and wildness. Movement Medicine offers tools and maps to help us dance deep into the experience of being embodied. In this session we will dance with the elements. We will dance with Earth, Water, Air and Fire, both around us and within us. This practice keeps bringing us back to the dancer inside us. We access the wisdom of our body, the depth of our heart and the creativity of our imagination.
For more information visit www.schoolofmovementmedicine.com
Catherine Wright is an Interfatih Minister. Dance has been one of her spiritual practices for 15 years. She has been dancing and studying with Susannah and Ya’Acov Darling Khan for 12 years. For the past four years she has been an apprentice Movement Medicine practitioner, teacher and facilitator.
Cost: £25/£20 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Evening Workshop: An Invitation to the Cosmic Dance - Biodanza.
Facilitator: Claire Levey Lewis
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 21 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 5.30pm-6pm. Evening Workshop: 6pm-9.30pm.
Event Description: “Get up oh day! The atoms are dancing; the souls, deep in ecstasy, are dancing; the vault of heaven, because of this Being, is dancing”. Jalaluddin Rumi
An introductory evening to participate in the ‘dance of life’ – Biodanza – founded by the Psychologist, Medical Anthropologist, Artist and Poet , Rolando Toro Araneda.
Born in Concepcion in Chile in 1924, Rolando Toro developed a technique of dance, movement and expression based on bringing people together in a ‘human community’. Having lived through the effects of the II World War and the Dictatorial years of General Pinochet in his own country, he was deeply moved to help people rescue the true nature of life - living in unity and harmony with each other and all living things (the cosmos).
He found that certain movements and music that stimulated the innocent expressions of the person, created a space in which each person could connect with the energy of life inside them. When these dances are shared with others and are experienced with specific intentions of acceptance, empathy and love, it creates an enriched environment in which our untapped potentials for life can be lived. This highly positive environment is the basis of our human community.
The movement of Biodanza began as a statement of the belief in living in peace, harmony and love with one another as the only alternative to living with war, terror and fear, which are is often maintained as necessary by our political systems. In this workshop we will discover more about the work of Rolando Toro Araneda and the dance of life which is now practised all over the world. We will then experience a Biodanza session, especially created as part of the Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace.
Please wear what you are comfortable dancing and moving in. We usually dance in bare feet. Please bring water to drink. www.biodanzascotland.com (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Claire Levey Lewis has been practising Biodanza since 1996. She qualified as a teacher in 2002 and has been director of the Rolando Toro Schools of Biodanza in Scotland & Ireland since 2005/2006. She has been pioneering the work and supporting the growth of Biodanza in both countries and additionally in the North of England. As well directing the training schools in Scotland & Ireland, Claire specialises in Biodanza and Social Action, working with various organisations in Edinburgh and Scotland for people with learning disabilities, vulnerable children and projects for social inclusion. She is a council member of the IBF (International Biocentric Foundation) which is the governing body for the worldwide organisation of Biodanza. www.biodanzascotland.com
Cost: £10/£8 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Day Workshop: Resting in the Wisdom of Yeshua: A Middle Eastern Approach to the teachings of Jesus.
Facilitators: Jenny Williams and Sarah Bonner-Morgan.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 22 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 3pm-3.30pm. Day Workshop: 3.30pm-9.30pm.
Event Description: Come and help us create a temporary community resting our hearts and minds in the Wisdom of Yeshua, coming home to ourselves, our hearts and our breath.
We have both found that by chanting, moving with, and listening to the sounds of Aramaic words spoken by Jesus, our hearts have been opened to simple wisdom, powerful comfort, and gentle, continuous outpouring of blessing. We will share and explore simple chants and movement in a circle of connection.
All are welcome. Bring along your friends, a blanket and/or a cushion and some snacks to share. Soup provided. Absolutely no experience needed!
Jenny Williams works with an Emerging Church Project called Nitekirk and is an ordained minister in the Church of Scotland and Sarah Bonner-Morgan teaches the Alexander Technique and is deeply influenced by the Sufi tradition. We would like to thank our teacher Saadi, Neil Douglas-Klotz, whose inspirational work and teachings on the Aramaic Jesus is the basis of what we will teach and share with you. www.abwoon.com
Cost: £25/£20 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Evening Workshop: The Way of Oneness; Mystical approaches to Spiritual Healing:
using talks, stories, dialogue and meditation.
Facilitator: Jim Pym.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Wednesday 25 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 5.30pm-6pm. Evening Workshop: 6pm-9.30pm.
Event Description: Examples of Spiritual Healing can be found in most of the major world faiths and spiritual traditions, though the principles behind them are often hidden in a maze of myth and dogma.
Using talks, stories, dialogue and meditation we will explore these traditions, discovering the simple truths behind them, and finding ways in which these can be of practical help to us in our everyday lives.
Jim has been a spiritual healer for more than 50 years, and regularly leads retreats and workshops on spiritual healing and meditation.
Cost: £8/£7 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Day Workshop: Universal Heart Song.
Facilitators: Vivienne Crighton, Elizabeth Pawley and Rolf Billes.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 28 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Day Workshop: 10am-5pm.
Event Description: This one-day workshop offers a unique opportunity to combine singing, mantras, chants and liberating songs of the heart. Awakening to our own unique expression through voice; our very own heart song, our true nature.
Local facilitators Vivienne, Rolf and Elizabeth offer you the invitation to discover the delights of expressing your own authentic sound in a creative, and compassionate way.
Working with simple yet profound authentic practices we learn to connect with the source of our true voice.
No vocal or musical experience required.
"Just a little curiosity and a deep love of life"
Elizabeth Pawley - teaches piano and yoga and explores creative expression through breathwork and voice.
Rolf Billes - is passionate about the transformational power of singing and is a Church of Scotland minister in Colinton, Edinburgh.
Vivienne Crighton - a naturally creative, intuitive healer who is deeply inspired through liberating and empowering the soul with the voice.
All three are facilitator graduates, working with The Naked Voice practice, pioneered by Founder Chloe Goodchild. www.thenakedvoice.com
Cost: £25/£20 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Afternoon Workshop: Celebrating Your Story: the joy of sharing stories with others -
a story-sharing event with Michael Williams and the Playback Edinburgh Theatre Company.
Facilitator: Dr Michael Williams.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 29 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 3pm-3.30pm. Afternoon Workshop: 3.30pm-6pm.
Event Description: “There is no greater burden than bearing an untold story within.” Maya Angelou.
Everyone is a storyteller; everyone has a story to share. Yet not everyone has the opportunity to tell their story and be heard. If you have a story that needs to be heard, then join us in this special story-sharing event. Using a variety of methods designed to transform your personal experience and shape it into a story, I and members of the Playback Edinburgh Theatre Company will help lift the burden of silence from your shoulders. In the company of others, we will support, honour, and celebrate your personal tale. Together we will experience the joy of sharing stories together, an activity known to build community and improve our health and well-being.
No previous experience of storytelling is necessary. Wear comfortable clothing. Bring pen and notebook and be prepared to share stories “eye to eye, mind to mind, and heart to heart.”
Michael Williams is a professional StoryCoach and storyteller with more than 30 years of experience working with children, young people, and adults. He has performed and worked throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East where he worked with groups of Jews and Arabs using storytelling as a way of encouraging dialogue and mutual understanding. Michael is an accredited Child Care Worker, teacher, peace education facilitator, and StoryCoach. In his practice, he uses narrative therapeutically and as a transformative means for exploring leadership, artistic performance, professional and personal development. He co-facilitates the Aberdeen Leadership Forum and is the host of the popular radio programme “The Teller and the Tale” on Blues and Roots Radio. Learn more about Michael’s work at www.michaelwilliamsstorycoaching.com.
Playback Edinburgh Theatre Company offers an innovative form of theatre that plays back the stories of any community and the roles of the individuals within it. The purpose of this form of theatre is to engage the individuals who make up the audience in a process that empowers and validates their experience as vital participants in society, their local community and their social group. Our aim is to honour each person’s experience with careful listening, then, using dramatic forms that involve music, voice and body, to capture an essence that is the playback performance. As the audience warms up, stories are shared and touch the hearts of others who are then moved to tell their experience. Playback Edinburgh Company members are professionals, variously trained in music, drama, narrative storytelling, arts psychotherapies, social work, dance and movement. The company was formed in 2009. Learn more at http://playbackedinburgh.weebly.com
Cost: £8/£7 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Evening Workshop: Emotional Intelligence - why it can matter more than IQ?
Facilitator: Dr Martin Williams.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 29 March 2015.
Time: Registration: 6pm-6.30pm. Evening Workshop: 6.30pm-9.30pm.
Event Description: We can define Emotional Intelligence or Emotional Literacy as “consciously integrating feelings, thoughts and actions in order to create optimal results in relationships with ourselves and others at home, at work and in the wider community.”
In 1986 Daniel Goleman published his best seller “”Emotional Intelligence – Why it can matters more than IQ” In this book Goleman has skillfully distilled ancient wisdom and contextualized it for the New Millenium.
The Workshop will explore and discuss the ingredients of emotional intelligence and why it is so important for success and fulfillment in the New Millenium. We will show how Emotional Intelligence has the potential to transform our lives and our relationships personally and professionally.
Topics will include:-
•Self Awareness & Self Confidence
•Identifying, Expressing & Managing Our Feelings
•The Gift of Empathy
•Emotional Resilience
•Self-Discipline
•Delaying Gratification
•Controlling Impulses
•Reducing Stress
•Knowing the Difference between Thinking – Feeling – Action.
Martin Williams, PhD, M.Ed (Humanistic Psychology & Human Relations) Dip.Guidance, Counselling & Pastoral Care, PGCE (Secondary) BA (Hons). I am Founder and Director of ‘UP’ – The Ultimate People Empowerment Consultancy which was launched on September 1st 2008.
I was formerly Senior Lecturer in Humanistic Psychology & Human Relations in the School of Education, Community Education & Social Work at the University of Dundee, Scotland.
I am an experienced Teacher, Psychotherapist, Counsellor and Supervisor specialising in work with individuals, couples, children/young people and families.
Cost: £8/£7 (Concessions).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.