The Buddhist side of my life
I started practising Buddhism and meditation in Japan in the late 60s. I lived near a small temple that was dedicated to meditation practice , where I meditated daily and attended many intensive meditation retreats . On my return to Britain in the early 70s I practised meditation and studied early Buddhist psychology in the Thai Buddhist tradition.Then I became a personal disciple of the venerable Sangharakshita and was ordained into the Western Buddhist order in 1972. Part of that formal commitment includes receiving a name. The preceptor who gives the name is looking beyond the surface of personality to the essential qualities of that person. The name Vajradaka symbolises a state of mind which is boundless intuitive spontaneity and creativity.
For the last 38 years I have been working in various charities as a mentor, teacher, coach, advisor and communication and awareness trainer.
I started in the early seventies with Save the Children Fund as a Playgroup leader. I was the first male pre-school play-leader to work for the SCF and was given the specific task of helping London playgroups make the transition to process based learning for under-fives. This was a successful programme that helped play-group leaders make the transition from teaching pre- school children by rote to experience-based-learning. This was the beginning of my interest in how people learn, which continues to this day.
In 1974 I became the chairman of the Scottish charity FWBO (Glasgow) which among other things successfully helped former street gang members become integrated into society. From 1977 to 1981 I was the head of an International programme for mentoring trainee Buddhists. This included directly training mentors and setting up an international support structure for mentors and students.
From 1981 -85 I lived in the USA and was chairman of a not-for-profit organisation teaching meditation and Buddhism. At the same time I started a business called Circle Health. I led a massage apprenticeship scheme to professional level and had a successful massage practice, especially with Olympic runners and professional basket ball players.
From1985 for 21 years I was based at an education and training charity in Wales FWBO (Corwen). During this period I helped develop many educational and training programmes for meditation teachers all over the world. This included theories of learning and communication. During this time I mentored, taught and coached many people in awareness communication and creativity. I was also chairman of the charity that ran the centre for 7 years.
At present I am specialising in helping people with developing awareness and creativity in the work place and the arts.
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