Connect with other mothers
Nourish your mind and heart, become inspired!
Katharine Boddy, mother of four, philosopher, secondary school librarian, former primary school teacher, and a long-term meditator, invites you to join her for an online mothers group.
The group will look together at the key qualities of a mother from many angles. Through open dialogue, mothers will better understand the importance of their role for themselves, their family and their community, and also develop greater resilience to juggle the many demands of motherhood. The topics discussed will be presented as open questions and the aim will not be to necessarily answer those questions but to expand on them and reflect on them in our day to day life as a process of discovery and enquiry.
Week 1: Nourishment: ‘keeping body & soul together’
Week 2: Acceptance and appreciation
Week 3: Purpose and meaning
Week 4: Resilience
Week 5: Measure and Balance
A five week course on Thursday evenings, 8-9pm, commencing September 24th.
£5 members, £10 non-members.
Week 1 Welcome, Introductions and finding rest in a busy day.
Nourishment: ‘keeping body & soul together’
What do you find nourishing (in all senses of the word)? In what ways do you nourish yourself and/or others? In the week ahead notice what you find nourishing and what depletes you? Maybe focus a bit more on the nourishment for yourself and your family.
Consider your favourite poem, what does it give you? Who or what do you keep company with? Does it replenish or deplete you?
The power of the Pause or Stop - a mindfulness exercise that can be used any time or place. It helps to aid relaxation and to create a clear demarkation between a busy day and the start of the session. As part of this practice we would stretch a little, helping to ease any tension etc. This is something that can be used with the family as a regular practice or when life requires a little reset.
Week 2 Acceptance and appreciation
Read and consider this quote by Ram Dass:
“When you go out into the woods, and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, and some of them are whatever. And you look at the tree and you allow it. You see why it is the way it is. You sort of understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don’t get all emotional about it. You just allow it. You appreciate the tree.
The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying ‘You are too this, or I’m too this.’ That judgment mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are.”
How does this quate make you feel? In what ways do we or can we accept and appreciate ourselves and others? What is the difference between acceptance and comparing? Take time to appreciate yourself, others and even trees in the coming week.
Week 3 Purpose and meaning
What is our purpose in life? What makes you tick? What do you love? This is a huge question so maybe what is our purpose in life at the moment? How do we find direction and meaning? Not everyone has just one big purpose, this Ted talk nicely illustrates this.
“No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee. ”
Week 4 Resilience
Life can be very challenging, especially as a mother, how do you find the energy to keep going when you don’t think you can? Has motherhood changed your attitude to, or capacity for, resilience? What part does vulnerability play in resilience? How do we/can we share the challenges we meet? How do we help our children to be resilient? Consider this poem by John Donne.
Week 5 Measure and Balance
The eastern spiritual tradition holds that everything is affected by three main energies or ‘Gunas’ which can roughly be translated as serenity/stillness, movement/activity, and sleep/inactivity. How do we balance our lives and these energies? Our modern world and technology can challenge the natural rhythms of our bodies and activities. What do you do to find a healthy balance in your life? Is there anything you would like to change?
