Exhale Fest
A talk at the Exhale wellbeing festival.
A talk with David Oromith
Opening the heart to love and joy
Holding on to resentment, comparing ourselves with others and feeling cut off from people all wear us down, at work and at home. This talk looks at four qualities the Buddhist tradition calls the four immeasurables: loving kindness, compassion, joy in other people's happiness, and equanimity. David brings together insights from the Buddhist tradition, Western psychology and modern wellbeing research.
He learned these practices from his teacher while recovering from depression and isolation.
What your audience will take away
Loving kindness
What loving kindness is, how it differs from attachment, and why it starts with kindness towards ourselves.
Seeing the person behind the behaviour
How to separate what someone did from who they are, so we can keep healthy boundaries without carrying resentment.
Joy in other people's happiness
Empathetic joy as a way out of comparison and envy, at work and online.
Balancing the negativity bias
Why our minds look for what is wrong, and simple practices like gratitude and humour that bring things back into balance.
Warmth for everyone
Equanimity: extending kindness beyond the people we already like, and staying steadier through praise and blame.
A guided meditation and PDF notes
The talk includes a guided loving kindness meditation, and everyone gets PDF notes afterwards.
Loving kindness
- The wish
- May you be happy and well.
- Near enemy
- Attachment, which puts terms and conditions on love.
- Far enemy
- Ill will and contempt.
Compassion
- The wish
- May you be free of suffering, and what can I do to help?
- Near enemy
- Despair, and pity.
- Far enemy
- Cruelty.
Empathetic joy
- The wish
- Delight in other people's happiness and success.
- Near enemy
- Superficial frivolity: getting excited by the thing, rather than happy for the person. It feeds our attachment to things.
- Far enemy
- Envy and cynicism.
Equanimity
- The wish
- Warmth for everyone equally, steady through gain and loss, praise and blame.
- Near enemy
- Flat indifference.
- Far enemy
- Attachment and aversion: reaching out to some and pushing others away.
The four immeasurables as David teaches them, each with its near enemy, something that looks like it but is not, and its far enemy, the opposite. Equanimity makes the other three immeasurable, because it stops them depending on whether we like someone.
Where David has given this talk
Samadhi courses
Including "Path of the Open Heart", a four-week course on the four immeasurables, in person and online.
Day retreats
Including "Joyful Heart" and "Practices for Inner Joy".
Talks and retreats
Many more times, on retreats and online, including "Practising with Joy" on lightness and humour.
Why book David
Mental health background
David started as a mental health support worker at eighteen and went on to work in Liverpool's mental health services, on the wards and in the community.
Lived experience
At his lowest he was signed off work for months, and he speaks about it openly.
Qualified
He is a qualified mindfulness teacher and a Mental Health First Aider.
Trained in Buddhism for over a decade
His root teacher is Dr B. Alan Wallace, a renowned scholar and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism, and David has trained in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition since 2015.
Author and teacher
He wrote A Practical Guide to Mindful Living and Calm Mind, Open Heart, and co-founded Samadhi, a Buddhist wellbeing charity (1207744), where he leads retreats and courses across the UK and online.
Who it's for
David gives this talk to workplace wellbeing programmes, conferences and festivals, Buddhist and meditation centres, schools, colleges and universities, and community groups. It suits anyone who finds resentment or comparison getting in the way of their relationships, at work or at home.
- Workplace wellbeing
- Conferences and festivals
- Buddhist and meditation centres
- Schools, colleges and universities
- Community groups
Keynote
20 to 45 minutes
For festivals, summits and conference main stages.
Workshop
90 minutes to half a day
With short guided practices, for 20 to 200 people.
Corporate wellbeing day
Full day
For a team, including lunchtime guided meditations and Q&A.
Reduced rates are available for NHS, charity and educational bookings.
What participants said
“David has the most calming, reassuring, gentle manner, and he just describes life and how we live it to a tee!”
“David openly shares his experiences of being mindful and his talks are inspiring and thought provoking and have helped me enjoy meditation again.”
“David is really good at explaining Buddhist concepts in a way that makes them relevant to every day life and is a very calming presence.”
“I feel David has an amazing gift of really seeing you and offering teachings that I know for me, will stay with me for life.”
“It is obvious the passion David has with his teachings and the genuine desire to help enhance the quality of peoples lives, which I personally find truly admirable.”
“David has a gentle way about him that informs about Buddhist practice in a way that is accessible to implement in my life.”
Questions from organisers
How long is the talk?
From a 20-minute keynote to a full-day programme.
Does it include a guided practice?
Yes. The talk includes a guided meditation, such as the loving kindness practice, and short practices people can use during the day, such as harvesting joy.
Do attendees get anything to take away?
Yes. Everyone gets PDF notes after the talk.
Can it be tailored to our audience?
Yes. David shapes every talk with the organiser, for example for a workplace team, a festival audience or a meditation group.
Online or in person?
Both. Online keynotes and workshops run on Zoom, and David has given this talk to a room and an online audience at the same time.
Do you travel?
David is based in South Wales and travels across the UK. International in-person bookings are considered case by case.
What does it cost?
It depends on the format, so get in touch for a quote. Reduced rates are available for NHS, charity and educational bookings.
Related talks and books
Book this talk
Tell us a little about your event and we will come back within two working days with availability, a fee and a rough idea of how a session could work for your audience.
