New Year Resolutions? Meditation, Conscious Breathing, Mindfulness and A Gratitude-Attitude. Part of an article I wrote for an online magazine about turning failure into success. The full article is shared as a paid resource for £5.00. There is a lot of material here to help in reducing stress, building resilience and increasing happiness - tried and tested, practical strategies which you can fit into your day. Since I retired I switched from teaching RE to working in Health and Wellbeing. I am keen to serve my wonderful colleagues. - so here is the first part free… A New Year has begun. Lots of people are talking about New Year’s Resolutions. The opportunity to make a fresh start is important – but it is not just restricted to New Year’s Day. Each day offers us the opportunity for a new beginning. Stress My work is all about reducing stress, building resilience and increasing happiness. I have developed a unique programme I call ‘The Seven Steps to Happiness’ which was in face to face workshops before 2020 but is now online. Most people know that a lot of stress is related to the thoughts we hold in our mind. Conscious Breathing is a strategy which gives our mind something positive and powerful to focus on. It is with us all the time. The outside situation may still be stressful. We may not be able to reduce the causes of our stress, but with this simple exercise, our mind can become our friend and ally instead of our chief tormentor. It’s like having an umbrella on a rainy day. The rain is still falling but we are not getting wet. In this case it is the mental exercise of consciously taking our mind away from our fears or negative mental chatter and directing it instead to our breath, then choosing to make our breath gentle, slow and deep. When we do that, our brain does not perceive the situation we are in as so alarming or dangerous anymore so stress is reduced and happiness increases. When we are in danger, our brain releases cortisol and adrenaline to prepare us for fight and flight. This is called the Stress response. If we are in physical danger, it prepares us for immediate action. But if the source of stress is not physical – and keeps recurring, these hormones build up and can cause both physical and mental illness. That is called Chronic Stress and is one of the biggest causes of ill-health in the world today. But by using conscious breathing, because we have calmed our mind, our brain stays quiet. No stress response. Risk of Chronic Stress - eliminated. Feelings come and go Like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor. Thich Nhat Hanh

How to use Failure as a Springboard to Success What are your New Year Resolutions? Meditation, Conscious Breathing, Mindfulness and A Gratitude-Attitude. Powerful Strategies to Reduce Stress, Build Resilience and Increase Happiness. An experience on New Year’s Day inspired me to write an article for the online Magazine Elephant Journal. It is quite a comprehensive reflection on New Year Resolutions and what life is all about. One of the nicest responses I have had so far is an email from an American Coach and Educationalist. She writes - Your article is wonderful and so inspiring! I am working on a talk right now, and many of the ideas, quotes, and stories helped me think more clearly about what I’d like to say. It’s so easy to get caught in the net of horridness - due to the goings-on in the US right now… Part of my long response was this - My friend - thank you for the lovely response. I can hear your voice when I read your writings. It warms my heart each and every time. Thank you for the shared love and concern for our country. I pray that all will be well, that justice will survive, and that those responsible will pay for their wrong-doings. You may use my words for a testimonial - happy to help in any way. Thank you for the suggestion of James Corden - I love him and I will watch. Be well, get back to your news only in small doses, and keep doing the great work! Our world needs YOU! Big hugs, Regina Regina Carey, M.Ed. Empowerment Coach & Passion Instigator

The Easter Story - from The Last Supper to The Ascension The accounts from the Four Gospels are Aligned to highlight key events. I use this with KS3 or KS4. Dividing the class into groups, each group has one key event or episode from the story to turn into a short Drama. Each group performs their episode in sequence. I need to check this resource is complete and accurate but with Easter around the corner, I will share it now. years 4 to 6 in Primary school can use a similar approach but in their case, the teacher will need to create a simple outline from the Gospels which the children can then enact or read in sequence.

DurgaMata is a specialist Religious Education Teacher and a serious Spiritual Aspirant. She began practising meditation and mindfulness more than ten years before she qualified as a teacher, and she viewed teaching as part of her Spiritual Sadhana or Spiritual Journey. In this book she shares her strongly spiritual philosophy which informs everything she does. Her approach to life is heart-centred, an opportunity to grow in love and oneness. For her, teaching is an opportunity to see, love and serve what she calls God in the hearts of everyone. The God Question is one of the most challenging topics which we cover in Religious Education and DurgaMata shares some of her struggles and triumphs in the stories she shares here. There are some profound and moving poems and stories written by her pupils and a host of practical mindfulness strategies which you can enjoy. in addition to the stories, each page features an inspiring quotation, mounted on a colourful photograph from the world of nature. You are welcome to print these out and use for displays in your classroom and around the school.