Sanctuary Sunday-

April 3, 2022

“Learning to Inhabit Presence

Through Understanding the Layers of Being Human”

with Special Guest Sheila Southon

If you’ve ever tried to meditate and been plagued by thoughts and other distractions, this workshop is for you. Understanding a bit more of the philosophy behind meditation and learning practical strategies to meditate on your own can often help you let go & delve into the experience itself more easily and deeply.

Meditation is woven through various cultures. The reason for that is that the history of Vedic sciences has been kept alive for thousands of years as a way to practise presence. 

Vedic sciences explain that we exist in layers of being that help put the meditative experience into context, satisfying both the intellect and the soul. Vedic Science is the basis of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Ancient Chinese Medicine. 

In western cultures we separated the mind and the emotions from the physical body for the purposes of studying the body, and medical sciences have continued down that same reductionist path. As a result, we are only now beginning to realize the interactions between physical health and our mental and emotional health. To take advantage of that realization of connection, we turn back to the cultures and cultural practices such as meditative rituals themselves that never did make that distinction between mind and emotions. 

Join me in welcoming special guest Sheila Southon to Safe Haven, where she will help us to understand how the mind, body and spirit are seen together from the perspective of Vedic Sciences, and where, therefore, meditation fits as a crucial piece of the wholeness of being human. 

Come and enjoy an afternoon of:

-An overview of the “Layers of Being Human”- according to Ayurveda (Life Science), as taught by Deepak Chopra’s Center for Intergrative Wellness.

-Experiential Meditations: Guided meditations toward feeling our own presence for each Layer of Being Human

-An understanding of where meditation fits in the experience of being human, and how you, as an individual, fit in the world, according to Vedic Sciences.

Hosted by Laurie McMurdo  with special guest Sheila Southon at Safe Haven Retreat Center for Women (St Lazare, Quebec, Canada)

Sheila Southon Counselled high school students for over 25 years on the west island of Montreal before retiring into her private practice. Since she is also certified to teach yoga, meditation, Ayurvedic lifestyle and SoulCollage(R). Sheila has a wealth of experience and a depth of understanding that informs her work with individuals and groups. Sheila was the first person in Quebec to be certified to teach both meditation and lifestyle by the Chopra Center for Integrative Wellness. She has taught both “Perfect Health” which is an Ayurvedic-based daily wellness program, as well as “Primordial Sound Meditation,” which is the meditation program taught to every participant of any program at the Chopra Center. Learn more about Sheila’s work and how she can help you personally at DharanaCounselling.com

Laurie McMurdo is a Creative at heart and the founder of Safe Haven. Always fascinated by how a brain’s structure and physiology is affected by and reacts to life experiences, Laurie has a Master’s in Educational Psychology as well as a psychology and teaching degree. She applied her passions in her teaching career of nearly 30 years. Laurie found great joy in the challenge and meaning of creatively finding solutions to her students’ individual learning and developmental needs, honouring their unique essence and guiding them to discover their gifts. 

Laurie’s classroom teaching career ended when Lyme Disease entered her body, and she became an artist born of healing when Lyme went to the brain. All of the art on the Safe Haven web page is Laurie’s. She became acutely aware that there is a deep connection between flow and the healing of the brain and body. 

She created a modality called “Creative Mindfulness” to help connect to the unconscious and its truth through the magical gateway of calm in the relationship between mindfulness, creativity & guided questioning. She has worked with many women both personally and in groups to help guide them in accessing their truth to consciously design positive and joyous changes in their life.

Understanding the power of connection to like-minded women, Laurie was called to create a gathering place for women to connect, reflect, find clarity and recharge which she has named Safe Haven. With Laurie’s modality called Creative Mindfulness, art, workshops, consultations, collaborations, and programs, she creates “sanctuary during life’s storms.” Helping women to remember the magic of who they are, helping to guide them to where they want to be, holding space for the connection of like-minded souls, and allowing women to share their gifts with one another is Laurie’s mission at Safe Haven.

Laurie’s art and Creative Mindfulness courses can be found at- www.omcreativebymariel.com and on Instagram, Facebook & Etsy at omcreativebymariel.

To work personally with Laurie, or for inquiry about group classes and speaking engagements, reach out to her at: safehavenforest@gmail.com.