Anniversary

“celebrate good times” Kool & the Gang I don’t suppose many people celebrated the 23rd March. A year ago, this day lockdown started in the UK. Unbelievable as it seems, we have now been under covid restrictions one way or another for just over a year. Who would have thought it, a year ago? Around …

Gagging Order

“the lady doth protest too much, methinks” Hamlet A recent illegal vigil. Women saying what we all know: this happens to us all, all the time, every one of us. The police heavy handedly break up the party. Not that it was a party by the way, unless you count deep anger and frustration and …

Acceptance: mindfulness pillar 6

Each month we explore a different attitude of mindfulness with Tim of Blackbird Mindfulness. This month he teaches us and takes us through a practice of acceptance. This attitude is all about being aware of the present moment, how we are in the present moment and accepting it for what it is. https://soundcloud.com/leedsmethodistmission/acceptance In this …

Best or better

Take a look at the first picture. This is an illustration by my friend and Leeds based artist Si Smith, based on the story of the temptations of Christ in the Wilderness. In this picture, Christ is tempted to turn stones into bread. What strikes you? I like the fact that the speech bubble and …

Finding balance

A guided reflection for anyone who needs to find better balance in their lives. Whether you are overwhelmed by work, health or family pressures or just need some space to process then this is the reflection for you. We created this reflection to help you carefully consider what a balanced life looks like for you. …

Just walking home

Take a look at the first image. It shows an art piece I’m in the process of making. It is a patchwork made from maps of Britain. I am using the quilting technique of tufting using red thread to mark every place where that has been a reported incident of violence or threat to a …

Pillars of mindfulness

Welcome to our mindfulness course done through our podcast. Every month Tim of Blackbird Mindfulness creates a podcast which introduces us to the attitudes of mindfulness. Each one is about 10 minutes long and leaves time for simply sitting as well as input about we can adopt that particular attitude. Tim describes thewse attitudes as …

Non-striving: mindfulness pillar 5

Another in our series about the attitudes of mindfulness. Tim, of Blackbird Mindfulness, introduces us to another mindful attitude this time it is all about non-striving. We release one per month, last month was all about Trust. https://soundcloud.com/leedsmethodistmission/non-striving Halfway through Tim invites you to pause this recording and do a simple sitting practice, for a …

A Knotty Problem

“life begins in the imagination” Greenbelt 2013 Chaos. Abstract tangled texture. Random chaotic lines. Hand drawn dinamic scrawls. Black and white illustration. Background with stripes. Universal pattern. Art creationAbstract Background Detail Of A Celtic Knot Pattern In Stone Take a look at the first picture. This is a little doodle of a knot that I …

Home school

“May we raise children who love the unloved things…“ Nicolette Sowder Take a look at the two images. What do you see? These are both pictures by Outsider Artists; those who have had no formal artistic education. They are also both highly collectable artworks, not that this should matter. Yet it does, because what we …