Location
Timesmore
Boulevard Saint-Michel 47
1040 Etterbeek
Metro: Montgoméry
Teacher
6-week inperson course, Thursdays from 19.00 to 21.30 CET
- Starting on 16 May 2024
- Course dates: 16/05, 30/5, 6/6, 13/6, 20/6, 27/6
- Co-working Office "Timesmore", Brussels
6-week in-person Heartfulness and Compassionate Living Course
with senior mindfulness teacher and psychologist Steve Savels
Ideal for people who have already followed an 8-week mindfulness course, but also accessible for beginners.
At the core of heartfulness lies compassion. It’s the art of understanding and empathizing with others, recognizing their struggles, and offering kindness. When we approach life with compassion, we soften our judgments, extend a helping hand, and create a ripple of positive energy. It’s like sharing a warm cup of tea with a friend, listening without interruption, and holding space for their feelings. Compassion bridges gaps, heals wounds, and reminds us that we’re all interconnected.
Now, turn that same kindness inward. Self-compassion is the gentle embrace we give ourselves when we stumble, feel vulnerable, or face challenges. It’s acknowledging our imperfections without harsh criticism. Imagine cradling a wounded bird—self-compassion is like that, tending to our emotional bruises with tenderness. It’s recognizing that we’re human, deserving of love and forgiveness. When we practice self-compassion, we become our own best friend, offering encouragement and understanding during life’s storms.
Heartfulness isn’t just about meditation; it’s a way of living—a dance between compassion for others and a warm hug for our own hearts.
Why do we need compassion?
1. The Inner Critic: Ah, that relentless inner voice—the one that critiques our every move. Self-compassion is the antidote. It hushes the critic, replacing judgment with understanding. “You stumbled? It’s okay. You’re still worthy.”
2. Kindness to Ourselves: We’re often quick to extend compassion to others, yet find it difficult to love and accept ourselves. But here’s the secret: when we’re kinder to ourselves, we become better at loving others. It’s like tending to our own garden; only then can we share the blossoms with the world.
3. Connection: Compassion bridges the gaps between hearts. When we recognize our shared humanity—the joys, sorrows, and messy imperfections—we weave invisible threads that connect us. Suddenly, we’re not solitary travelers; we’re part of a grand tapestry and isolation melts away.
4. Fear Dissolves: That gnawing fear of inadequacy? Compassion cradles it gently. It whispers, “You’re enough.” When we embrace our own vulnerabilities, we find courage to face the world, imperfections and all.
5. Joy Blooms: Picture a sunflower turning toward the sun. That’s self-compassion—nourishing our souls so we can bloom. When we treat ourselves with kindness, joy unfurls its petals, and life becomes a sun-kissed meadow.
Read more about the power of self-compassion at the workplace in our latest article.
Elements of Heartfulness
Heartfulness, as a complement to mindfulness is composed of the following components:
- Compassion: being touched by the suffering of yourself and others and taking the responsibility to relieve it.
- Loving kindness: actively bringing kindness and good will to ourselves and others.
- Shared joy: savouring the joy of others and ourselves, and taking in the good.
- Equanimity: finding stability amidst the ups and downs of life.
In this course, you will take a deeper dive into these different aspects of heartfulness and how they can help you to find more happiness, connection and joy.
The Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) programme presents a new way of facing the pressures of modern living by providing an antidote which teaches us how to cultivate kindness and compassion – starting with being kind to yourself.
In 6 weeks you will learn
- How to deepen mindfulness with heartfulness: practices to bring more kindness and compassion towards others, towards yourself, and bring more joy into your life.
- How your brain and organism have evolved to help you survive and how this affects your happiness.
- How your emotion regulation systems work and how you can deal with them to find more safety, contentment and social connection.
- How to deal with difficult and persistent emotions such as shame or guilt, and with your “inner bully”
Features of the 6-week programme:
- 6 weekly group sessions of 2,5 hours.
- In-person in a beautiful location in Brussels
- Course led in English
- Comprehensive manual with handouts and worksheets, and audio downloads to support your practice
- Lots of practical exercises to build mindfulness and heartfulness into your daily schedule.
- Programme based on the scientifically validated Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) programme.
- Course led by an experienced and certified mindfulness trainer and clinical psychologist.
- Small groups of maximum 12 participants to guarantee interactivity.
- No special clothes or meditation cushions needed
For whom?
This course is meant specifically for you if you have experienced benefit from mindfulness practice, but you find it difficult to develop a kind and friendly attitude in it and integrate it into your daily life.
Its also suitable for anyone who already has some experience with meditation and would like to bring more kindness and compassion in your life.
Here’s what a previous participant of the course wrote:
“I took both the mindfulness and heartfulness courses in quick succession (from May to December) and combined with parallel reading on mindfulness, meditation and compassionate living, the process was radically transforming:
- I've discovered a form of joy and peace of mind which was simply unknown to me.
- I take the time to notice, appreciate and savour the small moments instead of letting them fly by me as nothing more than another form of background noise.
- I take notice of people around me, their moods and their feelings with an interest and attentiveness which was completely alien to my highly introverted nature.
- I notice my switches in moods and my moments of frustration much faster and am able to push back and calm down faster.
- I notice when my mind slips in meetings and can bring myself back to the present.
- I'm generally calmer, less frustrated and better intentioned to those around me than I ever was before.
- I find myself being uncharacteristically charitable.
- I smile in the still and personal moments and I know I'm smiling because my muscles which were so used to frowning ache from the effort.
As I said, it has been a truly transformative process. I'm not yet a saint and never will be but I'm certainly a more relaxed, peaceful, attentive, well intentioned and charitable person than I was before.”
The teacher
Steve Savels is an experienced mindfulness teacher and a clinical psychologist who has led many courses and retreats. He also works as a therapist in a group practice. In his mindfulness courses people appreciate his gentle and calm style with lots of humour. He is also a certified teacher of the Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) programme.
Rate
Early bird rate until 30/4: €429 (incl. VAT) for the 6-week heartfulness course, including:
Full fee as of 1/5 479€ (incl VAT) including:
- Book, syllabus and audio downloads for your home practice
- Small in-person group (maximum 12 participants)
- During the 6 weeks, follow-up per email with more information and useful tips on how to integrate mindfulness into your life
- Lifetime access for over 260 guided meditations and access to the podcasts by our teachers
- Delicious teas at every session
- A beautiful location with a lush garden for outdoor practices (if weather permits)
Questions?
Do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions. For administrative and practical questions, please contact info@brusselsmindfulness.be. For questions about our courses and events, have a look at our FAQ.
If you want to discuss something directly with the teacher, you can contact Steve Savels via steve.savels@brusselsmindfulness.be.
Many thanks for your registration. We look forward to meeting you in the event.
Registration for the mindfulness course
We encourage you to register as soon as possible to secure your place.
Please fill out the form below in order to register for the course. This information is important for the teacher to understand your motivation to participate. All information you provide will be treated confidentially and will never be shared with third parties. We will get in touch with you if we have any questions, so please provide the phone number on which we can most easily reach you. Please check our privacy policy here.
If your employer is willing to cover the cost of your course or If you have a diplomatic status, please send us an email so we can issue an invoice.
If you have financial difficulties, but feel that participating to this course would help you, please contact us. We will find a solution together.
Several Belgian health insurances provide partial refunds for mindfulness courses. Please get in touch with your health insurance to find out about the procedure. We will be happy to fill in your form at the end of the course.
Please check our terms & conditions about cancellations and refunds. According to our terms no refund will be issued as of 30 days prior to the start of the course.
Please note: It is important that you are in good physical and mental health in order to start a mindfulness course. Especially if you are suffering from acute depression or burnout or are anticipating major surgery, we recommend postponing the course until you feel better. If you have professional support by a doctor or psychotherapist, you may wish to consult them first and discuss your ability to participate. The trainers of Brussels Mindfulness are happy to discuss this with you on the phone; however, we cannot take any responsibility for your decision to participate in the course or not, nor can we issue a refund after 30 days of registering.
What participants of previous courses said
"The 8-week course was a real eye opener. I loved the coach as well as the group. Everything was done in an atmosphere of compassion and understanding. I feel like now I have this big toolbox that I can keep developing and digging into when I face stressful situations."
"I highly recommend Brussels Mindfulness! The teachers and approach were the right balance of providing a conceptual understanding, hands-on practice, personal and peer reflections and dialogue to understand and integrate what we learnt into who we are and what we do. The impact has been immediate and keeps on going - it is an investment that positively affects the foundations of self and holistic wellbeing!".
"I am now meditating every day! I found the course a good balance of theory, practical and sharing vs actually meditating."
"High quality teachers and extraordinary communication and pedagogical tools (handbook, to-the-point emails, languages, knowledge..). Extraordinary mindfulness course which should be a must for everyone .... impossible not to like it! Mindfulness attitudes so much needed in hectic times.... and delicious raisins (you will find out why)!"
Read more testimonials here and read a long reflection by one of our participants here.
Registration Form
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Once you click the registration button, you will be taken to a secure payment system (first e-act.nl and then mollie.com). Your data will be treated confidentially and will not be shared with third parties, except for the information necessary to process the payment.
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