Podcasts

I am creating these podcasts out of a deep curiosity and passion for the many ways mindfulness is taught, practiced, and lived. Through these conversations, I hope to offer spaces for reflection, dialogue, and inspiration.

On the Cushion: The Mindfulness Educators Podcast focuses on the art of teaching mindfulness and meditation - how educators guide others and hold space with authenticity, skill, and care.

Inside Mindfulness widens the lens. Through conversations with people from diverse backgrounds and walks of life, the podcast explores how mindfulness, meditation, and related contemplative practices shape spirituality, awareness, and compassion.

For each podcast, I draw out key teachings, images, and metaphors from the conversation, offering reflections that I hope will support and nourish you in your own work - whether as a meditation teacher, a practitioner, or someone simply curious about living with greater awareness. See below.

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On the Cushion with Clive Holmes

Based in South West Scotland, Clive Holmes has over 25 years’ experience teaching meditation at Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and international Samye Dzong centres.

He has completed a year-long intensive retreat, studied with many teachers across Asia and Europe, and holds a degree in Western Philosophy.

In this episode we explore Clive’s background and his inspiring and gentle approach to teaching meditation.

  • Clive co-edited Taming the Tiger and Restoring the Balance by Choje Akong Tulku Rinpoche and holds an honorary Teaching Fellowship at Aberdeen University’s School of Education.

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  • 1. Model "Relaxation and Kindness"

    Clive emphasises that a teacher's most powerful tool is their own state of being. He suggests that you should aim to communicate a sense of "grace, luminosity, and clarity." If the teacher embodies unconditional warm-heartedness, it creates an "affiliative effect" that helps students feel safe enough to relax.

    2. View Mindfulness as "Remembering to Remember"

    Move beyond a rigid definition of mindfulness. Clive describes it as a "homecoming" to the present moment. It is the practice of recollection - noticing when we have spun off into ego stories or overthinking and gently returning to awareness.

    3. Prioritise Flexibility and Adaptability

    When asked how to recognise a good teacher, Clive’s answer is simple: flexibility. A teacher should adapt their practices to the circumstances of their own life and the specific needs of the students in the room, rather than sticking to a rigid, one-size-fits-all script.

    4. Address the "Foundation of Neurosis"

    You cannot build a "palace on quicksand." Clive notes that many Westerners try to layer meditation on top of deep-seated trauma or neurosis. Teachers should be aware of "healing the wounds" and perhaps incorporate frameworks like Internal Family Systems (IFS) to help students navigate their different "selves" and inner "tigers."

    5. Create a "Safe Space" for Practice

    Deep meditation requires the body to feel safe. Clive uses his voice, humor, and poetry to lower the students' defenses. He uses the metaphor of boiling water: only when the water cools (the mind settles in a safe environment) can the surface become a mirror.

    6. Balance Stillness with Movement

    "Too much sitting is probably part of the problem in our culture." Clive recommends balancing sitting meditation with physical movement like Qigong, Tai Chi, or walking meditation. This helps students become "embodied" and prevents them from getting stuck in their heads.

    7. Stay Within the "Self-Care Zone"

    As a teacher, you should encourage students to go beyond their comfort zone to find growth, but strictly ensure they never leave their self-care zone. This is especially important for students with mental health issues or unprocessed trauma.

    8. Use Simplicity and Directness

    Avoid overcomplicating teachings with "layers and layers of words." Clive highlights the "Buddha of Infinite Simplicity," noting that the ego-intellect loves to make things complex to protect its domain. Simple, direct pointers allow the teaching to resonate like a pebble dropped in a pond.

    9. Teach from Personal Retreat Experience

    Clive believes it is essential for teachers to "go in to go out." Regular retreats allow teachers to face their own obstacles, distractions, and "ego-shadows." This ensures that when you teach, you are sharing genuine experience rather than just repeating words "like a parrot."

    10. Be a "Spiritual Friend" (Kalyana-mitra)

    Instead of positioning yourself as an unreachable authority figure, view yourself as a Kalyana-mitra or spiritual friend. This involves holding space, embodying stability, and planting simple sentences or insights that students can take away and apply to their own lives.

  • 1. The Motorised Tripod (Mindfulness vs. Chaos)

    Clive compares the untrained mind to a camcorder strapped to a horse; the resulting footage is shaky, noisy, and meaningless.

    • The Lesson: Mindfulness acts as a motorised tripod. It doesn't change the "scenery" of your life, but it stabilises the camera so you can finally see the world with "BBC quality" clarity and insight.

    2. The Stained Silk (Purification)

    Imagine a beautiful piece of silk that you want to dye a brilliant saffron color. If the silk is covered in mud, the dye won't take; you'll just have stained fabric.

    • The Lesson: We often try to "dye" our minds with meditation while our "silk" is still muddy with neurosis and conditioning. We must first purify the stains (unprocessed trauma and habits) so the practice can actually transform us.

    3. One Candle Lighting Another

    Clive references the Buddha’s teaching that one candle can light a hundred others without its own flame diminishing.

    • The Lesson: This represents enthusiasm. A teacher’s role isn't to "give" knowledge away, but to use their own "flame" (joy and practice) to ignite the potential already existing within the student.

    4. The Mirror in the Water

    When water is boiling, the surface is full of bubbles and chaos. When it cools and settles, the surface becomes a mirror.

    • The Lesson: You cannot "force" the mind to be a mirror. You simply provide the safe space and "cool" temperature for the mind to settle. Once the agitation stops, clarity (insight) happens naturally.

    5. Taming the Inner Tiger

    This is a central theme in Clive’s work, referring to the "wild" aspects of our ego and emotions.

    • The Lesson: You don't "kill" the tiger or demonise your difficult emotions. Instead, through Internal Family Systems (IFS), you bring the tiger into the family structure, where the "True Self" sits at the head of the table as the conductor of the orchestra.

    6. The Swiss Army Knife

    Clive describes the various techniques he teaches (body scans, breathing, visualisation, Qigong) as a Swiss Army knife.

    • The Lesson: Different life situations require different tools. Sometimes you need the "scissors" of sharp focus, and other times the "nail clippers" of gentle self-care. A teacher provides the full toolkit so the student is prepared for anything.

    7. The Parachute

    He mentions that opening up to meditation can sometimes be like "opening Pandora's box" for people with deep-seated issues.

    • The Lesson: The teacher must be there like a parachute. When a student's old conditioning begins to fall away or they feel overwhelmed by what they discover, the teacher provides the support to ensure a safe landing.

  • Find out more about Clive’s work here.

On the Cushion with Bill Paterson

Bill Paterson is a long-standing member of the Mindfulness Association, beginning his journey in 2011 and completing the Mindfulness-Based Living (MBLC) Course teacher training in 2017. He has undertaken extensive study in mindfulness, compassion, insight, supervision, and person-centred approaches, and has taught the MBLC to more than 60 diverse groups across Scotland in the public, private, and third sectors.

In this episode, I talk with Bill about his lived experience of a, and how it shapes both his teaching and his therapeutic work in the world.

  • In 2017, Bill developed a Fife-wide mindfulness-in-schools project - later adopted by Fife Education and supported by Fife CAMHS - and in 2019 played a key role in launching Mindful Nation Scotland at the Scottish Parliament.

    He now integrates his mindfulness and compassion training into his counselling work, offering walk-and-talk therapy in natural settings. Bill has also published research exploring how mindfulness and compassion training influence men’s perceptions of masculinity.

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  • 1. Leverage the Power of a "Soothing Voice"

    Bill notes that his first encounter with mindfulness was through John Kabat-Zinn’s voice, which he found incredibly soothing. As a teacher, your vocal tone is a tool for regulation. A calm, grounded voice can be the first step in helping a student’s nervous system relax before they even begin the mental practice.

    2. Move from "Head" to "Body"

    Especially when working with academics or professionals, recognise that they are often "all in their heads." Bill emphasises that practices like the body scan are vital because they provide evidence that "the hands are okay, the feet are okay," which helps settle the unsettled mind.

    3. Use the "Common Sense" of Language

    Drawing from his PhD research on Antonio Gramsci, Bill highlights how language creates our "norm." As a teacher, be mindful of the language you use. To reach people who might be sceptical (the "non-tree-huggers"), use accessible, non-religious language that resonates with their everyday reality.

    4. Foster the Feeling of Being "Held and Heard"

    Bill identifies that all human beings seek two things: to be held and to be heard. A teacher’s job is not just to deliver instructions, but to create a relational space where students feel seen and safe. This "holding space" is often more transformative than the meditation technique itself.

    5. Create a "Common Language" for Mental Health

    When Bill worked with schools and CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), he insisted on teaching teachers, parents, and students simultaneously.

    • The Lesson: By giving everyone a shared vocabulary for anxiety, sadness, and presence, you create a support network rather than an isolated practice.

    6. Integrate Mindfulness with Movement

    Bill’s background in Tai Chi and Qigong taught him that the body is the "interface" for the mind. For many, especially those with high energy or "ultra-masculine" backgrounds, sitting still is difficult. Incorporating movement helps bridge the gap between physical action and mental stillness.

    7. Take the Practice Into Nature (Eco-Therapy)

    One of Bill’s most successful adaptations is "Walk and Talk" therapy.

    • The Lesson: You don't need a quiet room to teach. Practicing in the elements-facing the wind, rain, or sunshine-helps students relate to their internal "weather" and fosters a sense of awe and the sublime.

    8. Be "Non-Directive" When Necessary

    Through his counseling training, Bill learned the value of "getting out of the way." While a teacher must guide a practice, they must also allow space for the student’s own experience to emerge without over-instructing or "fixing" them.

    9. Recognise "Full Catastrophic Living"

    Bill came to mindfulness during a period of redundancy, injury, and anger. Teachers should validate that mindfulness isn't just for calm moments-it is specifically designed for "the long probation periods of life," shame, and physical pain. Meet students where their struggle is most "brutal."

    10. Understand the "Silence, Stillness, and Spaciousness"

    Bill summarises the core of the practice into these three qualities. A teacher should aim to help students find:

    • Silence: Quietening the internal monologue.

    • Stillness: Settling the physical and emotional reactivity.

    • Spaciousness: Creating room so that they are no longer "trapped" by their thoughts.

  • 1. The "Full Catastrophic Living" (The Broken Machine)

    Bill uses Kabat-Zinn’s phrase to describe his life when he was hit by redundancy, a newborn baby, and a spinal injury simultaneously.

    • The Imagery: He describes himself as "absolutely broken," unable to stand, sit, or walk.

    • The Lesson: Mindfulness isn't just a relaxation tool; it is a way to "re-assemble" a life that has completely shattered. It provides a way to be with a body that feels like it has failed you.

    2. The "Paratroopers" (Levels of Care)

    When describing the mental health system (CAMHS), Bill calls them the "paratroopers."

    • The Imagery: Paratroopers are elite forces dropped into the most severe, high-intensity conflict zones.

    • The Lesson: He argues that if you teach mindfulness in schools and to parents (preventative care), you don't need to call in the "paratroopers" for every case. Mindfulness serves as the "ground troops" that prevent the crisis from escalating to an emergency.

    3. "All in My Head" (The Ghost in the Machine)

    Bill describes the academic life as being "all in my head".

    • The Imagery: A person who exists only from the neck up, disconnected from the physical reality of their body.

    • The Lesson: He uses the Body Scan as the antidote-a way to "drop down" from the attic of the intellect into the "ground floor" of physical sensation.

    4. The "Common Sense" (The Invisible Script)

    Drawing on the philosopher Gramsci, Bill speaks about "Common Sense" as a metaphor for power.

    • The Imagery: A set of rules or a "norm" that is so pervasive we don't even see it as a choice; it’s just "the way things are."

    • The Lesson: Meditation helps students identify their own internal "Common Sense"-the habitual, self-critical thoughts they’ve accepted as "the truth" for years-and realise it is actually just a narrative that can be questioned.

    5. "Zombie" vs. "Tai Chi" (The Window Barrier)

    Bill shares a humorous story of practicing Tai Chi in the garden while his kids watched through the window, pretending to be zombies and saying, "I am a zombie, push down the button."

    • The Imagery: The glass window separating the "stillness" of his practice from the "chaos" of family life.

    • The Lesson: This serves as a metaphor for the interface between our practice and the world. We don't meditate to stay in a bubble; we meditate so we can eventually "push down the button" on our own autopilot (zombie-like) reactivity when we step back inside the house.

    6. The "Blue Light" (Mindfulness as Resilience)

    Working with the Scottish Ambulance Service, Bill frames mindfulness through the "Blue Light" metaphor.

    • The Imagery: The flashing lights of an emergency vehicle.

    • The Lesson: For first responders, mindfulness isn't about "peace"; it’s about resilience. It is the "internal shock absorber" that allows a person to witness trauma and then reset their nervous system so they don't carry the "Blue Light" emergency home with them.

    7. The "Walk and Talk" (The Parallel Journey)

    Bill’s shift to eco-therapy turned the traditional "room" therapy into a "walk."

    • The Imagery: Two people walking side-by-side in the forest rather than sitting face-to-face in a clinical room.

    • The Lesson: This metaphorises the non-directive nature of his work. The teacher/therapist isn't a "judge" behind a desk; they are a companion on a path. The forest (nature) becomes a third "teacher" in the room.

    8. "The Mirror of the Elements"

    Bill talks about meditating outside in "all weathers."

    • The Imagery: Sitting in the rain, wind, and sun of Scotland.

    • The Lesson: The external weather is a metaphor for our internal emotions. Just as we don't try to "stop" the rain, we learn through mindfulness not to "stop" our sadness or anger, but simply to sit with it until the weather changes.

  • Find out more about Bill’s work here.

On the Cushion with Karen Atkinson

As founder and CEO of MindfulnessUK, Karen leads its growth and development while pioneering innovative initiatives. Author of Compassionate Mindful Inquiry in Therapeutic Practice (2020), she previously chaired the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches (BAMBA) and remains an active member.

In this episode I talk with Karen about how she came to mindfulness and how her background influences her facilitation of mindfulness.

  • MindfulnessUK is a BAMBA and EAMBA-affiliated training organisation, with courses regulated by the CPD Standards Office. Karen, an Honorary Lecturer at Queen’s University, Belfast, began her mindfulness journey in her 20’s as a way of managing the suffering experienced as a result of insidious trauma throughout her childhood. 

    A yoga teacher with the British Wheel of Yoga, she deepened her self-compassion practice during cancer recovery in 2013 and, when diagnosed with her second primary cancer in 2023, responded with deep self-kindness and equilibrium. These experiences empassion Karen to deliver trauma-informed teaching and training globally and she has become an acknowledged specialist in her field.

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  • 1. View Yourself as a "Facilitator," Not a "Teacher"

    Karen expresses unease with the traditional teacher-pupil hierarchy. She prefers the term facilitator, viewing the process as "we are all in this together." This creates an egalitarian space that fosters trust and safety.

    2. Prioritise "Embodied" Teaching Over Scripts

    Karen refuses to sell meditation scripts. She believes that the power of teaching comes from the facilitator’s own embodied experience. Students can sense the depth of a facilitator's personal practice, and this presence is what makes the teaching transformational.

    3. Integrate Compassion as a Core Foundation

    For Karen, mindfulness without compassion is out of balance. She argues that "dropping into the present moment" can be difficult if we don't have the tools of self-kindness to handle what we find there. Teachers should ensure that compassion practices are interwoven into every mindfulness curriculum.

    4. Meet People Where They Are (Differentiation)

    Don't superimpose a "blueprint" on everyone. Karen emphasises differentiation-adapting practices to the specific needs of the group. This is especially vital for "hard-to-reach" communities or those for whom traditional 40-minute meditations are not accessible.

    5. Use Shorter Practices for Accessibility

    Karen has been a pioneer in advocating for shorter practices. She notes that for many people-especially those in high-stress healthcare roles or those dealing with illness-shorter, "bite-sized" meditations are more effective and easier to integrate into a busy life than long, traditional sittings.

    6. Balance the "Curriculum" with "Intuition"

    While having a theme or learning objective for a session is important, a facilitator must be ready to "throw away the plan" if the room feels agitated or dull. Karen describes this as holding the curriculum in one hand and intuition and flexibilityin the other.

    7. Use Personal Practice for "Regulating the Group"

    When a group becomes distressed or agitated, the facilitator should bring themselves back to their own body and groundedness. By calming your own nervous system, you serve as a "baseline" that helps settle the collective energy of the room.

    8. Understand the "Nervous System" Context

    With her nursing background, Karen views mindfulness as a tool for nervous system regulation. Understanding how the body holds trauma or stress helps a teacher explain why mindfulness works on a "cellular level," making the practice feel more grounded in science and less "mystical."

    9. Ensure a Thorough Assessment Process

    To prevent mindfulness from "going horribly wrong," Karen insists on a robust assessment of participants before they begin a course. This helps identify "red flags" and ensures that the student is ready for the depth of the work, protecting both the student and the facilitator.

    10. Stay Committed to "Continuous Learning"

    Karen views the relationship between teaching and practicing as a "virtuous cycle." Even with decades of experience, she remains a student, continuing to be taught and trained. This keeps her teaching "fresh" and prevents it from becoming stagnant or repetitive.

  • 1. The "Homecoming"

    Karen uses this phrase to describe the immediate sensation of beginning a meditation or yoga practice.

    • The Imagery: Returning to a safe, familiar, and grounded house after being lost or out in the elements.

    • The Lesson: For someone with a "dysregulated nervous system," the body can feel like a foreign or hostile place. Mindfulness is the process of "coming home" to yourself, where you feel balanced, earthed, and connected.

    2. The "Soothing Balm"

    She describes the sensation of open awareness as a physical ointment.

    • The Imagery: A cooling, healing lotion applied to a burn or a wound.

    • The Lesson: When the nervous system is "on edge" or reactive, mindfulness acts as a balm that softens the internal tension and soothes the "heat" of stress and anxiety.

    3. "Drawing a Line" (The Choice Point)

    This is Karen’s primary metaphor for the power of the present moment.

    • The Imagery: Physically drawing a line in the sand or on a page.

    • The Lesson: One side of the line is the past-your ingrained patterns, dysfunctional upbringing, and habitual reactions. By dropping into the present, you "draw the line," creating a spaciousness that offers you the choice to respond differently rather than simply repeating the past.

    4. The "Cellular" Way of Being

    Karen notes that mindfulness is more than just a skill; it becomes "cellular in nature."

    • The Imagery: Something that isn't just a layer on top of the skin, but is part of the very DNA and atoms of the body.

    • The Lesson: With consistent practice, mindfulness stops being something you do and becomes part of who you are. It alters your "direction of travel" at the most fundamental level of your biology.

    5. The "Full Circle"

    She describes her journey from secular yoga to complex breathwork, into Buddhism, and back to simplified mindfulness as a circle.

    • The Imagery: Walking a long path only to return to where you started, but seeing it for the first time with total clarity.

    • The Lesson: You often start with simple practice, go through a "complex" phase of learning theory and lineage, and eventually return to simplicity-but this time, you are "informed and knowledgeable" rather than just doing it by rote.

    6. The "Imbued" Teacher

    Karen describes her relationship with Buddhist lineage as something that "imbues" her secular teaching.

    • The Imagery: Like a piece of cloth soaked in a dye or a scent; the original substance isn't visible, but its essence is present in every fiber.

    • The Lesson: Even when teaching in a strictly secular environment (like a hospital or a bank), a teacher’s deep personal study of lineage "imbues" their presence. Students can sense the "scent" of that depth even if the teacher never mentions it.

    7. The "Virtuous Cycle"

    This metaphor explains her motivation for continuing to work and train others.

    • The Imagery: A wheel that gains energy and "glow" as it turns, rather than wearing out.

    • The Lesson: Teaching and training feed back into the teacher's own practice. It is a "continuous learning" loop where the act of giving to others refills the teacher’s own "inner glow."

    8. The "Establishment" and "Redressing the Balance"

    Karen speaks about the early days of mindfulness training where compassion was often missing.

    • The Imagery: A set of scales that was tipped too far toward "clinical mindfulness" and away from "warm-hearted compassion."

    • The Lesson: Her mission was to redress the balance, ensuring that the "cold" clarity of mindfulness was paired with the "warm" support of compassion.

  • Find out more about Karen’s work here.

On the Cushion with Suryacitta

Suryacitta Smith has been practising meditation since 1989 and teaching since 1997. He is the author of five books on meditation and happiness.

After many years of practising and teaching mindfulness, he recognised that it did not fully address the root of human psychological suffering - the central concern of the Buddha’s teaching.

In this episode we explore Suryacitta’s background and influences, and his inspirational approach to teaching meditation.

  • Around a decade ago, Suryacitta was drawn to the understanding of non-duality, which he describes as the missing piece of the puzzle.

    This perspective now deeply informs his work, which is characterised by directness, simplicity, and a continual pointing beyond conceptual understanding.

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  • 1. Aim for Radical Simplicity

    Suryacitta emphasises that the most profound teachings are direct and simple. If a teaching is too complex, the mind tries to "figure it out," which creates more chatter. Teachers should point students to the absolute immediacy of their current experience-like the feeling of the chair-rather than searching for a "big experience."

    2. Move from "Mind" to "Presence"

    He suggests that "mindfulness" is a poor translation because it contains the word "mind." He prefers the words Presence or Being. As a teacher, help your students understand that they are looking for what is behind or prior to the thought (awareness), not the content of mind.

    3. Dismantle the "Storyteller"

    The core of Suryacitta's philosophy is that humans suffer because of the internal "narrator" or "storyteller."1

    • The Lesson: Help students see that they are not the voice in their head. The voice is just a "commentator" on reality, not reality itself. When the storyteller goes quiet, the joy of life (which is innate) is revealed.

    4. Use "Permission" as a Diagnostic Tool

    A key technique Suryacitta uses is asking: "Did that thought ask permission to arise?" * The Tip: By guiding students to realise that thoughts arise unbidden and unchosen, you help them break their identification with those thoughts. This allows them to lose interest in the "mental noise."

    5. Practice "Neutral Noticing"

    Teachers should encourage a neutral, non-judgmental observation of the mind. Adding a judgment like "I shouldn't be thinking this" is just another thought. Use the phrase "I’m having the thought that..." to create a healthy distance (diffusion) between the student and the content of their mind.

    6. Focus on "Losing" Rather than "Gaining"

    Most students come to meditation wanting to gain something (peace, clarity, focus). Suryacitta flips this: Meditation is about losing-losing the identification, losing the labels, and losing the self-centered storylines.

    7. Distinguish Between the "Screen" and the "Movie"

    Use the metaphor of the TV screen and the movie.

    • The Lesson: Students are usually enthralled by the "movie" (the drama of their thoughts). Your job is to point them back to the "screen" (Awareness/Presence). The screen is always there, even when the movie is tragic or frightening.

    8. Challenge the "Labels"

    Suryacitta describes labels (like "I am an anxious person") as post-it notes pinned to the self.

    • The Tip: Ban the use of self-limiting labels in your sessions. Encourage students to see themselves as a "person" experiencing a "thought of anxiety" rather than being the anxiety itself.

    9. Master the Use of Metaphor

    Suryacitta is a master of metaphors (the Ghost Train, the Jewel, the blind dog Banky).

    • The Tip: Create or use relatable metaphors to bypass the logical mind.

    10. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

    He admits to being repetitive. Because the "Papancha" (mental momentum) is so strong, a teacher must be willing to repeat core truths in slightly different ways until they penetrate the student's identification with the mind.

  • 1. The "Ghost Train" (The Mental Ride)

    Suryacitta compares our psychological life to a theme park ride.

    • The Imagery: Entering a dark tunnel where skeletons and ghosts (fears, regrets, anxieties) jump out at you.

    • The Lesson: We treat these mental "jump scares" as reality, calling it "my life." He suggests that mindfulness allows us to see that we are just on a mental ride. Once you realise it's a ghost train, you can stay on the seat without being truly terrified, or even "get off the train" to see how the mechanics of the ride work.

    2. The "TV Screen vs. The Movie"

    This is his primary metaphor for understanding Awareness.

    • The Imagery: When you watch a movie, you are so enthralled by the drama that you "miss the screen."

    • The Lesson: The movie represents our thoughts and stories; the screen represents our Presence. No matter how violent or sad the "movie" in your head is, it never stains or damages the "screen." When the "TV" (the mind) turns off, the screen remains untouched and still.

    3. The "Post-it Note" Labels

    He describes self-limiting beliefs as physical stickers we place on ourselves.

    • The Imagery: Writing "Anxious," "Useless," or "Bad at Art" on a post-it and pinning it to your chest.

    • The Lesson: We eventually stop seeing the person and only see the labels. Mindfulness is the process of peeling off these labels to reveal the True Self underneath, which is none of those things.

    4. "Banky" (The Blind Dog)

    Suryacitta uses his blind Border Collie, Banky, as a living metaphor for a mind without "story."

    • The Imagery: A dog that lost its sight in a single day but still runs through fields with joy.

    • The Lesson: Banky doesn't have the word "blind," so in a sense, he isn't blind; he is just living. He doesn't tell himself a story about "I used to be able to see." He misses the ball 15 times, but the 16th time is fresh and new because he isn't carrying the story of his failure.

    5. The "Soap Bubble"

    He uses this to describe the lifespan of a thought.

    • The Imagery: A shimmering bubble floating in the air.

    • The Lesson: A thought has very little "mass." If you don't "feed" it energy or try to grab it, it will eventually just pop on its own. It is only when we identify with the "content" of the bubble that it feels all-encompassing.

    6. The "Language You Don't Understand"

    A thought-experiment metaphor for the internal monologue.

    • The Imagery: Imagine if your "chatter" suddenly switched into a language you don't speak, like German or Chinese.

    • The Lesson: You would realise the sounds are meaningless. This reveals that the suffering is in the belief in the words, not the words themselves. If the narrator is speaking a language you don't understand, the "threat" vanishes.

    7. "Dust in the Eyes"

    A classic Buddhist metaphor Suryacitta uses to explain why some people "get it" faster than others.

    • The Imagery: Walking through life with a thin layer of grit or dust obscuring your vision.

    • The Lesson: Some of us are more "mind-oriented" or "identified" with our thoughts. This "dust" makes it hard to see the simple truth that is already here. Practice is simply the act of clearing the dust.

  • Find out more about Suryacitta’s work here.

On the Cushion with Andy Wistreich

Andy Wistreich has been teaching Buddhist meditation and leading retreats around the world for the past 45 years, within the Tibetan tradition.

He has been encouraged to teach by his own teachers, who are mostly Tibetan lamas. In his mid-seventies he lives in Somerset with his wife Shan Tate, with whom he often co-leads courses and retreats. 

In this podcast episode we explore Andy’s background and influences, and his enduring commitment to teaching meditation.

  • Trained as a Further Education teacher, and having studied learning and teaching in a masters in education, Andy also trains Buddhist teachers within the Foundation for the Mahayana Tradition. His approach to this is dialogical, based on the understanding that the teacher's role is to facilitate learning, such as through meditation. 

  • Click this text to listen on Spotify

  • 1. Shift from "Teacher" to "Facilitator"

    Andy advocates for a constructivist model of education. Instead of seeing yourself as the source of all knowledge (the transmission model), view your role as providing the information and guidance that allows students to construct their own awareness and understanding.

    2. Treat Practice as "Nutrition for the Mind"

    Andy describes his daily practice as the mainstay of his life. He suggests that teachers should present meditation not just as a tool for crisis management, but as essential daily nutrition that enables us to deal with the challenges of being alive and getting older.

    3. Beware the "Mask of the Teacher"

    One of Andy's most profound realisations was that he had been wearing a "mask" projected onto him by students. He warns teachers to be wary of their own egos and the "expert" persona. Stay authentic by remaining an "ordinary person" rather than becoming a creature of your professional role.

    4. Practice While You Lead

    Andy’s teacher, a Tibetan Lama, gave him the simple advice: "You practice yourself." * The Tip: When leading a meditation, you should be meditating as deeply as possible at the same time. This creates a genuine heart-to-heart communication that students can intuitively pick up on.

    5. Meditate from the "Heart Space," Not the Brain

    Andy recommends guiding students to focus their awareness within the rib cage-the heart space-rather than the brain. He believes this helps shift understanding from a purely intellectual level (the head) to an intuitive, felt level (the heart).

    6. Act as a "Catalyst," Not a Creator

    When students have amazing experiences, they often credit the teacher. Andy’s tip is to explicitly state: "I didn't give you this experience; I was just the catalyst." Remind students that the wisdom and the experience came from within them, reinforcing their own agency and "Buddha nature."

    7. Embrace Humility and Service

    For Andy, teaching is an act of service, akin to a house cleaner doing a necessary job for someone else. Humility means having deep respect for the student's potential. If it ever feels like the students are there to serve the teacher’s ego, the relationship has become "yucky" and corrupt.

    8. Use "Circles" to Draw Out Inner Wisdom

    Drawing on his drama teaching roots, Andy suggests using discussion circles where everyone is equal. He was "blown away" by the wisdom that emerged from people who had never studied Buddhism, proving that if you hold the space correctly, the group can often teach itself.

    9. Move Understanding from "Head to Heart"

    A teacher’s job is to help students filter intellectual concepts so they become intuitive. This is the difference between sharing words (the head) and sharing realisation (the heart). The deeper your own heart-centered practice, the more authentic your communication will be.

    10. Adapt the Pedagogy to the Culture

    While Andy respects his Tibetan lineage, he acknowledges the need to invert the hierarchy for Western students. Teachers should feel free to adapt traditional, rigid structures into freer, more conversational formats that suit the modern environment without losing the essence of the teaching.

  • 1. "Nutrition" (Mindfulness as Food)

    Andy describes his 45-year daily practice as the "mainstay" of his life using a biological lens.

    • The Imagery: Meditation as the "nutrition of the mind."

    • The Lesson: Practice is not just a medicine you take when you are sick (in crisis); it is the daily food required for the mind to remain healthy and resilient enough to handle "the challenges of being alive."

    2. The "Mask of the Teacher"

    This is Andy’s most personal metaphor, describing the psychological burden of leadership.

    • The Imagery: A physical mask that is both worn by the teacher and projected onto them by the students.

    • The Lesson: The role of "Expert" or "Teacher" can become a rigid persona that traps the individual. He realised he wanted to be free of the mask to become an "ordinary person" again, moving from a role-based identity to an authentic one.

    3. The "House Cleaner" (Service and Humility)

    To explain the lack of hierarchy in his teaching, Andy uses a domestic service metaphor.

    • The Imagery: Someone who comes to your house to clean the toilets or the floors.

    • The Lesson: A meditation teacher is a servant. They are doing a job for the student, providing a service that helps the student's internal "house" stay in order. It is an ordinary, humble task, not a reason for ego or a "throne."

    4. The "Catalyst"

    Andy uses this chemical metaphor to describe the teacher’s influence on a student's breakthrough.

    • The Imagery: A substance that triggers a chemical reaction without being the source of the materials.

    • The Lesson: When a student has a profound realization, the teacher is just the catalyst. The "chemicals" (the wisdom and potential) were already inside the student; the teacher simply provided the spark to set them in motion.

    5. "Head to Heart" (The Internal Descent)

    This describes the progression of understanding within a practitioner.

    • The Imagery: Information physically moving from the brain down into the "heart space" (the rib cage).

    • The Lesson: Intellectual knowledge is "Head" knowledge-it is filtered and logical. Realisation is "Heart" knowledge-it is intuitive and embodied. He guides students to meditate from the chest area to facilitate this descent.

    6. The "Bubble"

    Andy refers to the specialised world of long-term practitioners as a "bubble."

    • The Imagery: A thin, transparent sphere that keeps the group safe but also separate from the world.

    • The Lesson: While the Buddhist "bubble" offers depth, Andy found it "healthy" to step outside of it and engage with ordinary, secular life to maintain his authenticity and avoid becoming a "creature of his own ego."

    7. "Constructing" Knowledge

    Drawing on his Masters in Education, Andy views the mind as a construction site.

    • The Imagery: Building a structure (knowledge) from the ground up using provided materials.

    • The Lesson: He rejects the "banking" or "transmission" model (pouring water into a jar). Instead, he sees the student as the architect. The teacher provides the "information and guidance" (the bricks and blueprints), but the student must build the awareness within their own mind.

    8. The "Inner Experience" Circle

    • The Imagery: A circle of people sitting as equals, where the "center" belongs to the topic (like love or death) rather than a person.

    • The Lesson: The circle represents the non-hierarchical nature of wisdom. It demonstrates that wisdom is already "buried" in everyone (the Buddha Nature), and the group structure simply "removes the layers" to let it out.

  • Check out Andy’s YouTube channel here.

Inside Mindfulness with Mike Pratt

Mike Pratt is a Northeast England-based conservationist, author, and CEO of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust with nearly 40 years of environmental experience.

Through his platform, Living Mindfully Wild, he integrates his expertise in nature protection with over 20 years of teaching "energy movement" (Tai Chi and Chi Kung) to promote both personal wellbeing and ecological health, inspiring a deeper, more spiritual connection to the natural world by encouraging everyone to protect our fragile, precious wild environments.

  • Mike describes himself as a "naturalist writer" who is primally inspired by northern landscapes. He uses writing, drawing, and speaking to express the "magic and wonder" he finds in nature and to inspire others to protect the natural world. He has published several books and pamphlets, including:

    • Infinite Wonder (2023): A celebration of wild places and the healing power of nature.

    • My Wild Northumbria: An exploration of the habitats and history of the ancient region of Northumbria.

    • WILD: A collection of essays and prose poems focused on wildlife in east Cleveland and the North Yorkshire coast.

    • North Facing: Poems and prose detailing experiences in northern wildernesses from Yorkshire to Scandinavia and Iceland.

    • Aftermaths: His latest work, described as prose and poetry about the deep connection between humans and nature.

  • Click this text to listen on Spotify

  • 1. Find "Space and Quietude"

    Fulfillment doesn't come from professional status or "busy-ness," but from seeking moments of quiet. Mike suggests even a "momentary nip outside" during the chaos of daily life to reconnect with something beyond yourself.

    2. Move from "Naming" to "Sensing"

    True nature connection isn't just about identifying species or "naming the parts." It is about acclimatisation - immersing yourself in the environment until you sense how every part of the ecology, including yourself, fits together.

    3. Adopt an "Animistic" Perspective

    Drawing from indigenous wisdom, Mike suggests viewing the world as entirely alive. When we see nature as an "animated entity" rather than an inanimate resource, we naturally shift from exploitation to a special, sacred relationship.

    4. Become a "Connector," Not Just a Conservator

    While conservation often focuses on protecting what is "out there," Mike’s mission is to help people "be more natural in their being." He views himself as a catalyst for reconnecting urbanised humans to their own biological evolution.

    5. Cultivate "Awe and Wonder" Over Negativity

    It is easy to be dragged down by the "negative street" of biodiversity loss. Mike teaches that focusing on the joy and wonder still present in the world is a more powerful motivator for change than grief or anger.

    6. Nature is "Home," Not a Destination

    Humans have evolved for 300,000 years to be linked to the natural environment. Mike reminds us that when we enter a woodland, our body chemistry changes because we aren't just visiting a park - we are "going home."

    7. Use Writing as "Cognitive Therapy"

    Mike uses poetry and prose to bring out thoughts and feelings he didn’t even know he had. He teaches that creative expression is a way to process the "internal landscape" alongside the external one.

    8. Practice "Reciprocity" Over Ownership

    We often talk about preserving nature for our future generations, which remains human-centered. Mike suggests a "two-way street" where we ask how we can nourish the thing that feeds us, moving from "custodianship" to a "reciprocal relationship."

    9. Apply Mindfulness to "Jagged" Lives

    Mindfulness isn’t just for the meditation cushion; it’s a framework for when life gets "sticky and painful." It doesn't stop the pain, but it provides a smoother way to work through the unpredictable challenges of the modern world.

    10. Listen to the "Mind of the Heart"

    Aligning with Taoist and Eastern philosophies, Mike suggests that the heart, not the head, is the true center of emotion and decision-making. In a world that uses the "head too much," returning to the heart allows for a deeper, non-dual connection to the "is-ness" of life.

  • 1. The "Overcoat" of Modernity

    Mike describes our urbanised, disconnected lifestyle as wearing "overcoats" or "layers of shells." He suggests that mindfulness and nature immersion are the process of "taking off the overcoat" to reveal our "natural selves." This metaphor implies that our connection to nature isn't something we need to build, but something that is already there, currently hidden by the weight of modern society.

    2. "Going Home"

    He repeatedly refers to entering a woodland or a wild space as "going home." This reframes nature from a "leisure destination" or a "resource" into a place of biological and spiritual belonging. It suggests that our bodies recognise the forest as their original, rightful habitat, triggering an immediate shift in chemistry and comfort.

    3. The "Two-Way Street" of Reciprocity

    Instead of the traditional "custodian" or "owner" model of conservation, Mike uses the metaphor of a "two-way street." This shifts the relationship from a one-sided human management of the land to a "proper relationship" where humans and nature nourish one another equally.

    4. The "Internal Landscape"

    When discussing his poetry, Mike speaks of the "internal landscape" being just as important as the external one. This metaphor suggests that our minds and emotions have their own topography - forests, rivers, and weather systems - that can be mapped and understood through the lens of the natural world.

    5. Nature as a "Beating Heart"

    While describing his time in a small cabin during a stressful period of family illness, he calls the cabin the "beating heart of this woodland." This metaphor transforms a simple structure into a living, rhythmic center of healing and observation, emphasising that even in the midst of human grief, we can find a pulse of life to sync with.

    6. "Waves" of Influence

    Mike acknowledges that while an individual can only influence themselves, he believes we "start waves out" from that center. This uses a water metaphor to describe how personal mindfulness and a "natural state of being" can ripple outward to influence politicians, communities, and the planet at large.

    7. Humans as "Gatherers of Experience"

    He suggests that humans have evolved to be "un-gatherers" (specifically gatherers of experience and samples of the world). He notes that we have "all the gear" for this, metaphorically describing our senses and biology as a specialised kit designed for deep engagement with the earth.

  • Check out Mike’s website here.