MESP 2016, Brochures, Poster, Flyers
MESP 2016 Main Events, Registration Forms
Event: An Evening with Prof Paul Rogers.
Title: Irregular War - What will be the long-term impact of Islamic State?
Chair: Dr. Andrew Neal is Co-Director of the Centre for Security Research (CeSeR) at the University of Edinburgh and Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations. He is currently writing a book on the relationship between politics and security.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Thursday 11 February 2016.
Time: Registration: 6.30pm-7pm. Event: 7pm-9pm.
Event Description: Islamic State is seen as a singularly dangerous and violent movement, one that is an extreme and deeply version of one of the three great "Religions of the Book" and which is very much rooted in the present-day Middle East.
But what if its real significance is as a marker for the kinds of revolts that might become far more common in the face of transnational neoliberal economic failure and environmental constraints?
If that is the case, then the response to Islamic State has to be radically different to current approaches and may even need to move us on to a serious rethinking about the nature of international security.
Paul Rogers is Oxford Research Group's (ORG) Global Security Consultant. He has worked in the field of international security, arms control and political violence for over 30 years.
Paul is Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford. He lectures at universities and defence colleges in several countries and has written or edited 26 books, including 'Losing Control: Global Security in the 21st Century' (Pluto Press, 3rd edition, 2010) and 'Why We're Losing the War on Terror' (Polity, 2008). He writes Monthly Briefings analysing the international security situation for the ORG website, and since October 2001, has written a series of influential ORG Reports on international security, including 'Global Security After the War on Terror' (November 2009) and 'Military Action Against Iran: Impact and Effects' (July 2010). Paul is also a regular commentator on global security issues in both the national and international media, and is openDemocracy’s International Security Editor.
The event is co-sponsored by the Centre for Security Research (CeSeR) at the University of Edinburgh.
Cost: £8/£6 (Concessions). (Students can attend for free).
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: Karen Small (An Introduction to the Nia Technique); Barbara Wesolowska (My movement - the way to My-self: Dance Movement Psychotherapy); Sarena Wolfaard (5Rhythms®); and Linda Wyman (An Introduction to the Alexander Technique).
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 27 February 2016.
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: 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.
1pm-2pm: Lunch Break
2pm-3.20pm: Karen Small: 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.
Based in Fife, Karen Small is a Certified Nia Brown Belt Teacher - passionate about sharing and teaching Nia since 2009. Open hearted and warm, Karen offers a relaxed space in which to be yourself - and to connect with others - while guiding you through a fun and pleasurable class experience. Karen co-founded Nia Scotland and for the past five years has supported new teachers on their Nia journey producing international trainings and events in Scotland. For more information see www.islandmoves.co.uk
3.20pm-3.40pm: Tea/Coffee Break
3.40pm-5pm: Sarena Wolfaard: 5Rhythms®
The 5Rhythms® is a dance meditation. It allows you to find your own dance. To find your dance is to find yourself at your most fluid and creative level. While the practice itself is the essence of simplicity, it has the power to catalyse deep healing and creative expression. We dance through the five energies flow, staccato, chaos, lyrical and stillness. These support us to dance freely, exploring how we connect with our body, and allowing us to be with our feelings and emotions. The primary teaching of this work is: if you put the psyche in motion, it will heal itself.
Sarena Wolfaard is a 5Rhythms Teacher accredited by Gabrielle Roth (founder of the 5Rhythms®). She offers 5Rhythms classes in Edinburgh and Fife. Sarena has been practicing 5Rhythms® dance since 2000 and has been teaching since 2004. She is an Open Floor apprentice and teaching classes as part of her training to become an Open Floor teacher. She is studying Process Oriented Psychotherapy and seeing clients for therapy and one to one sessions, incorporating elements from 5Rhythms and Open Floor. She is a Publisher and co-founder of Handspring Publishing, where she works with researchers and prominent teachers in the fields of manual therapy, bodywork and movement. She reads and studies widely in the area of movement and psychotherapy. Sarena teaches from an understanding of the physiology and biomechanics of the body, as well as from a deep personal experience of proprioception, interoception, movement and the psyche. Her approach in classes is to allow space for what needs to emerge through movement, encouraging freedom and the unexpected into the dance.
Cost: £30/£25 (Concessions)/£10 (Students).
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:
a story-sharing event with Michael Williams and the Playback Edinburgh Theatre Company.
Facilitators: Dr Michael Williams and Edinburgh Playback Theatre Company.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 28 February 2016.
Time: Registration: 3pm-3.30pm. Afternoon Workshop: 3.30pm-6pm.
Event Description: 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. Simply bring an open mind, heart, and ears 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 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-facilitated 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: £10/£8 (Concessions)/£3 (Students).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Evening Workshop: Making Sense, Letting Go and Moving On: Coming to terms with life's larger challenges - bereavement - illness - break up of an important relationship - redundancy - etc.
Facilitator: Dr Martin Williams, BA (Hons) PGCE, Dip, Counselling and Psychotherapy, M.Ed. (Humanistic Psychology and Human Relations, PhD).
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 28 February 2016.
Time: Registration: 6pm-6.30pm. Evening Workshop: 6.30pm-9.30pm.
Event Description: This evening workshop is aimed at people who have recently met one of life's larger challenges - bereavement - illness - break up of an important relationship - redundancy - etc. During the workshop participants will be given an opportunity in pairs or in small groups to take stock - make sense of the challenge and its impact - look at the learning from their lives so far - begin to focus on the challenge as an opportunity as opposed to a knock down and begin to plan the next steps in their healing and transformation. The focus will be on finding a new paradigm based on detachment and letting go of ego. The first part will be spent on the challenge - grieving - acceptance and making new sense of it. The second part on learning from life so far and the third on beginning to make plans for the next stage – healing, transformation and moving on.
Dr Martin Williams, BA (Hons) PGCE, Dip, Counselling and Psychotherapy, M.Ed. (Humanistic Psychology and Human Relations, PhD) is a professionally trained counsellor/psychotherapist with over 30 years experience of working with individuals, couples, children and young people, parents and families and organisations. Martin is a humanistic psychologist who has worked in schools, day centres, hospitals, healing centers and care homes all over UK and abroad. He has re-defined ‘person-centred’ as honouring and respecting the inner wisdom and wishes of his many and varied clients and working ethically and professionally in whatever ways his clients can best be helped.
Cost: £10/£8 (Concessions)/£3 (Students).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Day Workshop: Re-storying Our Relationship to the Natural World.
Facilitator: Alette Willis.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 5 March 2016.
Time: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Day Workshop: 10am-4pm.
Event Description: The world needs us to live by new stories, stories of connection and relationship, enoughness and reverence for all life, stories that can lead us to the more beautiful future we all know is possible. However, untangling ourselves from the stories of consumption and individualism that dominate Western societies is challenging. In this hands-on workshop, storyteller, author and educator, Alette Willis PhD, shares creative techniques that help us to separate ourselves from old destructive stories and support us in creating and telling new stories about ourselves and the communities we are a part of. These techniques build on her work with narrative therapy and nature memoirs, her creative writing background and her use of creative mythology as an oral storyteller. Themes explored will include the richness of traditional tales, world mythologies and spiritual traditions in inspiring and supporting this Great Re-storying; using the gifts of the Theatre of our Imagination to give life to the stories we want to tell; and the power of listening to the stories around us, including those from the natural world, in creating a shared vision of a better world.
Alette Willis, PhD is the author of the children's novel, "How to Make a Golem (and Terrify People)", Floris Books, 2011. She is a lecturer in Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Edinburgh and a Directory Storyteller with the Scottish Storytelling Centre. www.restoryingtheearth.com
Cost: £25/£20 (Concessions)/£8 (Students).
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 Dance of Ariadne and Theseus: An Evening with the Labyrinth.
Facilitator: Theo Dijkman.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 5 March 2016.
Time: Registration: 4.30pm-5pm. Evening Workshop: 5pm-9pm.
Event Description: Labyrinths are ancient patterns found in many cultures around the world. They are often located in places of pilgrimage and spiritual importance. Labyrinths can be used as a way to still the mind and recover balance in life. Walking the labyrinth can offer a moment of peace and calm in a stressful world.
In the Greek myth Theseus wound his way through the labyrinth with the help of Ariadne’s guidance. During this event we will consider the labyrinth as a metaphor for our journey through life. The evening includes the story of Ariadne and Theseus, an exploration of the labyrinth through the ages, as well as walking an actual labyrinth.
Theo Dijkman is a UKCP registered psychotherapist, supervisor, trainer and Veriditas certified labyrinth facilitator. He is part of the faculty of the Institute of Psychosynthesis in London where he delivers training on their MA Psychotherapy programme.
Cost: £15/£12 (Concessions)/£5 (Students).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Afternoon and Evening Workshop: A Sufi Perspective on Healing - Ourselves, Others and the Planet.
Facilitator: Fateah Alice Saunders.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 6 March 2016.
Time: Registration: 3pm-3.30pm. Afternoon and Evening Workshop: 3.30pm-9.30pm.
Event Description: This is the third in the series of one-day “Sufi Perspectives” workshops.
Apart from our words, there are so many ways in which we can give support to other people – an empathic glance, the touch of our hand, bringing ourselves into rapport with the other person through our breath, and the kind of listening called by Sufis simple presence.
During this workshop we will work experientially in various ways, maybe in small groups, bringing healing to ourselves and developing our understanding of the healing we can transmit to others and to the environment.
Sacred words and chants of the Dances of Universal Peace will be part of this process – also other Sufi practices involving breath, walking meditations and sitting in silent meditation. Readings from various Sufi mystics will be included.
The Healing Ritual, as given to his followers by Sufi mystic Hazrat Inayat Khan, may also be included. This is for sending healing to people not present in the workshop, who have requested it.
Fateah Alice Saunders has been following a Ruhaniat Sufi path for over 20 years and previously trained for several years in psychotherapy, counseling skills and healing. She is recognized as a Healing Conductor in the Dervish Healing Order. Having trained for many years with several senior Ruhaniat teachers in the UK and US, Fateah leads Sufi sessions and Dances of Universal Peace in Edinburgh, further afield in Scotland such as the Orkney Islands, and has done outreach work overseas in Japan, Germany, Czech Republic and Latvia.
Cost: £25/£20 (Concessions)/£8 (Students).
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 12 March 2016.
Time: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Day Workshop: 10am-4pm.
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)/£8 (Students).
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 12 March 2016.
Time: Registration: 6pm-6.30pm. Kirtan: 6.30pm-9.30pm.
Event Description: Vegan food will be served.
Cost: £7/£5 (Concessions)/£3 (Students).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: 12th Annual Mindful Peace Walk.
Organisers: Jointly organised by the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace, EICSP, Scottish Charity, SC038996, and the Edinburgh Sangha of the Community of Interbeing.
Venue: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5NZ.
Date: Sunday 13 March 2016.
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. Please note that no animals except Registered Assistance Dogs are permitted within the Garden.
‘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: Afternoon and Evening 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 13 March 2016.
Time: Registration: 3pm-3.30pm. Afternoon and Evening Workshop: 3.30pm-8.30pm.
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 Emerging Church Projects and is an ordained minister in the Church of Scotland and Sarah Bonner-Morgan works with 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)/£8 (Students).
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: Thursday 17 March 2016.
Time: Registration: 5.30pm-6pm. Evening Workshop: 6pm-9pm.
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: £12/£10 (Concessions)/£4 (Students).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Day Workshop: Desert Fathers and Mothers.
Facilitator: The Very Revd Archpriest Andrew Louth FBA, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 19 March 2016.
Time: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Day Workshop: 10am-5pm.
Event Description: The fourth century, after the end of persecution and the peace of the Church, saw an enormous explosion of what we now call monasticism. Christians, of all backgrounds, sought to follow Christ by devoting themselves to a live of prayer, either as solitaries or in communities. The most famous place to draw these ascetics was the Egyptian Desert, though there were many other places that attracted early monastic settlements: the Judaean Desert, the Syrian steppe, and only a little later the islands off the coast of France, both in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic. In this workshop, we shall look at the emergence of what came to be called monasticism, the collections of sayings of the Fathers (and a few Mothers) of the Egyptian Desert, and one or two prominent individuals, such as Evagrios, sometimes called the ‘philosopher of the desert’.
Andrew Louth is Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, University of Durham, and was Visiting Professor of Eastern Orthodox Theology at the Amsterdam Centre of Eastern Orthodox Theology (ACEOT), Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, 2010–14. He is also a priest of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh (Moscow Patriarchate), serving the parish in Durham. His most recent book are Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology and Modern Orthodox Thinkers: from the Philokalia to the Present (SPCK, 2013, 2015).
10am: Introductory lecture about the Desert Fathers and Mothers, who they were and something about their influence over the centuries.
11am-11.30am: break
11.30am: The teaching of the early Desert Fathers.
12.30pm–2pm: Lunch break
2pm: St Mary of Egypt
3pm–3.30pm: break
3.30pm–4.30pm: Fr Matta el Meskin, a modern Egyptian Desert Father
4.30: Conclusion
Cost: £30/£25 (Concessions)/£10 (Students).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Evening Workshop: What Kind of God, What Kind of Healing?
Facilitator: Jim Pym.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 19 March 2016.
Time: Registration: 5.30pm-6pm. Evening Workshop: 6pm-9.30pm.
Event Description: Almost all of those involved in spiritual healing agree that it comes from a Source which is beyond our minds' ability to conceive. This is known by an almost infinite number of names, such as God, Spirit, Buddha or the Christ and yet It is essentially ONE. It is contacted through the spirit or soul or self of the practitioner.
Using talks, readings, meditation and dialogue we will explore what we can know and accept what we cannot, based on Jim's booklet, "What Kind of God, What Kind of Healing".
Jim has been a spiritual healer for more than 50 years, and regularly leads retreats and workshops on spiritual healing and meditation.
Cost: £12/£10 (Concessions)/£4 (Students).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Afternoon Workshop: The Art of Storytelling: sharing stories for peace and wellbeing.
Facilitator: Dr Michael Williams.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 20 March 2016.
Time: Registration: 3pm-3.30pm. Afternoon Workshop: 3.30pm-6pm.
Event Description: Stories make us human and we are all natural storytellers; yet many of us have lost our connection and confidence to engage in the ancient art of storytelling. This workshop invites you to re-engage with the art of storytelling and experience the peace and well-being which sharing stories with others can bring.
Join storyteller and StoryCoach Michael Williams for an afternoon of storytelling. Listen to and learn some of the techniques used by professional storytellers and try them out for yourself. You’ll be delighted at what joy sharing stories can bring. Learn how to transform personal experiences into magical tales, while Michael coaches you to gain confidence and improve your communication skills in a safe and supportive space.
You don’t have to have any previous storytelling experience to benefit from this workshop. If you have some experience come and share it with others and improve your own skills while you’re at it. Come with an open mind, an open heart, open ears . . . and a sense of adventure and fun. You just might feel better for it.
This is Michael’s sixth appearance at the Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace. Michael’s 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’s also an accredited Child Care Worker, teacher, peace education facilitator, and StoryCoach who uses narrative therapeutically and as a transformative means for exploring leadership, artistic performance, professional and personal development. He has co-facilitated the Aberdeen Leadership Forum and is the host of the popular radio programme “The Teller and the Tale” on Blues and Roots Radio. His clients have included the Scottish Government, the National Library, the National Museum, Cigna Health, VisitScotland, Macmillan Cancer Support, Children 1st, Children in Scotland, and Action for M.E. Learn more about Michael’s work at www.michaelwilliamsstorycoaching.com.
Cost: £10/£8 (Concessions)/£3 (Students).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Evening Workshop: Eye Connection Soul Reflection.
Facilitator: Corinne Harris.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 20 March 2016.
Time: Registration: 6pm-6.30pm. Evening Workshop: 6.30pm-9pm.
Event Description: “The eyes are the mirror of the soul and reflect everything that seems to be hidden; and like a mirror, they also reflect the person looking into them.”
― Paulo Coelho, Manuscript Found in Accra
So often in this computerized age we ‘connect’ through text, internet messenger, mobile phone, Facetime, Skype … . This workshop offers a space to explore ourselves through the eyes, the mirrors of our beings, our hearts, our souls. Gently gazing truthfully and openly into the eyes of another has the potential to bring us closer to who we truly are and touching the essence of being ‘at one’.
As an actor/director, I have always believed in the transformative potential in theatre for both watcher and performer. I look forward to return this year with Eye Connection Soul Reflection. There will be space to share our experiences throughout this work. Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
Cost: £10/£8 (Concessions)/£3 (Students).
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.