In this interview, mindfulness teacher Bridgeen Rea shares the story of founding Immeasurable Minds, a mindfulness training company based in Belfast. She recounts her six‑year part‑time teaching while employed as a civil servant, her MSc in mindfulness‑based approaches, and the decisive moment in January 2014 when she left the civil service to go full‑time. Rea explains how she grew the business gradually—starting with home‑based classes, building a reputation, creating a website, and securing corporate clients such as the Chief Executives Forum and the national lottery fund. She highlights the influence of Plum Village and Thích Nhất Hạnh on her practice, and argues that mindfulness improves both employee wellbeing and organisational productivity, citing scientific evidence. Rea offers practical advice for aspiring mindfulness entrepreneurs: start part‑time, ensure financial stability, be passionate, and accept that business ownership means constant connectivity. She also recommends accessible books and audio resources, notably Mark Williams’s Peace in a Frantic World and several works by Thích Nhất Hạnh, emphasizing that regular practice is the core of mindfulness.
Chapters
My name is Bridgeen Rea. I'm a mindfulness meditation teacher, and I have my own company called Immeasurable Minds. I've been teaching mindfulness in Belfast for about 6 years. I was doing it part-time while working as a civil servant. And on one hand, I was doing that, and on the other hand, I was coming here to Namaste at night and teaching people meditation and how to be still and be calm. So they're both very different vocations, if you like. And this one was paying my mortgage and this one was really feeding my soul and my interest and making me happy. So I continued to work for the civil service and I did a master's in Bangor University in Wales in mindfulness-based approaches. And I continued to develop my skill in teaching. and offer different types of courses. I taught some actually from my home, and I got really, really good feedback from many people, and people wanted more classes, and I had a lot of encouragement from people. And last year, in January 2014, I took a big decision and decided to hand in my notice to the civil service and to leave. And Yeah, I haven't looked back. You know, I feel really happy with what I'm doing, and not only am I making enough money to pay my mortgage, which was my big concern, I'm also able to help people. I'm able to introduce them to this really wonderful, transformative practice, and I've been able to do things that I didn't think were possible when I first started studying mindfulness. you know, 10, 12 years ago, people thought I was crazy and, you know, thought it was some kind of weird thing. And now I'm just inundated all the time, people contacting me. I did a talk for the Chief Executives Forum in Belfast. I work for a number of different companies, going in and giving talks, even the big lottery fund there just last week. And I'm really most proud of the fact that I'm able to bring my practice, which is from Plum Village. It's a Buddhist monastery in southwest France, and I'm really inspired by the teacher there. It's a man called Thích Nhất Hạnh. He's a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist master, and he's amazing. You know, some people say follow your dream, and yes, it was a dream of mine, but I don't think you should follow your dream at the expense of your mortgage and your food bill and things like that. I do think you have to be sensible. I think it's a good idea if you want to start a business to do it part-time. That's what I did, and that really worked, you know, because I was able to establish myself and get a reputation, get a website, and, you know, get clients and sort of test the market before I just gave it all up. So that was kind of a safety net. I would say Is that you need to be passionate about what you're doing. I think you have to have a drive or a passion for your business area so that you don't mind working all these different hours. And, you know, when you have your own business, you don't really have time off because you're always checking your email and your phone. All the science, all the evidence, all the top companies are showing that mindfulness really helps business. Okay, so it's not just about the bottom line and productivity. It's actually about your people becoming happier, your people being able to focus better, to be able to do better work. You know, sometimes if you think, oh, if I take time out, if I take an hour off or I take half an hour off in my day, you know, I have all this work to do. But actually, the evidence shows that you're more productive if you can take time out, if you can stop. I recommend it for business people who want to achieve more, want to get more done. As a business person to another business person, Mindfulness helps me in that it allows me to let go a wee bit and not get too caught up and not get too worried, oh, I have to do this or I have to get that or I need to have a plan. I find that I'm a bit more just trusting that things will be okay. That sounds a bit flaky, but it's kind of, you know, I don't really feel a lot of stress. So, recommended books. There's a really good book called Peace in a Frantic World by Mark Williams. That's a nice introduction and it takes you through your course and there's a free CD with it. I also recommend any book by Thich Nhat Hanh, who's written many, many books including The Miracle of Mindfulness and Peace Is Every Step. So if you pick up any of Thay's books, You will find them really simple and easy and straightforward. And, you know, there's a lot of theory and a lot of science about mindfulness, but actually it's really simple. The most important thing is to practice it. If you can't find a class or a group, then get a book that has a CD and that will guide you through the practices and that you can try at home.
