This mindfulness course is based on the best-selling book “Finding Peace in a Frantic World” by Professor Mark Williams, our Founder, and Dr. Danny Penman.
If you’re completely new to mindfulness – or perhaps you’ve tried mindfulness apps or other forms of learning – and would like to try a structured course led by an experienced teacher, this course offers an engaging and practical introduction.
The 8 sessions (each 90 minutes) and home practice are slightly shorter than our 8-week Mindfulness for Life course so this course could be an option for you if you’re shorter on time, or you’re looking for a slightly less intensive refresher course.
The course grew out of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), but has been designed for adults in a wide range of contexts, including the general public, workplaces, university students, and school teachers.
It supports your development of mindfulness skills to improve your well-being and resilience to stress.
In this course, you’ll learn:
- How to ‘stabilise attention’: to recognise mind-wandering and ‘autopilot’, and how to bring the attention back to where we want it to be – with interest, patience, and care.
- Learning more about two different ways of being (through direct experience) and knowing: (through thinking).
- Understanding more about how the mind creates meaning.
- Learning to recognise our patterns of reactivity and how trying to get rid of distress may actually keep us stuck.
- Bringing a sense of care and kindness to ourselves in those moments of distress and reactivity.
- Using mindfulness to respond skilfully, in contrast to reacting – in ways that support the wellbeing of ourselves and of others around us.
- To ‘step back’ a little from our direct experience so that we can see it more clearly, and so choose a kinder response.
- Building what we have learnt into our everyday lives.
We also offer ‘Finding Peace in the Workplace’ for organisations. Contact us to find out more.
“The mindfulness course was really wonderful. It’s changed my attitude towards myself a lot and the regular practice has completely altered my relationship with my work. I feel a lot better about everything and a lot more able to manage things.”
Course participant
Finding Peace in a Frantic World
What to expect on this course
Taught over 8 weeks by a highly experienced mindfulness teacher, this is a group-based course (up to 16 people) covering a number of themes including:
- Waking up to the life you have
- Gathering the scattered mind
- Relating differently to thoughts and worries
- Practising kindness
- Exploring what nourishes us
Each session builds upon the skills and understanding developed in previous sessions so it’s important to attend all the sessions, if possible.
Each session includes guided and structured meditation practices and space for discussion about your experiences and any learnings. There will also be time to review the previous week’s home practice.
To support your learning, you’ll also be set practices to do between the sessions, including both recommended guided practices and also ways to cultivate new habits of mindfulness in everyday life.
You’ll have access to guided practices and written material.
Full course dates
Sessions for this course run on Mondays 12:00-13:30 UK Time on the following dates:
- Session 1: 11 November 2024
- Session 2: 18 November 2024
- Session 3: 25 November 2024
- Session 4: 02 December 2024
- Session 5: 09 December 2024
- Session 6: 16 December 2024
- Session 7: 23 December 2024
- Session 8: 30 December 2024
We also ask that you please reserve 06 January 2025 for the unlikely event that your teacher may need to reschedule a session.
What others have said about this course
“I’ve taken so much away from it both on a personal and professional level.”
“An exceptional programme!”
“This course had made such a difference for my (often very stressful) PhD life here at Oxford!”
“I learnt so much and have such a different perspective on my life and how I should live it now. I find joy in the little things and know I am prepared if things get tough.”
“It was inspirational. All I can say is thank you!”
“I was worried that the course would eat into the time for writing essays on that night of the week, but it let me focus on mindful choice about how to spend my time, which helped me write the essays!”
“This course is really useful for dealing with the cycle of stress and worries that students often experience.”
“Love it. It saved my sanity.”
What you can do after this course
Once you’ve completed this course, you might choose to explore mindfulness further through the 8-session Deeper Mindfulness course.
You might also want to join our live online meditations sessions to maintain your practice or one of our monthly day retreats (Day of Practice).
Please note: If you’re interested in training to teach mindfulness with Oxford Mindfulness, you must first attend an 8-week Mindfulness for Life course. The Finding Peace in a Frantic World course does not meet entry criteria for our teacher training programmes.
Entry criteria – who can apply for this course?
You can apply for this course if you:
- Can commit to attending all 8 sessions of the programme.
- Have both the time and motivation to dedicate up to 45 minutes of personal practice each day.
- Are over 18 years of age.
- Have access to suitable technology (laptop/PC), a strong and stable internet connection, a private space and the technical ability to join an online training programme via Zoom, with your camera on.
- Are able to speak and understand the English language (both spoken and written) to a level where you can fully take part in the course without the need for additional translation support.