MESP 2020, Information
MESP 2020, Brochures, Poster, Flyers
MESP 2020, Calendar
MESP 2020 Main Events, Registration Forms
Individual Events:
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Day Workshop: Rooting Ourselves Through Sound
Day Workshop: Exploring the Practices of The Realization Process
Afternoon and Evening Workshop: Health, Wellbeing, and Healing through Spiritual Dance and Movement
Day and Two Evenings Workshop: The Beatitudes in Aramaic
16th Annual Mindful Peace Walk
Afternoon Workshop: Bringing Stories to Life
Evening Workshop: Vedic Mantra Chanting and Kirtan
Day Workshop: The Spiritual Essence of the Enneagram
Afternoon and Evening Workshop: Biodanza and Community - Return to Innocence: Blessings of Life through Dance
Event: Day Workshop: Rooting Ourselves Through Sound.
Facilitator: Rolf Billes.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 7 March 2020.
Time: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Day Workshop: 10am-4.30pm.
Event Description: Living through times of rapid change in all areas of life requires us to adapt to new circumstances on a regular basis. The speed of change can often leave us feeling exhausted, wondering where we might find the energy to keep our life on track.
And yet, somewhere deep within us, there is a sense that life is here to be enjoyed and that beyond our striving to adapt to ever-changing circumstances there is a natural flow that carries us along and fills us with joy and contentment.
During this workshop, we will discover our body as a source of wisdom that can assist us in navigating through these turbulent times. With the help of short chants, body movement and sounding exercises based on the Naked Voice work pioneered by Chloe Goodchild, we will embark on the courageous journey of re-connecting with our own, unique voice that holds the key to unlocking an ancient wisdom in each one of us. At the same time, we will be introduced to simple exercises that can help us build the resilience required to face the challenges of life and to restore us to the joy that is our birthright.
Rolf Billes is a Naked Voice Facilitator and a Church of Scotland minister.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: £25/£20 (Concessions)/£10 (Students). For a Registration Form:
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Day Workshop: Exploring the Practices of The Realization Process.
Facilitator: Cindy Cunningham.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 14 March 2020.
Time: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Day Workshop: 10am-4.30pm.
Event Description: Exploring the Practices of The Realization Process
‘To love life, and in particular, to love other human beings is one of the central ideals of every spiritual tradition. It is also one of life’s greatest challenges. It requires the ability for true contact. And contact requires us to be authentic and deeply in touch with ourselves.’
Judith Blackstone, Realization Process founder, extract from The Intimate Life.
The Realization Process is a beautiful, elegant series of precise inward attunement practices, that help us uncover and experience ourselves as a very subtle consciousness, revealing a ground of being. This inner contact brings us towards a more embodied experience of non-duality and helps us to cultivate authenticity, openness, depth, and steadiness.
In this one day workshop, we will explore the main practices of the Realization Process, using sitting, standing and movement exercises to help us open to this experience of a fundamental, ground of consciousness pervading our whole body and environment as a unity. These subtle practices are all guided and there will be time for questions and inner exploration of our holding patterns. The practices require a willingness to refine your focus and make deep inward contact with yourself inside your body. All are welcome, suitable for beginners and experienced meditators.
There will be chairs for the seated practices, or you can be on the floor if you’d prefer. Do bring along anything that would support you and make you feel more physically comfortable.
Cindy Cunningham is a bodyworker here in Edinburgh. She has run her own practice for the past 30 years. Since 2011 she has been studying the Realization Process. She is a fully certified Realization Process Teacher and Practitioner offering individual sessions, classes, and workshops in this approach. She is a Senior Teacher in this method, a Realization Process Trauma Repair Therapist and Stillness Moving Teacher.
For more information about Judith Blackstone and this approach go to www.realizationprocess.org
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: £25/£20 (Concessions)/£10 (Students). For a Registration Form:
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: Health, Wellbeing, and Healing through Spiritual Dance and Movement.
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
Facilitators: Gillian Allan and Anne Le Gal (Feldenkrais Method); Aileen Reid (Open Floor Movement); Bronwyn Tutty and Sarah Madigan (An introduction to Nia workshop with Freerwithnia).
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 15 March 2020.
Time: Registration: 3pm-3.30pm.
Afternoon and Evening Workshop: 3.30pm-8.40pm.
Event Description:
3.30pm-5pm: Gillian Allan and Anne Le Gal: Feldenkrais Method.
The Feldenkrais Method was developed by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais – scientist, physicist, engineer and martial artist, who synthesized insights from physics, motor development, bio-mechanics, psychology, neurology, and martial arts.
The method offers a process of learning through movement, sensing, thinking and imagining to free us from habitual patterns and allow new possibilities to emerge. Through this work, we can improve mobility and increase energy and enjoyment in our activities.
The method has two strands: Group lessons called Awareness Through Movement and Functional Integration which are one-to-one lessons. The lessons consist of verbally directed movement sequences, which are comfortable and easy and which gradually evolve into movements of greater range and complexity. Through the learning process, you will be able to find new ways of moving while increasing sensitivity and improving efficiency.
This workshop will offer an introduction to the method and a practical experience of Awareness Through Movement. The focus will be on learning through curiosity and friendliness towards ourselves as we explore the elements of moving, thinking, sensing, imagining in the process of discovering easier movement.
In this session, we will explore the relationship of easy posture to vocalizing.
Please bring enough layers of warm clothes and a blanket/mat to lie on.
Gillian discovered the Feldenkrais Method after suffering for nearly a decade with chronic back pain which restricted her movement. After beginning to experiment with Awareness Through Movement lessons she was surprised to find how much more easily and painlessly she could move through life. Her current interests lie in exploring the impact of the method on the movements of voice and breath to enable us to find a more satisfying and authentic way of vocalizing.
Her focus in both group and individual lessons is to facilitate the process of learning how to let go of unnecessary tension in a way that promotes curiosity, creativity and self-confidence. www.feldenkraisinedinburgh.co.uk
Anne Le Gal discovered the Feldenkrais Method by chance during a Feldenkrais holiday in the Sahara desert and immediately fell in love with the unique way the method supported her to explore her own unique way of moving. Now in the 4thand last year of the Feldenkrais training, she continues to be fascinated by how the method can create a deeper connection to all the dimensions of our self while learning to approach movement in a more fluid and coordinated way.
5pm-5.20pm: Tea/Coffee Break.
5.20pm-6.50pm: Bronwyn Tutty and Sarah Madigan: An Introduction to Nia Workshop with Freerwithnia.
Come and join us for this 1.5 hour session to learn more about Nia, to learn some moves and to dance dance dance - some relaxation at the end will leave you feeling calm yet energized!
Nia is a glorious barefoot dance class - it's a fusion of dance, healing and martial arts. The focus is on the JOY of movement and requires zero dance experience. It is suitable for all fitness levels and no upper age limit (18+). The music is glorious and the process is one of fun and healing.
We're Bronwyn Tutty and Sarah Madigan and we completed our Nia White Belt training in 2018 and have been spreading our infectious love of Nia by co-teaching through Freerwithnia in Edinburgh and Cupar ever since. We both find that Nia enables us to bring more balance into our busy and full lives and sharing this wonderful practice feels like a privilege!
6.50pm-7.10pm: Tea/Coffee Break.
7.10pm-8.40pm: Aileen Reid: Open Floor Movement.
Open Floor is an awareness practice in which you can expect to tune into your body, being just as you are and revelling in the sheer pleasure of a good dance. We practice moving with what is within us, remaining present in the moment to moment of our movement.
Since the beginning of time human beings have gathered to dance. We dance for our past, dance for today and dance for our future.
Aileen is an Open Floor Teacher in Training: Alongside leading Open Floor she leads movement with older people in care homes and day centres across Midlothian. Another string to her bow is cooking delicious food for retreats and various lovely people doing lovely things. She lives in Portobello and walks the land beside the water.
“Open Floor puts me in touch with the depth of what is within me, lets me fully realize and experience the colour and texture, ebb and flow of what it is to be human going along this journey of living.“
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: £25/£20 (Concessions)/£10 (Students). For a Registration Form:
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Day and Two Evenings Workshop: The Beatitudes in Aramaic – Taking a fresh look at Jesus’ words we will travel deeply, through chant and very simple devotional dance, into the sounds and vibrations of the original Aramaic language.
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
Facilitators: Sarah Bonner-Morgan and Jenny Williams.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Dates: Friday 20 March and Saturday 21 March 2020.
Time: Registration: Friday Evening: 5.30pm-6pm.
Saturday Day: 9.30am-10am. Saturday Evening: 4.15pm-4.45pm.
Event: Friday Evening: 6pm-8.45pm.
Saturday Day: 10am-4pm. Saturday Evening: 4.45pm-7.30pm.
Event Description: Come for all or part of this journey to experience the essence of these Blessings; the life force that continues to bring healing.
We will connect with the powerful ‘Blessed are’ statements of Yeshua (Jesus) from the Sermon on the Mount. Combining the sounds of the original words as they were first spoken, with the refreshing and expanded translations from Neil Douglas-Klotz (abwoon.org) many are finding their hearts and minds opening up anew to this ancient and relevant teaching. There will be spaces for silence and reflection.
Over Friday evening and Saturday all ten Beatitudes will be taught and ‘tasted’.
If this work is completely new to you, please start with the first three Beatitudes on Friday evening - otherwise follow your heart and come when you can.
Jenny Williams is a Church of Scotland minister currently working in Drylaw Parish Church in Edinburgh. “I have been involved with this Aramaic work for over 20 years and have found it inspiring; supporting my faith, and discovering new ways of expressing ancient truths. It links with my interest in healing, neuroscience and my childhood passion for dance.”
Sarah Bonner-Morgan teaches the Alexander Technique in Edinburgh.
“I found my way to the Sufi path via a love of poetry, dance and music and deepened my connection to the Aramaic work of Neil Douglas-Klotz through his visionary Inter-Spiritual Leadership Training (AILP) which I completed in 2013.”
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: Friday Evening £10/£8 (Concessions)/£3 (Students).
Saturday Day: £25/£20 (Concessions)/£10 (Students).
Saturday Evening: £10/£8 (Concessions)/£3 (Students)
Attend All: £40/£32 (Concessions)/£12 (Students). For a Registration Form:
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: 16th Annual Mindful Peace Walk.
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
Organizers: Jointly organized 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 22 March 2020.
Time: 10am for 10.15am-11.15am meet at West Gate entrance to the John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place.
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 a 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 Workshop: Bringing Stories to Life.
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
Facilitator: Edinburgh Playback Theatre.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 22 March 2020.
Time: Registration: 3.30pm-4pm. Afternoon Workshop: 4pm-5.30pm.
Event Description: Join Playback Edinburgh for a unique opportunity to be part of an interactive performance where we'll share stories and see them brought to life using improvisation, movement, voice, and music. It's a theatre with no script which we'll create together.
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: £6/£4 (Concessions)/£1 (Students). For a Registration Form:
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Evening Workshop: Vedic Mantra Chanting and Kirtan.
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
Facilitator: Jeffrey Levin.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 22 March 2020.
Time: Registration: 6pm-6.30pm. Evening Workshop: 6.30pm-8.30pm.
Event Description: This evening will combine mantra chanting with kirtan. We will start with a short meditation and will then chant some simple mantras. The main focus of the evening will then be kirtan accompanied by a harmonium. There will also be an opportunity to lead a chant.
Kirtan comes from the devotional path in Indian culture and is an expression of love for the divine through singing and chanting. Kirtans use simple melodies that involve the repetition of the various names of the divine. This is a simple and powerful way to connect to the divine through the vibrations that arise when we sing with love and devotion. Kirtan opens our hearts and invokes the sweetness of love and devotion for the divine and also awakens the divine power within us. I look forward to an evening where we raise our vibrations and open our hearts through singing and chanting.
Jeffrey Levin: I have been on the spiritual path for a number of years and been inspired by devotional practices as well as the path of knowledge and self-inquiry. I have lead bhajans, kirtans and Vedic chanting in groups, workshops and with friends. I have spent time in India where I lived in various Ashrams. I learned to chant the Vedas while in India and have developed a love the Vedic tradition and its message which is for us to realize and manifest our innate divinity. I enjoy exploring both eastern and western approaches to spirituality.
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: £6/£4 (Concessions)/£1 (Students). For a Registration Form:
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.
Event: Day Workshop: The Spiritual Essence of the Enneagram.
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
Facilitator: Ken Webb.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Saturday 28 March 2020.
Time: Registration: 9.30am-10am. Day Workshop: 10am-5pm.
Event Description: The Enneagram, meaning Diagram of Nine, is a sophisticated map of the human personality designed to foster spiritual growth and personal transformation. Rooted in ancient Middle Eastern spirituality, it has evolved through all three Abrahamic faiths before being integrated with the insights of modern psychology. Rather than putting people in boxes, as most personality typing tools do, the purpose of the Enneagram is to get people out of the box into which they have, unconsciously, put themselves. It is all about making the journey from Ego to Essence, from Shadow to True Self.
Rather than starting with personality, as most Enneagram workshops do, we will start by gaining an insight into the symbolic meaning of the Enneagram. We will then be introduced to a Trinity of Essence Qualities that form the basic structure of our true humanity when in touch with our Divine Essence. As there are three variations of each, we then have nine ‘faces’ of the divine in human beings. From there we will see how we lose touch with essence and how, by trying to recover that which we have lost, an Ego personality is formed. We will incorporate some reflective work and spiritual practices that will help us to become more fully present and that will help us reconnect with Essence.
It will not be possible for participants to know with certainty what type they are from attending this event. And it is rarely the case that anyone is just one type. Rather, the event will focus on the fact that underneath the personality or Ego type is the gold of a divine essence which is our gift to the world. The purpose of the Enneagram is to help a person grow, not only into the fully awake manifestation of their own essence but also to grow towards the strengths of all the other eight types.
Born in China and brought up in Burma, Ken Webb graduated from St Bartholomew’s Hospital, University of London to practice medicine first in the UK and then, for many years, in Thailand. He went on to study theology at Trinity College Bristol, graduating in 1992, and was ordained into Anglican ministry after a further year of postgraduate study. He served a curacy in Cheltenham before returning to Thailand to start up a new bilingual international congregation at the invitation of the bishop of Singapore. Returning to Scotland in 2001 he was licensed as rector of Christ Church Duns in 2002. He spent the last five years before retiring in 2017 overseeing the training of those preparing for authorized ministry in the diocese of Edinburgh. Ken was introduced to the Enneagram in 1995 and began to delve more deeply into it in 2014, undertaking a number of courses put on by the Shift Network and Enneagram Institute.
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: £25/£20 (Concessions)/£10 (Students). For a Registration Form:
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: Biodanza and Community - Return to Innocence: Blessings of Life through Dance.
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
Facilitator: Claire Lewis.
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL.
Date: Sunday 29 March 2020.
Time: Registration: 3.30pm-4pm. Afternoon and Evening Workshop Workshop: 4pm-7.45pm.
Event Description: In these dances, we will rediscover our dances of union – movements, gestures, animations that unite in us the relationships we have within ourselves, with each other and with the world around us.
When we meet in the dance we generate a connection that unites us with celestial movement.
Biodanza is a system of dance movement founded and developed in Chile by Rolando Toro Araneda
Bio means life, danza is movement with meaning, context, significance
Its focus is on the central principles of life – from biology and the sciences, through community and anthropology to consciousness and cosmology – everything is alive and everything is dancing.
Postponed due to the Coronavirus.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: £10£8 (Concessions)/£3 (Students). For a Registration Form:
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0131 331 4469.