Course leaders

“I found the beautiful, thoughtful, generosity of the Course Leaders (Vari and Lauri), their humour, candour and compassion most helpful”.

“I appreciated the gentleness and kindness of the Course Leaders and the way they taught the different meditations with examples from their own lives.”

“The way you work together is very natural and professional”

This course is led by two experienced practitioners in the Plum Village Tradition, Dharma teacher Vari McLuskie and Be Calm Be Happy Course Co-ordinator Lauri Bower.

Vari was ordained by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in 1995 into the Order of Interbeing and as a lay Dharma teacher in 2012. Vari arrived home on her first Plum Village mindfulness retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh in 1990. Life became brighter, calmer, more enjoyable and understandable. She began to recognise how, supported by a mindfulness practice community, she could cultivate peace, love, and understanding in herself every day. It was clear that developing these qualities in herself also truly benefitted others. She put mindfulness practice and sangha at the centre of her life. Bit by bit; building her practice, accepting her shortcomings, encouraging herself through the difficulties – perceived and otherwise. Through difficult times in her life she has practiced seeing that there cannot be happiness without suffering (“no mud, no lotus”)– through the premature death of a beloved friend, through the sudden deaths of my parents, through the challenges of parenthood, through work and health challenges.

Vari has been an ordained Dharma teacher since 2012 and combines this responsibility with work as a Strategic Consultant. She has shared mindfulness in corporate settings, with female offenders and victims of sexual abuse as well as through Plum Village UK retreats and the Be Calm, Be Happy courses which she co-developed. Vari is based in the Midlands having lived many years in London.

Lauri has been practising meditation for 30 years and met Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings in 2006, from which point she committed to putting mindfulness practice at the centre of her life. In 2008 she began researching a PhD on Thich Nhat Hanh and his teachings of mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism. With her PhD complete Lauri began teaching mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) courses and is delighted to bring this experience to a course devoted to the Plum Village mindfulness tradition. Mindfulness has become a crucial aspect of Lauri’s life and she has experienced firsthand the healing and transformational aspects of this practice. Lauri has also been teaching mindfulness for 5 years and is continually inspired by the positive changes that it can bring. She has 15 years of experience running retreats.

Wednesdays, 7pm, Looking Deeply, Mindfulness Course