As we make plans for our 2026 Annual Gathering, Claire Kelly – Director of Teaching and Training at Oxford Mindfulness – reflects on the Annual Gathering 2025 as an in-person expression of connection and community
From an anthropological standpoint, human connection and community are not optional extras; they are the very conditions under which human life evolved and continues to make sense. Long before we had Wi-Fi, breakout rooms, or calendar invites, we had circles, stories, shared meals, and the deep reassurance of not being alone.
The anthropologist Margaret Mead famously captured this when she said:
“Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
As I drove away at the end of the Oxford Mindfulness Gathering back in August 2025, this truth stayed with me. Months later, it still resonates: that palpable sense of how connection creates safety, wisdom, and an almost overpowering sense of hope and potential for change.
A community that extends far beyond the room
What struck me most at the Gathering was the sheer breadth of the community that came together. People travelled from all over the globe. Members of the Oxford Mindfulness core team – many of whom I usually only see in neat little rectangles on a screen – were suddenly three-dimensional. Some attendees had trained to teach mindfulness through Oxford Mindfulness, others had taken part in 8-week courses, some were connected through research projects or partnerships, others teach and train with Oxford Mindfulness, and many simply came because they wanted to be with like-minded people in a shared space of mindfulness-based practice and learning.
“The Gathering reaffirmed for me that connection is not a “nice-to-have” add-on to mindfulness work – it is the soil in which practice, learning, and transformation grow.”
Zoom boxes, bodies, and brain confusion
One of the unexpected delights (and challenges) was recognising people I’d previously only known from their Zoom “box”. Seeing a body below the neck turned out to be surprisingly disorientating. My brain struggled, scanning for familiar cues while silently asking: Is this really you? And are you taller than I imagined?
I’m now considering a practical solution for future gatherings: anyone coming up to say hello to me could wear a cardboard square with a cut-out over their head to make recognition easier. Either that, or I simply accept that embodied presence takes a little recalibration after years of online connection.
Break-time buzz and reunion energy
The breaks were alive with energy – animated discussions, spontaneous reunions, introductions that began with “Oh! You’re real!”, and that particular hum that only arises when people feel safe, engaged, and curious together.
There was something deeply moving about seeing familiar faces: people I’d taught, people for whom I’d been a teacher trainer, old friends, and new. One particularly joyful moment was discovering that a large group of trainees from a current cohort had all arrived without realising the others would be there too. The result? A genuine party atmosphere.
Practice, learning, and a lot of microphone sprinting
The Gathering was also rich in practice and learning. Being part of a day of practice led by Mark Williams and Antonia Sumbundu was a real privilege.
Across the days, learning with Mark Williams, Zindel Segal, and John Teasdale reminded me why this work continues to matter so deeply: rigorous, humane, alive to suffering, and rooted in possibility.
There were also moments of slightly less stillness, including me sprinting around the main room with a microphone alongside my friend and colleague Chris Cullen, determined to make sure that everyone who wanted to share an observation or ask a question had the chance to do so. ‘Mindfulness in motion’. Glad I brought my trainers!
A personal reflection
As Director of Teaching and Training at Oxford Mindfulness, gatherings like this touch me both professionally and personally. They remind me that while mindfulness may be taught through curricula, manuals, and assessments, it is sustained through relationship. Through community. Through the simple yet profound experience of coming together.
The Gathering reaffirmed for me that connection is not a “nice-to-have” add-on to mindfulness work – it is the soil in which practice, learning, and transformation grow.
And so, as the memory of August 2025 continues to warm me months on, I find myself holding a quiet gratitude for this community, and a hopeful anticipation of what we might create together next.
I’m very much hoping to see you there this year.
