Scarborough Weekend: The Three Marks
7-8 December 2024
Shifting the way we experience everything. For the better.
According to Buddhist teaching, most of our suffering comes from a fatal misapprehension about the nature of things. And this weekend course in Scarborough aims to clear things up!
Usually we believe that things are solid, singular and independent. And we believe that about our selves: "I am this way and will always be this way", "I don't need anyone", "I am a rock, I am an island".
A great deal of our culture, schooling and upbringing compounds this view of an isolated, fixed and self-reliant existence. And what a drab and miserable experience that ends up being!
Buddhist practitioners, by looking deeply into the nature of things, saw that the complete opposite is actually the case We are multiple, changing and interdependent.
Join us in Scarborough for a two day course where we will:
explore the 'marks of suffering' that keep us feeling lonely, selfish and bored.
dive into the Buddhist teachings on impermanence, multiplicity and interdepenence
learn meditation techniques that re-wire our perceptions of ourselves
lay the foundations for a much more connected, loving and spontaneous presence in the world.
Using meditation to really digest the reality of the three marks
As Tibetan teachers always emphasise, it's not enough just read or hear about the concept of the three marks, we have to contemplate and discuss them and then - in meditation, - we need to chew them up and digest them, so they become part of our reality.
Coming along to a Mindsprings group provides the hearing, the discussing and the chewing.
When we really metabolise the truth of the "three marks" in meditation then amazing things happen. Life becomes less jarring. Experiences that would have floored us seem to pass without a murmur. The tension and claustrophobia of the old view gives way to something much more spontaneous, fluid and good-natured.
Under the sign of the three marks, life becomes more congruent and less frustrating.
So join us in Scarborough for our annual gathering this December and free up your mind for the coming year.
There are different options for payment on this weekend
Mindsprings is well aware that many people are having to tighten their belts at the moment, financially. So we offer two prices for this weekend. A full, supporters fee which helps us cover our costs and a subsidised concessionary rate for any of you who are struggling financially.
Paying the full fee allows us to invite more people on the lower rate. But if you would even struggle to pay that reduced ticket rate then please do drop us a line.
We never want people to miss out on meditation because of poxy old money. We can sort something out for you.
What to expect at Londesborough Lodge this December...
• The course begins at 10am and finishes at 5pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday. We'll have an hour for lunch and a couple of 15 minute tea-breaks. If you can get to Londesborough Lodge early on Saturday to make sure we can start promptly that would be great. We'll have time for tea and biscuits!
• The postcode of the centre is YO11 2PW and their website is yorkshire.samye.org and their email is admin@yorkshire.samye.org.
• The centre has a kitchen with a microwave so some people like to bring their own lunch but there are also several nice eateries in the town.
• We'll be using the beautiful Shrine Room (upstairs) and sitting in chairs in a circle.
• The weekend will consist of practice sessions, some instruction and discussion, working in smaller groups and some individual processing.
• We'll provide electronic notes after the course so you don't need to write things down though it would be great if you could bring a pen and some paper or a notebook for some of the exercises. Recordings of the teaching will also be sent out after the course.
• The Shrine Room can be a little cool so please bring some layers, especially if you feel the cold.
• If you have any specific psychological concerns, are on prescription psychiatric medication or have a condition that you think I should know about before the course then please do let me know in a private email.
About the teacher
Alistair is a broadcaster, psychotherapist and meditation teacher.
He's worked for the BBC for more than 20 years and works as a UKCP-accredited therapist in East Sussex. Since 2004, he's run Mindsprings, his therapeutic meditation organisation which teaches body-based and Buddhist solutions to many of our everyday problems.
Mindsprings offers popular meditation-based courses on many subjects:
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helping people with anxiety, dissociation, stress.
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working with mental health in the LGBTQ community.
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exploring the growing field of embodiment and somatic practices.
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teaching Buddhist practices for mental health and well-being
Alistair teaches in England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Iceland and the Netherlands.
Getting to the Scarborough KSD
The Scarborough Centre is in the beautiful Georgian Londesborough Lodge in the Crescent. There is some parking at the centre or in the Crescent.
The two nearby hotels The Crescent and the Bike & Boot offer accommodation very close by, so you might like to make a weekend stay - or add it to a Yorkshire trip exploring the Moors, the Brontë's Haworth, the ancient city of York and the magical coastal town of Whitby.