April 2016 NUI Galway to Host Renowned Plum Village Monastics Mindfulness Event

NUI Galway in partnership with Mindfulness Ireland and Plum Village, Bordeaux is delighted to announce a free public event ‘An Evening of Mindfulness’

NUI Galway is delighted to host a very special event entitled ‘An Evening of Mindfulness’ in association with Mindfulness Ireland, exploring the practice of Mindfulness. The free event is open to the public and will take place on Thursday, 28 April from 6pm to 8pm in the Aula Maxima Lower at NUI Galway.

The Mindfulness session will be presented by Teacher Sister Jina, and her colleagues Sr Tri Nghiem and Sr Tao Nghiem from Plum Village in Bordeaux. Sister Jina is a Senior Dharma Teacher within the Plum Village Mindfulness tradition and lives her daily life practicing mindfulness and leading mindfulness retreats around the world.

In the hectic lives we lead it is very easy to get caught up in the day to day eventualities. Between going over what happened yesterday to worrying about and planning for tomorrow we can sometimes forget about enjoying today. The practice of mindfulness is about being present and awake to each moment of our daily lives. It will give people the opportunity to look at ways in which we can improve the quality of our lives and that of those around us by listening deeply, building community and paying attention to how we live.

Plum Village, near Bordeaux in southwest France, is the largest international practice centre in the Plum Village tradition, and the first monastic community founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered around the world for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. His key teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment - the only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world.

This unique event is part of NUI Galway’s ongoing initiative towards integrating mindfulness into the University’s culture and the importance of mindfulness in higher educational institutions and the wider community. The event is open to all university staff and students, the general public, researchers, student counsellors and advisors, healthcare professionals, mindfulness practitioners, and anyone with an interest in mindfulness.

Professor Lokesh Joshi, Vice-President for Research at NUI Galway and coordinator of the University’s Mindful Way initiative said: “NUI Galway is on a journey to adopt a mindfulness culture to benefit both staff and students that is being shared with the wider Galway community. We are honoured to host Sr Jina and her monastic colleagues from Plum Village and hope that everyone who attends will enjoy this truly unique evening with such a globally revered group.”

The Plum Village Monastics are in Galway as part of Mindfulness Ireland's Annual Retreat Programme, which takes place every year over the May Bank Holiday weekend. For more information visit www.mindfulnessireland.org/ and www.plumvillage.org

To register attendance please contact Martina Finn on galwaysangha@gmail.com or 087 2201972.

For more information regarding NUI Galway’s Mindful Way visit: www.nuigalway.ie/mindfulway

ENDS