“I want to take care of the reputation of mindfulness. I want to present it as something that has deep intellectual and evidence-based foundations, something for the benefit of all people everywhere, something that can just as easily be practised in a supermarket as in a temple!”’ (Andrew Lewis)
Andrew Lewis left an academic and teaching career in 1996, going on to train to become a psychiatric nurse and started working in the voluntary sector in 2000. From an early age, he had an innate personal and practical interest in meditation and during his time as a psychiatric nurse he sought every opportunity to introduce mindfulness, meditation, and relaxation to those he was supporting. His approach came strongly from his own practice alongside reading and studying the teachings of Jon Kabat-Zinn, Robert Sapolsky and Richard Davidson. It was based around the now familiar MBSR courses, which are often recommended by GPs, however at this point in time, mindfulness was not yet mainstream.
“It is important, of course, to read, study, to learn what others have discovered but that should not be all that there is. My greatest motivation was and always has been my own experience, my own life, my own practice.”
Andrew takes a secular, science-based and practical approach to mindfulness, taking care to avoid vague language, and always insisting that mindfulness is not a therapy.
It became clear to Andrew that his time could be best spent by offering mindfulness, so he went about setting up his own freelance service obtaining the relevant certification in 2016 and today remains registered with the British School of Meditation. Ten years later his work continues to gift him the joy of witnessing many lives being transformed by the practice.
“One particular person I’ve worked with comes to mind. She is always eager to tell others what mindfulness practice has done for her. Her gradual transformation has been inspirational and her continuing receptiveness right from first exposure has been exceptional.”
To date he has visited schools, hospitals, care homes, corporate concerns, GP surgeries, sports clubs, and individual private groups. He has also found a particular ‘home base’ at Ebbw Vale Institute, a community and cultural centre in Blaenau Gwent, where he has held twice weekly sessions for the last 16 years. Andrew offers MBSR courses, individual sessions, groups for carers, groups to support people through bereavement and loss and for pain management. He also responds to what is needed in particular individual situations.
“I found the responses of clients remarkable. This was true for those with sleep problems, anxiety, chronic stress, bereavement and even physical ailments, which were so often exacerbated by stress.”
Andrew’s future hopes mirror the simplicity that underpins his approach to mindfulness. He wants to continue to promote it as something secular, grounded and essentially practical, ensuring that it is available and accessible to all. Whilst he occasionally offers workshops at wellbeing events, his heart and practice are deeply rooted in making it available to anyone and everyone in any community. Ebbw Vale Institute is a community space that facilitates this with its open-door policy and freedom from expectations, agenda or ethos, other than kindness, and his deepest wish is to see more venues like this where people can discover and explore mindfulness.
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