Alice has been involved with Clearing and the Enlightenment Intensive (EI) since 1985. 

She is the author of Mind Clearing: the key to mindfulness mastery (2016, Jessica Kingsley) an co-author of Sei-ki: Life in Resonance (2011, Singing Dragon) with Kishi Akinobu. She has degrees in Philosophy, Religious Studies, Theology and Feminist Philosophy.

Alice has been running workshops for over 20 years and offers EIs and a Clearing Training.

Clearing is based on the work of Charles Berner/Yogeshwar Muni (1929-2007). He is best known for the Enlightenment Intensive (EI) retreat, a dynamic fusion of the Zen sesshin and the dyad form developed by Ava Berner in the early 1960s. Since its beginnings in 1968 in the Californian desert, the EI rapidly gained in popularity and is now an international phenomenon.


While this format is brilliant for giving participants the chance to directly touch on Truth in brief Samadhi, his other work is focused on processing fixed ideas to obviate the need for neurotic behaviour towards a fulfilled daily life. Together, his methods speak to all searchers, wherever they are on their journey, and offers precise guidance and practical exercises to further understanding and embodied wisdom.

Berner’s work maps on to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and is rooted in the guidance of Swami Kripalu, a master in the Bhakti yoga tradition and advocate of surrender, with whom Berner studied.

A close disciple of Berner’s for many years, Lawrence (formerly Skanda) has developed the legacy into a fully workable philosophy and practice. In particular, having come across audio tapes of lectures about Mind Clearing in the early 1980s, Lawrence became interested in this work which, at that time, Berner had moved on from. However, under Berner’s supervision, and with the help of Tara Devi, he transcribed the recordings into the manuals that still form the basis of all Mind Clearing training. He trains and teaches internationally.

Clearing & EIs UK was established by Alice Whieldon and brings these disciplines under one umbrella for the first time in many years, in the UK. Many people around the world offer Mind Clearing or the Enlightenment intensive, but few bring the wide spectrum of Berner's work together in an integrated whole. While each component is valuable on its own, together they offer a comprehensive guide to conscious living. Alice is unique in bringing academic rigour and understanding together with practical experience to this demanding and rewarding work.