OUT OF THE ASHES a new blog by Una Keeley

A number of weeks ago I held a fire ceremony as part of a workshop I was giving. During the fire ceremony, everybody present was invited to place a small brown envelope into the flames. Each envelope contained in written form, a word or a symbol, representing something that needed letting go of. The fire was used as a potent symbol of transformation, allowing each of us to experience an inner sense of letting go, as we watched the flames consume the envelopes, and release what needed to be released. My personal experience of this ‘letting go and release’ was strong, as I stood watching the flames consume my envelope.

🔥After the ceremony I let the fire burn, allowing it to consume any remanence of envelopes and paper. I tended the fire for the rest of the evening, adding small pieces of wooden kindling, until it was time to end the evening and depart.

🔥When I doused the fire with water, I was met with something quite unexpected. What remained in the bottom of the bucket, were beautiful chunks of pristine charcoal . I was struck by their beauty, as they glistened in the evening light with the dampened water.

🔥The artist in me resonated with them. The fire had worked it’s magic and through its alchemy, had created something quite beautiful. I immediately felt compelled to take out a piece of paper and began making marks with a chunk of this jet black shining charcoal. It felt strong and comfortable in my hand.

🔥We locked up and I brought the bucket of charcoal home. I was unable to bring myself to throw it out that night and have been unable to since. It has been sitting quietly beside my office desk for a number of weeks now. As I work away on the computer, it sits just behind me on the edge of my peripheral vision.

For some reason I have been unable to throw it out. Some part of me bonded with the charcoal that night, as I held it in my hand. Something happened that I don’t have words for, and since that night I have had a strong desire to draw with it.

🔥This morning I got up after a night of unusual dreams, with an inner voice calling me to revisit this bucket of transformational charcoal. And so I let myself reach into the ashes and take out a chunk.

These are the first marks that have been made.

ABOUT UNA

Una Keeley is a professional Irish Artist, an MBSR Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor approved by the HSE and an Educator. She has designed educational programmes for institutions and arts organisations for over 30 years, including 15 years for the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Her background includes a Masters in Art Education, an Honours Degree in Ceramics, and a Diploma in Illustration. She has been incorporating mindfulness practices in her arts based workshops for over 15 years. Una is an MBSR Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor Trained with the Institute for Mindfulness Based Approaches, IMA Germany, and has been practicing meditation for 25 years.

Check out Una’s Story on her website:

OUT OF THE ASHES

Una Keeley is a professional MBSR Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor. She is the founder and owner of Mindfulness Wexford. Training Adults (including Executives, Managers & Staff ) to De-Stress with Mindfulness Stress Reduction Skills. Una is a HSE approved Mindfulness Instructor, training HSE staff in mindfulness. (Irish Health Services Executive). She offers Courses & Workshops to the general public and the corporate sector.

Una has been practicing meditation for 25 years. She is a professional member of The Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland (MTAI) and adheres to The Irish Good Practice Guidelines for Teaching Mindfulness-Based Courses. Una is a trained MBSR Mindfulness Instructor with the Institute for Mindfulness Based Approaches, IMA Germany.

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In 2021 the National Concert Hall of Ireland, specially commissioned Una to create a New Mindfulness & Music Listening Track . This is a Deep Listening collaborative work with Musician/composer Nick Roth.

Una is also a professional Artist with a Masters in Art Education. She has designed educational programmes for arts organisations and institutions for over 25 years. Including 15 years with The Irish Museum of Modern Art. Her background includes a Masters in Art Education, an Honors Degree in ceramics, and a Diploma in illustration for children's books. Una designs and offers courses which combine Mindfulness and Creativity; exploring divergent thinking, ways of attending, poetic perception and creative response.

I was blown away by the quality of the course contents and the support each week from Una. As the time went by, I was taken deeper into practices of mindfulness, we committed to a daily practice and had lots of support and handouts. I was challenged and excited by the processes, yet willing to give them all a go. Una inspired me by her commitment to her own practice of mindfulness. This course has changes the way I live my life. It has allowed me to be fully present in my day, both in my work and in all other areas of my life and I now know what to do when my attention is pulled in all directions. I feel calmer, more grounded and balanced. I am aware that I am kinder to myself, I have more patience and am less judgmental. This course is a wonderful gift; it will help you in all areas of your life. It is one of the best courses I have undertaken, brilliant contents/ delivery and amazing value for money. I am so delighted I gave myself this time.

BredaMc Donald (Employment Facilitator / Poet) Arklow

“Silence is Golden” are the words that comes to my mind when I think back to my day long Silent Mindfulness Retreat with Una Keeley in September at the Amber Springs Hotel. Set at a really gentle pace, the day held no agenda, “doing” was on pause and simply being was celebrated through each mediation, poem read, meal shared, rest taken and movement made. All the ingredients needed to allow the mind and body to rest, giving permission to allow the inner voice to reflect and move through the ebb and flow of one’s emotions in a very dignified and respectful shared space. The learning in the here and now compounded and my own mindfulness practice was refreshed and brought to a deepened level, which I’ve been able to bring more often into my everyday life. I was really grateful that I got the opportunity to spend the day on this Silent Mindfulness Retreat. I would highly recommend the day to anyone who needs some “me time”, along with anyone who wants to deepen their practice at a very personal level. Thank you Una for a really super day.

Zoe Dixon (Social Care Worker & Art Therapist) Arklow

The MBSR Course on Mindfulness with Instructor Una Keeley, which I attended for 8 weeks recently, was completely new to me & I had no real knowledge or concept of what it entailed, but for stress related reasons I made a commitment to take part. I feel very fortunate to have met wonderful people, who seemed to be there for different reasons, All of whom, brought uniquely different helpful views to our meetings. Every meeting was challenging for the right reasons, with plenty to practice at home on a daily basis. Every Monday was so well planned, organised & executed in such a thoughtful, caring, professional & different way each night, that seemed to lend itself to each participant really benefiting. I for one, found this course enlightening, thought provoking & I would say, very important & most helpful for today’s challenges.

Paschal Whitmore (Jeweller) Gorey, Wexford

(Mindfulness Through Art & Meditation Course) I thoroughly enjoyed this course. Una is an inspiring teacher and in each of the classes she created a welcoming, safe and nurturing environment in which I felt motivated and comfortable enough to allow myself to reconnect with my creative side, which had been a bit neglected! I have been practicing mindfulness for a number of years and was very familiar with the concepts and theories behind it but this course helped me to gain a much deeper understanding and appreciation for it as the concepts were taught in a hands on, visual and practical way. The tasks we were set were enlightening, motivational and fun and they have each left a lasting impression on me. The course helped me to find my creativity again, for which I am so very grateful. Everyone in the group was so lovely and a really relaxed atmosphere of encouragement and support developed over the 6 weeks. Each lesson was planned out so carefully and we all took so much from each session. I really looked forward to going each week. Thanks so much Una. I will most definitely be back again soon!

Jan Feeney (Yoga Teacher) Ferns