Dear friends,

Thanks so much to those who attended yesterday evening’s flash mob. It was lovely, as ever, and I’m so happy to see the community growing so beautifully and organically with these public meditation gatherings. So many of us were from different paths and different faiths, or or none, yet we came together as a single community. What is it that binds us together like this?

Also a warm thank you to the sound healers, Amy, Paolo, Mary, Sandira, Marcin, Bea and David (and others I’m not aware of) for bring your wonderful sounds at the end of the sitting.

I wanted to share with the wonderful photos on our Facebook page.

Please check out today’s Evening Standard on page 21 – our event has been featured!

And also we were featured as TimeOut London’s top 5 events of the week!

How wonderful to be getting this much coverage!

We’ll be posting future meditation flash mobs via our Facebook page Wake Up London. You can also join the Meetup group to ensure you get invitations direct to your email, as Facebook doesn’t have that function via a page.

In May, we have some different events planned…

like meditation flash mob through Oxford Street..

And also another event which will involve holding signs displaying positive affirmations to the public, to remind passersby to reconnect to their innate goodness and beauty. We will announce that soon!

Thank you for being there!

Much love
Elina
on behalf of Wake Up London

Be the change!

by wakeuplondon

Mindfulness News & Events Peace Sit Wake Up London

Next Meditation Flash Mob – Trafalgar Square Again!

2 August 2011

We ARE being the change we want to see in the world!

When: Saturday 27th August 1:30pm to 2:10pm
Where: Trafalgar Square, in the central area between both fountains, less then ten minutes walk from both Charing Cross and Piccadilly Circus tube stations.
Map: http://bit.ly/nmgY89
RSVP here on the Facebook event invitation: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179484552118420

1:30pm to 2pm: Begin the sitting meditation in Trafalgar Square as soon as you see one person sit, in the central space in between both fountains. Spread out across the square as you so wish.

You are welcome to go to the entire event or you can come for part of it. You can meditate the entire time, or you can chill and bask in the peace.

Please make sure that we allow the public to walk freely around us.

2pm to 2:10pm: Optional sound bath: You can use any mantra or sound, for example, Om, Ah, Ong, Nah or any other sound that calls you personally. If you choose to move closer to one another, donate your physical presence, your positive energy and your voice. It’s also a lot of fun and just sounds awesome to everyone around.

2:10pm: End

What to bring: Please feel free to bring your own cushion or stall for sitting meditation.

Bring Everyone! This is going to be a beautiful event that we will all remember!

********************************************************

THIS IS GLOBAL

ALL over the world, meditation flash mobs will be taking place in over 100 cities between August 25th and 28th. You can visit http://www.medmob.org/ to see all the other cities who are joining us!

The intention of the movement is to expose the world to meditation and expand positivity to every walk of life.

Come experience the power of collectively exuding peace and feel the impact we are having on our city by sitting together, silently radiating happiness and grace in all directions.

********************************************************

FOR EVERYONE

This is an event open to everyone, all ages, from every path, experienced or not. This is a movement that our entire world is creating together as one unified force to set the momentum for the future of our planet!

“If you are a Buddhist, please come. If you are a Christian please
come. If you are Jewish, Muslim, or belong to or identify with any
other religions, creed or peace organization, please come. If you are
white, brown, black, yellow, red or any other colour, please come.

We shall learn together that wrong perceptions of self and others
are at the foundation of separation, fear, hate, and violence; and that
togetherness and collaboration is possible.”

– Thich Nhat Hanh

********************************************************

OUR GOALS

1. To create an environment for people from all walks of life to come together in meditation.

2. To spread awareness of meditation to the public.

3. To come together as a community to send positive intentions out into the world.

4. To show that leading by example is the best way to lead. Simple acts can stimulate major paradigm shifts in thinking

********************************************************

LINKS

Pictures from the last meditation flash mob at London Bridge:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.264848206868009.71177.264304326922397&type=1

A previous video of our meditation flash mob in Trafalgar Square: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqZA5cToPgs

Check out the Guardian article written about the Trafalgar Square flash mob: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/jun/14/trafalgar-square-meditation-flashmob?INTCMP=SRCH

Get in touch wkuplondon AT gmail.com to stay updated and to receive news about upcoming meditation flash mobs in the city.

********************************************************

Let’s have fun!

Let’s meditate!

Let’s thrive!

Rejoice!

Yes!

by wakeuplondon

Mindfulness News & Events Plum Village Wake Up London

Afternoon of Mindfulness with a Monk…

23 May 2011

When 04 June · 13:30 – 18:00
Location To be confirmed, London

The Wake Up London Sangha invites you all to a special afternoon of mindfulness with a guest monk from Plum Village! Brother Phap Lai, or Brother Ben is coming to London next week and has kindly offered to share his time and energy with our budding community.
We will probably have lunch and walking meditation in the park and then an indoor meeting where we will practice sitting meditation under the guidance of Brother Phap Lai and also listen to his dharma talk and have a question and answer session.

Exact details of times, location and activities to be announced later on…….Location-wise, it will most likely be St. James Park for the lunch and then for the indoor event, our usual meditation hall at the Friends Meeting House, near Leicester Square.

Email us to get in touch: wkuplondon gmail.com

Some info on Brother Phap Lai:

Brother Phap Lai was recently on the worlds first Wake Up Universities tour in the UK in March with six other monastic students of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. His name means ‘Coming of the Dharma and he was ordained May 2002 making him the first born and bred Englishman monk of Plum Village.

He enjoys sharing the practice with young people – from children to young adults. He has run a few 4 week teenage programmes (part of the annual Summer Family Retreat) here in Plum Village.

During his 3 year stay in Deer Park, California, he enjoyed the regular college student retreats, teenage camps and weekly childrens programmes. He enjoys impromptu music jams, hanging out with his young brothers and injecting the odd dose of British humour into the community life (eg. putting on skits during the many festivals in Plum Village).

Br Phap Lai first came across Thay’s teaching at the age of 28 and immediately knew he’d struck gold. He learned how to meditate, how to become a little more mindful in daily life and very importantly how to recognize and take care of his emotions. Discovering the joy of being still and coming back to himself was a revolution. Knowing what an incredible difference it would have made had he found the practice earlier in life fires his inspiration to share with young people.

As well as tours in the US, UK and S.E.Asia with our Teacher as a one year old Dharma Teacher Br Phap Lai has conducted retreats in Israel/ Palestine and Ireland. In his previous life Br Phap Lai’s science degree landed him a wonderful job as an Environmental Protection Officer with the Scottish EPA until the even more wonderful career of a monk opened up to him. He misses the Scottish hills and rock climbing – just a wee bit.

by wakeuplondon

Mindfulness Wake Up London

Sangha Building

25 April 2011

Would you like to become involved in building our beloved Sangha?
Read more in Nourishing the Flower.

by wakeuplondon

Mindfulness News & Events Plum Village Video Wake Up London

March 8-15: Wake Up to Life – Plum Village Young Monastics Tour UK Universities

13 February 2011

In March 2011, monks and nuns from the Plum Village Meditation Centre will be visiting UK universities to offer introductory workshops on mindfulness. These workshops will offer practical exercises in mindfulness of breath, body and mind, and share ways to cope with stress, release tension and handle strong emotions, including anger, loneliness and despair. They will share their experiences of using simple practices to awaken to joy and happiness in daily life and nourish a heart of compassion.

More information here http://uk.wkup.org/

About the monastics and the tour

The tour poster: