ABIDING HEART EDUCATION
Abiding Heart Education™️ is an approach to education that embraces a love for learning and personal development. Our aim is to (self) educate towards freedom through a journey of re-discovering our innate goodness. Our learning style is centred on experiential, artistic and reflective practices, fostering a process of transformation and the development of wisdom and compassion.
We offer adult education courses and retreat, as well as, experinetial learning programmes for children.
Awarness and mindfulness, experiential arts and crafts, contemplation, communion with nature, connecting with sense of place and heritage are the core components of Abiding Heart. In the meditation aspect, we are training our mind for the purpose of transformation. It is done by practising intentional awareness of sustained focus on specific physical and mental processes. We refer to them as meditative themes. In the contemplative component we engage with a reflexive, introspective and investigative study of the views which set out and nourish the process of mind training and transformation. We ponder, observe and reflect on the themes learned. Within that, we integrate arts and crafts as essential support for this course of mind training and development. Communion with nature, connecting to a sense of place and local heritage are also aspects of our education that are neatly woven in to deepen the learning process. We celebrate our rich diversity and common humanity as a way of recognising that, in essence, we all have the same wish, that is, to be happy and not to experience suffering.
Combined together, these components of Abiding Heart Education reinforce one another, becoming one whole path towards mind development and transformation. Striving towards inner change, the willingness to bear the difficulties it entails and finding ways to make it happen, is very similar to other pursuits in life, such as becoming an engineer.
The tools we offer in our education approach create a quiet peaceful place within ourselves so we can expand, see our turmoil and confusion, let go and discover the innate intelligence that goes along with this process. Abiding Heart is designed to offer us, ordinary busy human beings of all ages, a way to integrate a development path in our everyday life, learning to deal skillfully with situations as they arise and transmute confusion and dissatisfaction into the highest form of joy that is not contrasted with pain.
What Courses we Offer?
Study retreats, art retreats, and adventure retreats in Scotland;
Holistic personal and professional development courses;
Teacher education diploma courses;
Our courses are designed for anyone wishing to deepen their journey of self-cultivation, as well as for educators, teachers, parents, therapists, medical professions, carers, social workers and anyone caring for children, including our own inner child. We have something for everyone. For detailed information about our courses, please see below.
Abiding Heart Teacher Education
Abiding Heart’s children’s education fuses contemplative ancient wisdom (for example, from European and Asian traditions) together with contemporary learning approaches, experiential arts and crafts, local heritage, nature, sense of place and developmental science. Developmental science is an interdisciplinary scientific field that brings together paediatric, developmental psychology, developmental neuroscience and neuro-diversity, child development, the ecology of human development, sociology and anthropology.
Abiding Heart Curriculum for Kindergarten to Class 12 (age 3 to 18)
In the Abiding Heart’s curriculum, for kindergarten through to class 12, all subjects taught are immersed within contemplative traditions that focus on developing wisdom and compassion. Our unique children's meditation and contemplative education is integral to each main lesson theme and throughout the school day, embracing a ‘short times many times’ style, which is developmentally more suitable for children.
Our curriculum content is grounded in a sense of place, nature and local heritage to foster another measure of wellbeing in children. Our learning approach cultivates a balance of the intellectual, affective, meditative and action or doing domains and how that informs our everyday life. In this wholesome way of learning, our aim is to nurture in children (and their teachers) the seeds of progressing on the path enabling them to re-discover their true awakened nature.
Abide Experiential Learning Hub for Children
We offer the following in-person learning activities and study blocks:
Early: Equivalent to Scottish P1 and P2 combined, age 4-6
Junior 1: Equivalent to Scottish P3, age 6-7
Junior 2: Equivalent to Scottish P4 and P5 combined, age 7-9
Junior 3: Equivalent to Scottish P6 and P7 combined, age 10-11
Abiding Heart Bespoke Education
Embedded in this approach is a method to create bespoke curriculums (for kindergarten to class 12, age 3 to 18) and teacher training courses that meet the specific needs of local communities around their world and their unique heritage. A working example of this adaptable approach is Abiding Heart's bespoke Experiential Buddhist Education for Buddhist communities around the world, which we developed and implemented since 2017 in the Himalayas.
Dr Meyrav Mor (left) with her teacher and education advisor Marjorie Theyer
The Founder of Abiding Heart Education™️
The Abiding Heart Education™️ approach has been conceptualised and developed by Dr Merav Mor over nearly 3 decades with the aid of experts and teaching practitioners. She has been conducting research that informs Abiding Heart's courses compositions and methodology as well as our children’s curricular content and learning approach.
Abiding Heart Centre
Abiding Heart's centre is located in the lovely and welcoming town of Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway, in South West Scotland. Surrounded by glorious, rural countryside, pastoral land, enclosed in rolling hills, meandering rivers and gorgeous coasts. This location is designed to help our students immerse in learning that engages the head (intellectual), heart (affective and meditative) and hand (doing and applying). This area of outstanding natural beauty also supports learning to let go and just be. This is an essential part of the transformative process of integration and embodiment.
Abiding Heart Courses
Our courses are taught by a team of acclaimed local and international academics and experts in education, pedagogy, contemplative studies, developmental science, neuroscience, movement, therapeutic education, healing practices, crafts and the arts.
Diploma Courses:
This training is for existing teachers, aspiring teachers and educators.
This training is for existing teachers, aspiring teachers and educators.
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World Heritage Learning: Full Time Paubha Painting (Thangka) Diploma Course
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World Heritage Learning: Full Time Charya Dance Diploma Course
Abide Experiential Learning Hub:
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Early Section: Equivalent to Scottish P1 and P2, for children age 4-6
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Junior Section: Equivalent to Scottish P3 - 7, for children age 6-11
Parenting Workshops:
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Becoming: A series of short Workshops for Parents
Personal Development and Art Retreats:
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Personal Development and Renewal Retreats, for anyone interested in personal development and enrichment.
Our diploma courses are a hybrid of online, in-person classes and self study. Our retreats, workshops and Abide for children are in-person attendance only. We cater our courses for local, regional and global communities.