Biography
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I spent most of my life living what most people would describe as a fairly normal life.
I married my wife Maggie at twenty-one and was blessed with four children. We moved around Great Britain as my career progressed in IT and we experienced the usual stresses of bringing up four children while I carved out a career in a busy and stressful workplace. During my nearly 30 years working in IT for various Financial and Technology companies I worked in an environment of constant restructuring and threat of redundancy every few years. |
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I had only a passing interest in religion and spirituality during this time. My parents brought be up as Catholic so I knew the story of Jesus reasonably well but had very little knowledge of other religions.
My life changed completely as I turned forty as I experienced a family crisis which led into a period of depression.
To help with the depression I was offered some CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). This was the first time I came across the concept of challenging my thoughts. During the depression my thoughts were always spiralling downwards, and the therapist advised me to ask myself “Is that thought true?”. Up to this point I had automatically believed my thoughts without question. This was the start of my recovery and even though the family crisis was still ongoing within six months I was back at work.
Then I had another health issue as I suffered a bad whiplash injury. I couldn’t sleep due to a tremendous pressure at the top of the head and woke up many times during the night in a distressed state for many weeks. I tried the usual medical and physiotherapy treatments which eased the pain but did not completely resolve the issue. After eighteen months I decided to try something different and went for Reiki and Acupuncture treatments.
During Reiki and Acupuncture I felt tremendous peace and a sense of energy flowing through my body. When I inquired what was happening afterwards I was advised I was probably entering a meditative state. I couldn’t quite believe I was in my forties and had never experienced this before. With my curiosity awakened, I searched the internet and discovered there was a wealth of information about meditation. Unfortunately, so much information left me feeling confused, leaving me unsure on how to proceed. I tried a few different methods of meditation, but I started to lose interest as I wasn't sure where to go with this practice as it felt it would be years before I would feel any real benefits. I only felt peaceful for brief periods during the meditations I tried and felt there was much more which left me feeling frustrated.
At this point I met a teacher who was running a meditation group locally. I started to meditate each day and followed her advice and guidance. I was surprised to find that even though I didn't know very much about meditation I enjoyed it immediately and quickly got more and more out of it in a short space of time. Meditation can be simple and it can benefit your life straight away. We may believe that we have to meditate for years to find peace, but this is simply not true. I found simply sitting down, closing my eyes and using a very simple method felt incredible peaceful. I also started to notice that I could meditate not just when I was seated but when I was moving around too. This became more clear when I was introduced to Qigong, where using a simple breathing technique and body movements I could feel peace in exactly the same way as I did when I sat down to meditate. Qigong really helped me realise that meditation was more of a way of being, rather than a state that I was trying to get to or achieve.
It changed my life in such a way that I became passionate about teaching meditation and Qigong myself. If I can discover meditation and feel the benefits so quickly and with so little previous knowledge of meditation, then so can anyone.
I continued my interest in meditation by reading books and watched YouTube clips from other teachers such as Adyashanti, Eckhart Tolle and Nisargadatta Maharaj. I later read eastern teachings such as the Dhammapada and The Bhagavad Gita.
I’ve also attended a five-day silent retreat with Adyashanti in August 2015. I have taught Qigong at Virtual Retreats 2020 and 2021. I also taught Qigong at a 5 day silent retreat at Aram Cara near Inverness in Scotland in 2021.
During 2022, I have continued practising meditation and Qigong and also continued to teach including a silent retreat at the Earth Spirit Centre near Glastonbury. This is alongside my regular Qigong and Meditation classes.
Meditation and Qigong have really helped me in so many ways, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I would recommend both practices to anyone who is looking for peace.
To help with the depression I was offered some CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). This was the first time I came across the concept of challenging my thoughts. During the depression my thoughts were always spiralling downwards, and the therapist advised me to ask myself “Is that thought true?”. Up to this point I had automatically believed my thoughts without question. This was the start of my recovery and even though the family crisis was still ongoing within six months I was back at work.
Then I had another health issue as I suffered a bad whiplash injury. I couldn’t sleep due to a tremendous pressure at the top of the head and woke up many times during the night in a distressed state for many weeks. I tried the usual medical and physiotherapy treatments which eased the pain but did not completely resolve the issue. After eighteen months I decided to try something different and went for Reiki and Acupuncture treatments.
During Reiki and Acupuncture I felt tremendous peace and a sense of energy flowing through my body. When I inquired what was happening afterwards I was advised I was probably entering a meditative state. I couldn’t quite believe I was in my forties and had never experienced this before. With my curiosity awakened, I searched the internet and discovered there was a wealth of information about meditation. Unfortunately, so much information left me feeling confused, leaving me unsure on how to proceed. I tried a few different methods of meditation, but I started to lose interest as I wasn't sure where to go with this practice as it felt it would be years before I would feel any real benefits. I only felt peaceful for brief periods during the meditations I tried and felt there was much more which left me feeling frustrated.
At this point I met a teacher who was running a meditation group locally. I started to meditate each day and followed her advice and guidance. I was surprised to find that even though I didn't know very much about meditation I enjoyed it immediately and quickly got more and more out of it in a short space of time. Meditation can be simple and it can benefit your life straight away. We may believe that we have to meditate for years to find peace, but this is simply not true. I found simply sitting down, closing my eyes and using a very simple method felt incredible peaceful. I also started to notice that I could meditate not just when I was seated but when I was moving around too. This became more clear when I was introduced to Qigong, where using a simple breathing technique and body movements I could feel peace in exactly the same way as I did when I sat down to meditate. Qigong really helped me realise that meditation was more of a way of being, rather than a state that I was trying to get to or achieve.
It changed my life in such a way that I became passionate about teaching meditation and Qigong myself. If I can discover meditation and feel the benefits so quickly and with so little previous knowledge of meditation, then so can anyone.
I continued my interest in meditation by reading books and watched YouTube clips from other teachers such as Adyashanti, Eckhart Tolle and Nisargadatta Maharaj. I later read eastern teachings such as the Dhammapada and The Bhagavad Gita.
I’ve also attended a five-day silent retreat with Adyashanti in August 2015. I have taught Qigong at Virtual Retreats 2020 and 2021. I also taught Qigong at a 5 day silent retreat at Aram Cara near Inverness in Scotland in 2021.
During 2022, I have continued practising meditation and Qigong and also continued to teach including a silent retreat at the Earth Spirit Centre near Glastonbury. This is alongside my regular Qigong and Meditation classes.
Meditation and Qigong have really helped me in so many ways, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I would recommend both practices to anyone who is looking for peace.
