The Mind Friends Podcast

Mark's Gospel Chapter 5

The AQA GCSE syllabus offer a study of Mark’s Gospel. Mark’s Gospel was meant to be “heard” rather than read, so Mind Friends is including a chapter by chapter reading from the inclusive New Revised Standard version of the Bible.

Mark's Gospel Chapter 4 (read from the NRSV)

The AQA GCSE syllabus offer a study of Mark’s Gospel. Mark’s Gospel was meant to be “heard” rather than read, so Mind Friends is including a chapter by chapter reading from the inclusive New Revised Standard version of the Bible.

A 15 minute Meditation for Young Teens

Mental Health is more important now than ever, especially for young people. This meditation is for young teens and is helpful in building confidence and dealing with stress. It lasts 15 minutes.

Mark's Gospel Chapter 3 (read from the New Revised Standard version of the Bible.

Mark's gospel is an option for study in Religious Studies at GCSE with AQA. Father Mark reads chapter 3 in this episode.

Dialogue on Abortion in the GCSE syllabus. When does life begin? What is the UK law on abortion?

Mind Friends is a resource for students, using Socratic Dialogue. The goal is to foster good Mental Health and High Performance learning.

This episode is a dialogue with a Year 11 group from King's College Taunton on the issue of abortion. When does human life begin? What is the law in the UK about abortion?

Schools are welcome to contact Mind Friends if they would like to submit a recorded lesson dialogue for inclusion on the Mind Friends Podcast. Contact Father Mark at mark@mind-friends.com

A 10 Minute Meditation for Young Children

Father Mark, founder of Mind Friends, leads a 10 minute visualisation meditation for younger school children. This visualisation is ideal when children are stressed at home or at school or struggling to sleep or just feel that things are not right.

Visualisation is a kind of meditation which activates many of the same neural networks as are activated when we actually perform an action. Neural networks are paths of interconnected nerve cells that link what your body does to the brain impulses that control it. We can use visualisation to our advantage in different ways. For example, imagining yourself doing movements can help you get better at them: Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus practiced each shot in his mind before taking it.

So, when we suffer mental stress or find we are operating on autopilot for long periods of time, a visualisation can help to switch of the fight-flight response and activate the more creative, relaxed "rest and digest" mode of being.

 

God of the Gaps

GCSE students at King's College Taunton dialogue around the topic of science and religion in religious studies. They are learning remotely during a COVID lockdown and discuss issues ranging from beliefs about death and loss to whether "following the science" can be seen as similar to the way people "follow" religions.

Mind Friends is a resource for students, using Socratic Dialogue. The goal is to foster good Mental Health and High Performance learning.

Schools are welcome to contact Mind Friends if they would like to submit a recorded lesson dialogue for inclusion on the Mind Friends Podcast. Contact Father Mark at mark@mind-friends.com

"Turning into the skid" can be a great help when we suffer mental ill-health

When we are suffering with destructive thoughts that won't go away or with feelings that rob us of happiness, our instinct is to distract ourselves with Netflix or something else. While this can help for a while, what we really need to do is counter intuitive - turn towards the thoughts or feelings with a sense of curiosity, not anger. Ask "I wonder why this keeps happening? Why does it happen at this time of day? Why does this activity trigger these thoughts/feelings?" Facing up to negative thoughts and emotions can often help to dilute them and take the "heat" out of them. Give it a try, but if you are still struggling make sure you ask for help.

A three minute restorative meditation for very busy people

Three minutes to tune in to what really matters can make all the difference. Our thought world can take over sometimes and cause us emotional pain. Yet, the only time we are actually alive is NOW - the present. What a pity when we're so distracted that we miss out on our own lives as they pass by moment by moment. Please try this three minute restorative meditation and then cultivate a habit of daily times of refreshing stillness. 

How velcro and teflon can help improve mental health

Our mental health or ill-health is often driven by what sticks with us in our thought world. We find that good experiences are quickly forgotten while bad stuff stick with us. Mark explains a simply way to reverse this process and improve mental health and a sense of wellbeing.