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The Meditation Practice

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25.01.2022 Hi There, In the mindfulness courses I teach I often talk about the flight or fight response and this normal survival instinct. You may find yourself in it at the moment feeling uncertain, anxious, stressed, frustrated. Its normal to panic in the middle of a crisis, become anxious, feel overwhelmed, horde supplies. Many people around the world are feeling what you are feeling right now. Our bodies naturally respond this way to threats. When we feel this way we struggle to... make effective and wise decisions and our sympathetic nervous systems can tend to be on overdrive and our bodies can fill with cortisol and adrenaline. Thats why it is important to return to the practice that we know calm the nervous system down, meditation, walking in nature, talking with friends, journaling can all help to soothe us. Meditation is accessible to you now, it is a great time to continue or even start. You dont need to go anywhere or be near anyone and we know that meditation alleviates feelings of anxiety, and also improves the immune system and also helps to cultivate loving kindness and compassion to yourself and those around you. Take five minutes now. Notice that you are alright, right now. As you register now in this moment that you are basically alright. If you can in this moment start to bring awareness into the fact that in this moment, now and now and now. That there is enough air to breath, your heart is still beating, your body is basically ok and you can register the fact and feel it that you are basically alright right now. Letting go of or letting be any unnecessary worry and unnecessary uneasiness, letting go of unnecessary bracing defending or guarding as you register that you are basically alright. Go well, lets all do our best to slow this virus down to look after yourselves and others.

23.01.2022 Welcome it all! The Guest House This being human is a guest house.... Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice. meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whatever comes. because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. Jellaludin Rumi,

22.01.2022 Hows the serenity? Getting my yoga and meditation on.

21.01.2022 We often avoid emotion. We tell ourselves we are wrong for feeling a certain way. And avoiding never works. Even if we do manage it for a short time they inevitably come up again in the future. If fact the more we try to not have a difficult emotion the more energy we expend and stress we create. Mindfulness offers a fresh approach. Instead of avoiding, suppressing or fixing them, we build a relationship with them, we become curious to discover the feeling of feeling. We allow the feelings to be there and to move through. We find they dont need to be fixed and we dont need to get rid of anything. This will be the foundation of my next free offering. Dealing with difficult emotions. Details to be sent shortly. Message me here if you would like to be involved.

21.01.2022 Mindfulness is a Buddhist concept only quite recently popularized and secularized in the West as a tool for physical and emotional health and well-being. Although Western mindfulness teachers are educated in Buddhist principles and cognizant of the roots of mindfulness, the MBSR curriculum is specifically designed to be secular, and does not explicitly refer to Buddhist teachings. Mindfulness consists of themes of awareness via body sensations, allowing experience to be as it is, turning toward rather than away from pain, and cultivating compassion for personal and others suffering. The seven foundational attitudes to mindfulness practice (acceptance, non-judgment, non-striving, beginners mind, patience, trust, and letting go) identified by MBSR founder Jon Kabat-Zinn, and explicitly taught in MBSR.

20.01.2022 Lets be honest I have some how managed to navigate that my husband makes the school lunches. I just keep quiet, stealth like in the kitchen. Thank goodness for me! And possibly my daughter too. So . would it be complaining if during the school holidays I find it is quite stressful doing high performance Tetris to fit ALL the lunch containers into the kitchen drawer. Thank goodness for mindfulness!

19.01.2022 And here we still are in lock down. Sending much empathy and compassion to those who are struggling. Please hand in there and reach out for help if you need it. I am reminded of my old days of netball and the "Here if ya need" saying. Hopefully you have someone asking you this. And make sure you do say when you need, people love to help and asking for help is a strength. Looking forward to 2021 and hopefully some face to face MBSR courses and practice groups.

18.01.2022 Gearing up for Term 1 2020 Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course (MBSR) starting February 4th (Eltham), February 6th (Hurstbridge). 8 weeks mindfulness practice. Paying attention to yourself non judgementally. Become aware of your own mental processes to act skilfully with the emotional intelligence that comes with practicing mindfulness. Does your mind feel like a pot full of sediments being constantly shaken and agitated. The water appears cloudy. Imagine if you could ...stop agitating it for a while, all the sediments will settle and the mind will appear clear. This is what can be achieved through the practice of mindfulness. The mind is alert and relaxed at the same time. We stop agitating our mind just as we stop agitating the pot. Eventually the mind becomes calm and clear. The same way the water appears calm and clear. Sounds good - contact me to secure your place in the class.

18.01.2022 Come and join me for a FREE guided meditation as my offering during this difficult time. Contact me for details.

17.01.2022 "Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. Its about learning how to dance in the rain." Uknown"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. Its about learning how to dance in the rain." Uknown

17.01.2022 Some interesting suggestions to stay well during isolation from some people who really know about isolation.

16.01.2022 Im working on a free online meditation to help in this time, open to anyone really. Let me know if you are interested? It will be just a 20-30 minute practice with the intention to offer you the opportunity to calm your nervous system down, connect with some compassion and a sense of community.

16.01.2022 Come and find the space between stimulus and response and more peace and freedom in your life. The real McCoy evidence based Mindfulness Course. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course 8 week course 2.5 hrs a week. Starting Wednesday 23rd October. $660. At The Hurstbridge Hub. Save your spot now.

15.01.2022 We finished up a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course a week ago. The way the program unravels never ceases to amaze me. To see participants comfortably or maybe skillfully sitting with themselves, practicing for life, for up to forty minutes is impressive. It is also the beautiful growth and insights that they made that is so impressive. Some of the insights were. I have slowed down a lot. I can trust my body to tell me when I am about to react unhelpfully to somethi...ng and stop and just observe and then respond in a much more helpful way I am not as affected by other peoples stress or actions. I dont take it personally With this practice I may still get frustrated and annoyed by things but I have found that I dont spiral into my anxiety and catastrophising and getting down on myself. I am a better parent. More compassion and empathy If you have been thinking of training in mindfulness, in a practical, evidence based method last chance for 2019 is starting October 23rd. Drop me a message if you would like more information and I can send you the detailed course outline.

14.01.2022 Darren Hanlon I knew he’d come through with the goods. A song for every occasion.

13.01.2022 Look after yourself during the Christmas period. Looking forward to some face to face MBSR 2021!Look after yourself during the Christmas period. Looking forward to some face to face MBSR 2021!

12.01.2022 Mindfulness has gained popularity recently in its evidence based findings for decreasing suffering and enhancing growth. Regular practice of Mindfulness skills can lead to more self-awareness and less reactivity. Mindful awareness will improve your ability to self-regulate which will give you more choice over how you respond when faced with difficult situations. Like Meg here practicing mindfulness has helped her reactivity. She is choosing skillfully when to devour her bone.

12.01.2022 Regular practice of Mindfulness skills can lead to more self-awareness and less reactivity. Mindful awareness will improve your ability to self-regulate which will give you more choice over how you respond when faced with difficult situations. Mindfulness allows you to see reality for what it is, without habitual emotional or thinking patterns clouding our awareness. Mindfulness refers to being aware of your mind having an emotion or a thought rather than habitually respo...nding to that thought. MBSR is a great adjunct to therapy and many psychologists/psychiatrists and doctors are referring clients to this course. In order to teach MBSR you must complete significant training in Mindfulness Based Programs including silent meditation retreats, professional training and supervision of teaching. You can trust in Mindfulness and MBSR. See more

12.01.2022 Sending you much kindness in this time and also recommending meditation as a great coping mechanism. Heres a little 3 minute breathing space you can do throughout the day or even just once a day. 3 minute breathing space Lets begin by sitting in an upright posture and turning inwards. Notice your body in this posture. The pressure on the floor, the weight of our body, the spine and neck and head in alignment. If you feel comfortable allowing your eyes to close. If not, ch...oosing a spot five feet in front of you and holding that spot with a steady gaze. Then when you are ready looking into the mind and perhaps asking yourself what is my experience right now - what thoughts are present? what feelings are here? What bodily sensations are making themselves known? And as best you can allowing all of these elements to be here watching observing moment to moment without the need to alter or change them in any way. SPACE And in the second step of the breathing space seeing if you can let go of the contents of the mind and bringing your attention to a single point of focus of the breath at the belly or wherever in your body the breath makes itself most vividly known and feeling the in breath and the sensations of breathing in the rising the expansion and then the out breath the sensations of breathing out the falling back the contraction however you find it just giving your mind this one thing to do breathing in and breathing out one moment to the next as best you can . SPACE And in the third step of the breathing space seeing if you can expand your awareness moving your attention outwards from your belly or from the region in your body where you were follow the breath so you become aware of the body as a whole sitting breathing one whole breath one whole body feeling the body from the crown of you head to the soles of your feet and seeing it you can expand your attention even further outwards the skin and the air caressing the body into the room and the space around you holding all of this as best you can in a wider and more spacious awareness. SPACE And then when you feel ready just allowing your eyes to open. See more

11.01.2022 Hi Everyone, I wanted to share with you a link to a FREE screening of a film about living mindfully for a year. This week, Shannon Harvey’s award winning film, My Year of Living Mindfully is streaming free from Wednesday 27 May till Wednesday June 3rd. The 8 week MBSR course that I teach is featured in the documentary. It beautiful illustrates the benefits of mindfulness from her own subjective experience and transformation to the science, comparing a multitude of medical te...sts EEGs and MRIs from the start of her year to the end of her year of living mindfully. The film - My Year of Living Mindfully - shows Shannon engaging in a year-long experiment in mindfulness meditation. She started out - as many people do - using some mindfulness apps, and then embarked on the MBSR course, followed by a nine day retreat. Have a look. And if you would like some more information on MBSR feel free to contact me. I am offering it online or potentially in person depending on relaxation of current restrictions.

11.01.2022 Ive always be drawn to have a good old dance in difficult times. It just feels good. And seems it gets my kid outside and exercising too!

10.01.2022 We are living through an unprecedented time. Whatever you are feeling, whether you are feeling fear, anxiety, feeling overwhelmed and unsettled, perhaps you are feeling avoidant, detached, perhaps downplaying the situation, numb or anywhere in between, by what is currently unfolding, you are not alone. This week, I have arranged to run a FREE guided meditation. As we experience more isolation as we lock down, it seems that the online space will be a place to create a sense ...of community and connection. Noting that isolation is not the same as loneliness. You can be surrounded by people and still feel alone or lonely. Or be completely on your own and still feel connected. Allowing yourself to feel what you are feeling, checking in on your thoughts to remember they are not facts and listening to your body because it is a good gauge of how you are going is a much better response than panic. If there was ever a time to practice meditation this is it. And also potentially you have more time. Id love you to join me this Wednesday night 25th March at 8:30PM AEDT to check in with yourself in a supportive online community. We will use Zoom so send me your email and I will send the link. And also phone details if you want to just dial in. Go well. Listen deeply to yourself and learn what is most needed now.

08.01.2022 Reggie agrees you can meditate anywhere any time. You may think she’s asleep in her bed. But her bed, well this bed (one of many) is in my study whilst I work from home. This is her work space so she is working very hard.

07.01.2022 Out of Lockdown Coming out of lock down can be exciting and energising. But even the happy, much anticipated opening up can be difficult for our mental health. RAIN is a practice that I have found incredibly helpful of late for any and all situations. ... Recognise: Recognise what is happening Allow: allow the experience to be there, just as it is, it is after all, already there whether you look at it or not Investigate: Investigate with interest and care NURTURE: Nurture with self compassion. What does that wounded part of you need most? A message of reassurance? Forgiveness? Compassion? Love? What would you tell a friend? Maybe it's just a whispered. "I'm here. I will never leave you. I'm sorry. I love you. I am listening." Trust in your goodness. Book Recommendation. Simple and practical.

07.01.2022 There are only two emotions: love and fear. All positive emotions come from love, all negative emotions from fear. From love flows happiness, contentment, peace, and joy. From fear comes anger, hate, anxiety and guilt. Its true that there are only two primary emotions, love and fear. But its more accurate to say that there is only love or fear, for we cannot feel these two emotions together, at exactly the same time. Theyre opposites. If were in fear, we are not in a pla...ce of love. When were in a place of love, we cannot be in a place of fear. Elisabeth Kubler Ros Fear (anxiety, anger, guilt) can increase our reactivity. Being in this state can reduce our capacity to communicate to those around us, sometimes creating conflict. By calming our nervous systems and cultivating compassion (ie. we are all in this together) we can spread a little calm and can respond skilfully rather than reacting. To get these benefits you have to actually practice meditation. To be able to acknowledge what you are really feeling? Is it anger, is it sadness, is it fear? This in itself creates a space between stimulus and response. It is in the space we have a freedom to choose. Mindfulness meditation is backed by evidence based research. Whether you are a beginner or a more experienced meditator, without even leaving the house, our mindfulness based stress reduction course will inspire and help you grow stronger, especially in these challenging times. Contact me for more details. Stay Well.

04.01.2022 It is possible to feel Happy and Stressed at the same time. It is completely normal and human to prefer pleasant experiences over unpleasant experiences. It is completely normal to cling to pleasant experience and tried to avoid or push away unpleasant experiences. Its part of the evolutionary experience. However all this clinging and pushing away or avoiding creates stress and makes things worse. Pleasant and unpleasant experiences and in fact neutral experiences are all p...art of life. We often turn our attention to the pleasant experiences and then become panicked about their fleeting nature. When we become intolerant to the discomfort of unpleasant experiences we limit our attention only to the pleasant and it becomes a vicious cycle. Can we really be present for the pleasant if we are not prepared to be present for the unpleasant? How can we practice closing off to the unpleasant but then be able to be open up to the pleasant? Its all part of the practice opening ourselves up to and listening to the full catastrophe. What have you noticed in your own life?

04.01.2022 COVID-19 and the Grief ProcessCOVID-19 and the Grief Process

04.01.2022 The thirteenth-century Sufi poet Rumi is said to have written, "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." It turns out there is some doubt as to whether Rumi wrote this or not but I think he was on to something.

02.01.2022 Does social distancing include no one tail gating anymore? Thatd be a positive to this experience.Does social distancing include no one tail gating anymore? Thatd be a positive to this experience.

02.01.2022 RAIN Recognize what is happening; Allow the experience to be there, just as it is; Investigate with interest and care; Nurture with self-compassion.... This little reminder might be helpful for this Christmas period. And meditation is called a practice for a reason. Remember to be kind to yourself. Reach out if you are interested in learning more about meditation in 2021. We are continuing to teach even though social media has been quiet.

02.01.2022 "The secret for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly." Buddha I am concerned about those in a high risk group of infection and also for those whose businesses will be impacted and the financial stress that will cause. I am looking after my mental health by living in the present moment, feeling the feelings that are coming up, remembering to breathe... and remembering that we live in the lucky country. Walking in nature has been particularly helpful. Hanging out with my dog. Listening to music. Meditating. I am significantly reducing my social media and news intake. I have found that has given me space and I can feel myself more and get some healthy perspective. This is not me living in denial but accepting that I will get my information from official scientific sources, the information not the commentary or opinion of people with no medical background. The Corona cast pod cast in a good podcast by the ABC. And WHO and Vic Health websites. We are so lucky to have mindfulness to draw upon and I love to think of the positive impact these skills can have on people now who may not have access to other resources to call upon. And remember if you are struggling with your mental health please dont hesitate to contact Lifeline 13 11 14.

01.01.2022 A poem written early March by a woman in the US. Pandemic What if you thought of it as the Jews consider the Sabbath... the most sacred of times? Cease from travel. Cease from buying and selling. Give up, just for now, on trying to make the world different than it is. Sing. Pray. Touch only those to whom you commit your life. Center down. And when your body has become still, reach out with your heart. Know that we are connected in ways that are terrifying and beautiful. (You could hardly deny it now.) Know that our lives are in one anothers hands. (Surely, that has come clear.) Do not reach out your hands. Reach out your heart. Reach out your words. Reach out all the tendrils of compassion that move, invisibly, where we cannot touch. Promise this world your love-- for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, so long as we all shall live. --Lynn Ungar, 11 March, 2020 Reference: Openground See more

01.01.2022 This is a great first hand account of what the MBSR course brings to a persons life and also a demonstration of the science behind the changes it makes in the brain. Enjoy.

01.01.2022 MBSR Term 1 2021 live in person Eltham location Starting in Feb contact me if you are ready to dive into Meditation practice.MBSR Term 1 2021 live in person Eltham location Starting in Feb contact me if you are ready to dive into Meditation practice.