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Resilience at work: being for beginners, in person

Tuesday, 03 June 2025 to Thursday, 19 June 2025, 1pm - 2pm

Apply for this course

Do you sometimes hit a ‘low’? Do unwanted thoughts and feelings pop up? Are you feeling worn down or worked up or wondering why you are at Oxford? Intrigued by how to use the mind better? Are you ready to grow?

Over the last five years over 1000 staff have participated in ‘Being for Beginners’, led by Roddy Bray, author of the ‘Wellbeing Workbook’. The series is designed to enable personal growth and improve wellbeing. The course integrates experiential learning, private reflection and insights from a range of disciplines and traditions, within a storytelling style. This uniquely blends powerful learning approaches creating a transformative experience.

Three dynamic themes run through the series:

Awareness: personal growth and wellbeing begin with awareness. This course explains how to develop a sense of detachment to observe thoughts and feelings without judgement, and extend awareness to others, nature and time.

 

Reflection: The course explores our experience of the mind and how our thoughts relate to our feelings. We see how to ‘follow the story’ of our thoughts and reactions to understand them better.

Change: Using a simple framework, we gain a practical approach to changing habits of thought, feeling and action, so that awareness and reflection can be translated into greater personal growth and wellbeing.

Throughout the series opportunities for private reflection are created. To support this, practices such as meditation are introduced. No previous familiarity or interest in these practices is assumed.

The workshops are:

1. Being for Beginners

2. The Monkey Mind

3. Creating and Changing Habits

4. Habits of Thought and Feeling

5. Connections

6. Naming and Thriving

All participants will receive a free copy of the Wellbeing Workbook and access to the entire series online. The course runs in person over 6 one-hour sessions:

  • Tuesday 3 June, 14:00 - 15.00
  • Thursday 5 June, 13:00 - 14.00
  • Tuesday 10 June, 13:00 - 14.00
  • Thursday 12 June, 13:00 - 14.00
  • Tuesday 17 June, 13:00 - 14.00
  • Thursday 19 June, 14:00 - 15.00

More details are available at roddybray.com

Contact Us

Email us at courses@medsci.ox.ac.uk

Mailing list - send an e-mail with 'subscribe' in the subject field to msdskills-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk 

Booking Instructions

Step-by-step guidelines on how to book a Skills Training course.

How to book

Terms & Conditions

These terms and conditions apply to all MSD Skills training courses attendees.

Read the Terms & Conditions

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