University of Sunderland journalism graduate and meditation teacher Annette Jeffrey’s new book, ‘Meditating with Elvis: A Guide to Simple Meditation & Mindful Awareness for the Soulful’, is on a mellow mission to spread serenity through the streets of Sunderland, and beyond.
Among the self-help book’s practical exercises there is a meditation especially for commuters called ‘Commute & Come to our Senses’, created to make workday bus and Metro journeys more joyful.
Meditating with Elvis also endorses the soothing, restorative powers of music and meditative walking, and claims that strolling through Sunderland while listening to the music of Elvis in particular, is a magically mindful tonic for body, mind and soul.
The author turned to meditation during her first degree at Sunderland, and it helped her become a super-student. Now, writing all of her own original material, Annette combines her journalistic skills with her meditation teaching qualifications. She sees her time at Sunderland as pivotal and inspirational, enabling her to fulfil her dream of writing a book that can help people be happier and healthier.
Annette describes her book as a “timely myth-busting manual for anyone desperately seeking de-stressing, while curious and perhaps confused about meditation and mindfulness”. She believes students deserve the compassionate and practical support that meditation and simple mindful awareness offer.
“Students are under tremendous pressure to succeed and excel,” she explained. “There are simple, tension-busting techniques that take only seconds, yet can make a world of difference to how we feel, function and perform. I’m passionate about helping everyone manage their stress in order to fulfil their potential. I did it, and today’s students can too.
“I teach ordinary people how to meditate in everyday situations – chatting with friends, having a shower, chilling on Seaburn beach, eating chocolate and simply listening to music. It really is as easy as that!”
Her book introduces simple and enjoyable meditation themes –
breathing meditations; visualisation; mindful awareness; music, sound, the voice; silence in meditation.
Annette added: “Meditation and mindful awareness are powerful tools for focusing our mind, boosting concentration, memory and problem-solving abilities. All essentials for serious students!”
Annette graduated in 2002 with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism as a mature student, aged 38. Her undergraduate dissertation, based on the history of travel writing, won the Dissertation of the Year Award.
In 2007 she returned to Sunderland and graduated with a MSc (Distinction) in Cultural and Heritage Tourism Development. She was presented with the additional Gordon Wainwright Award at her graduation ceremony.
Annette’s Masters dissertation (researched in Cuba) won a national research award, the Sue Glyptis Memorial Award. As a result she was invited to represent the University and present her work at an international Leisure Studies Association (LSA) conference, alongside speakers from Australia, Israel and Canada. Annette wrote a shortened version of her Cuba-based dissertation for publication in the LSA journal.
‘Meditating with Elvis: A Guide to Simple Meditation & Mindful Awareness for the Soulful’ is available on Amazon, Apple iTunes, Smashwords and all other major e-book platforms.
In Meditating with Elvis, Annette Jeffrey discusses how:
– Visualisation helped her learn to walk again when she was just seven years old, after 11 months spent strapped to a hospital bed in Grindon Hall Hospital.
– Meditation music brought peace to her Death Row pen pals’ final days.
– Today, she teaches meditation privately, writes and speaks on topics close to her heart. Besides meditation and mindfulness, themes include compassionate consumerism and fabulous funerals. Annette is also a qualified Funeral Celebrant.
Additional Sources:
Link to the book’s Amazon page.
Link to the author’s interview on the publishing site Smashwords.
https://www.smashwords.com/
Link to a feature-length recorded interview with the author about Meditating with Elvis, on the Culture Cave podcast hosted by Tokyo-based journalist Gabriella White.