I'm speaking at the Royal Society of Arts In London on September 13th at 1:00 pm, on using mindfulness to refine our connection with the living world around us.

Despite having become a multi-billion dollar industry, mindfulness has so far been widely misunderstood by most of its exponents and practitioners alike. Rather than merely being a meditation technique, a therapy or a route to relaxation and "wellbeing", it's actually a receptive state of mind in which the capacity for observation is dramatically enhanced. Exercising true mindfulness in the right context can yield permanent improvement in the quality of our capacitiies for both perception and attention.

With the aid of wild sounds I'll be discussing the principles that underpin true mindfulness and its use as a tool for learning, and hope to engage in a lively conversation with those attending.

The venue is Rawthmells coffeee house in the RSA's lovely London HQ at 8 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6EZ (5 minutes on foot from Charing Cross) and details can be found at RSA Rawthmells Friday Conversations

Everyone interested in connecting more closely with the amazingly complex living world we inhabit is cordially invited to join me for what I hope will be both an enlightening and an entertaining hour.