Everyday Mindfulness

I've already posted a few times on this forum but thought I'd introduce myself properly

My name is Phil, but most of my friends call me Bils and I am 46yrs old. I live in Swansea, Wales with my wife and have a 16yr old daughter from a previous relationship. My wife is an artist, Katie Allen, and I am currently working part time as her assistant. I came to mindfulness meditation 4 months ago as a part of my recovery from CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) which I have had for 4 years. The recovery program I am using is the 'Gupta Amygdala Retraining Program' and I'd recommend it to anyone who is suffering from CFS/ME.

Although I am relatively new to mindfulness I have a long background in practices that I like to call Internal Arts, so the concepts were relatively easy for me to grasp. I started with Transendental meditation in '93 which I learned while traveling in India. After returning to the UK I started learning Yang style Taijiquan and then Daoyin Yangsheng Gong with Chanquanshu school of Daoist Arts. The principle instructor for this school is Gordon Falkner in Inverness Scotland. About 8 yrs ago I started practicing Chen Hsin which is very much focused on relationship skills in a martial context and is a lot of fun to practice. A few years ago Gordon introduced me to Wudang style Taijiquan and I took to it immediately and am now practicing this style exclusively. I am also a very keen mountain biker and I must say that this was my main training priority at this time.

About 4 yrs ago I developed CFS which ultimately led me to lose my job as a primary school teacher. I continued to practice Daoyin and Taiji and I think this helped with the symptoms (I never had any problems with pain). My condition went through lots of ups and downs but the general trend was down, I had almost given up on the possibility of regaining full health again and had resigned myself to simply managing my condition. That has all changed now however as I have learned, through the Gupta Program, how to cure myself by retraining my mind. I am currently at about 80% health and am sure I will be up to around 100% by the end of the year.

A couple of weeks ago I attended a silent meditation retreat at Gaia House with Martin Aylward. This was a big eye opener for me, I was sceptical at first but by the 3rd day I was totally committed and can't wait to go on another retreat to deepen my understanding. Meditation is now my primary practice with 2 x 45min sittings (more if I can fit it in) but I know how important it is to move the body and I still practice Taijiquan and Daoyin daily. I soon hope to get back out on my bike and start working full time.

Hi Phil,
A warm welcome to the site.
Always happy to welcome a fellow Welshman (unless you moved there). Both me and Bio are dyed-in-the-wool Taffs.
I like your wife's art a lot, particularly the In The Moment triptych.
All best, Jon

Hi Phil(Bils),

Great to make your aqcuaintance. I love your story. Fancy adding a pragraph or two (about how mindfulness helps you specifically) and I'll publish it as an EM blog.

Thanks both,

Jon I've lived in Wales since I was 3 so technically I'm an immigrant but I regard myself as Welsh. Thanks for your kind comments I'll pass them on to Katie

I'll do that at some point Gareth for sure

Hi Bils
Lovely to meet you and welcome to our community. Thanks for sharing your story. I keep finding myself drawn to the idea of going on a retreat. I attended a Mindfulness taster day at the local Buddhist centre last year and enjoyed the experience greatly. The reason I haven't got any further with researching retreats is I am not sure exactly what I would be expecting the experience to provide i.e. would I be more drawn to an instructional retreat with lead sessions and teaching or a silent one. It is something I continue to ponder

Like Fee I'm mulling over the possibility of going on retreat.
My former teacher is heading a Mindfulness In Nature day next month so I've signed up for that. It involves a walk on the Downs, some poetry reading and Lord knows what else. I'll be sure to report back...

FeeHutch wrote:Hi Bils
Lovely to meet you and welcome to our community. Thanks for sharing your story. I keep finding myself drawn to the idea of going on a retreat. I attended a Mindfulness taster day at the local Buddhist centre last year and enjoyed the experience greatly. The reason I haven't got any further with researching retreats is I am not sure exactly what I would be expecting the experience to provide i.e. would I be more drawn to an instructional retreat with lead sessions and teaching or a silent one. It is something I continue to ponder

As I see it the advantage of a silent retreat is that it enables you to really slow down and build awareness of the practice in a completely uninterrupted way. The cumalitive effect is, as I found it at least, is that you are able to enter a much deeper state of meditation than would otherwise be possible. The retreat I went on included teachings and guided meditations and I did feel very supported throughout. The silence wasn't total either as there were opportunities to speak to the teacher on a one to one basis and also opportunities to ask questions in an open session at the end of one of the meditation sessions each day. hope that helps your pondering

Yes that does thank you

Hi Bils,

We have many things in common it seems. Nice to meet you.

Bio.

Hello Bils42, and everyone.

I am Sarah, and although I've heard of mindfulness before, including when my husband's GP recommended it to him, I am only just starting to venture into practicing it following my employer circulating some information (about time too), including a link to this website.

I am very encouraged by your story, Bils42, as I suffer with an underactive thyroid which means I'm tired all the time, my husband has depression & anxiety and my brother has CFS. I'm therefore going to be sharing this site with all of them, and everyone else I can think of who might appreciate it.

Thanks to Gareth, all the moderators & everyone else involved with the site