Kaspa Thompson

IFS Psychotherapist, Supervisor & Buddhist Minister

Category: musings

  • Grief and Climate Change

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    Kaspa
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    In our Buddhist community, at the invitation of our local XR group, we dedicate one practice session each month to the living earth. In our most recent session I talked about and made a space for grief, and I’ll share some of those same thoughts here. Grief I remember a childhood holiday to Cornwall. We…

  • One thing you can do to improve your mental health

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    Kaspa
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    This is a piece about songlines, and about maps, and about one thing you can do to improve your mental health. A couple of weeks ago I was walking through a valley on the edge of the Forest of Bowland. I crossed over the river Roeburn at the bottom of the valley, and the woodland…

  • Surviving Christmas and the New Year

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    Kaspa
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    We are moving through the longest nights. What happens at this time of year? In the run up to the longest night we put up our decorations and lights, go to parties and come together as happy families at Christmas time. Or we see others doing that and our own attempt to hold off the…

  • Autumn and Winter Well-being

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    Kaspa
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    This month I was asked to write about coping with the disappearing sun, for our local magazine All About Malvern. This is the article I wrote:   Worcester has disappeared into the mist that is sitting in the Severn Valley. The garden is damp from a wave of rain that passed over the hills. Soon, the…

  • Letting go, unravelling and something new

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    Kaspa
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    There is a time and a place for most things. When I started teaching mindfulness classes when we moved to Malvern I was excited to offer them, and I’ve always enjoyed the energy of the groups. Back in late spring/early summer I took a break from teaching. At the time I imagined this would be…

  • What about desire?

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    Kaspa
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    I’ve just returned from a weekend of silent walking on the Malvern Hills. We walked nine miles south, and camped overnight, and nine miles back the next day. It was in the middle of the heat wave. Walking up to the top of Black Hill, where there is no shade, in the hottest part of…

  • When things are out of control

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    Kaspa
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    Remember when it snowed in February? The temperature dived below zero. On  the Wednesday evening of the cold weather the temperature inside the temple started to fall as well. Minutes before our public service I noticed the boiler had cut out. The condensate pip was frozen solid. Whilst Satya led the service, I spent the…

  • Great Gratitude – Great Peace

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    Kaspa
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    A few days ago my thoughts were wondering all over the place. I was remembering things to do, making lists and composing emails. I was in the middle of walking meditation, where the aim is to remain grounded in the present moment, and instead my mind was jumping wildly from one thought to another. In…

  • The Importance of Being Yourself

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    Kaspa
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    You can hear a lot about selflessness in psychological and spiritual circles “just do what is needed for the other person” or “selflessness means putting your own feelings aside”. There is a danger in all of this that we disappear. Not in the good way that the ‘extinguishing’ of nirvana implies, but that we hide…

  • To more creative living

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    Kaspa
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    This year I have been noticing when and how I keep myself from the world. I bury my head in a science fiction novel, or binge watch Marvel series on Netflix. I scroll through news headlines or my Facebook feed. It’s a habit that keeps me safe. It keeps me out of the possibility of…