Bupa Blog Awards 2016

Super excited yesterday to hear that this blog had been nominated for in the 2016 Bupa Blog Awards.

I received a message letting me know that I was nominated for the awards that "recognise the increasing influence and growing professionalism of the Australian influencer community.  The awards aim to celebrate the outstanding work produced in the blogging community, and reward bloggers for their achievements in spreading positive health and wellbeing messages – a core part of Bupa’s philosophy".  

There are now over 1000+ posts on the Quiet Mind blog .. and I have to say it has been a labour of love from the very first entry on Saturday, 18 January 2008. 

There are now hundreds of posts on the practical aspects of meditation - the 'how' and the 'why' - along with personal insights on the journey, research and scientific articles, local and international programs and content, messages from friends and students. 

I am constantly inspired to share my passion for meditation .. and find new and unique ways to engage and support your meditation journey!

This year has been the busiest ever for Quiet Mind Meditation, and unfortunately that has taken me away from this blog space as I have been designing and content filling my totally new website and blog-home!  After diving into a year of new studies, and (yeah!) becoming a McLean Meditation Institute Certified Meditation & Mindfulness Teacher in January 2016 .. I felt we really needed a bright, fresh, sparkling new home.

So along with our new look Quiet Mind monthly newsletter and Monday Meditation Musing alert (SIGN UP HERE) .. our new look home is almost ready to be revealed.  

Stay tuned

Eternally grateful and doing a little happy dance right now!

You can find out more about the Bupa Blog Awards HERE 

Soft Focus

A few years ago my daughter came home from the library with a Magic Eye book. I haven't seen one of these for years .. and it took me a moment to remember how it 'worked' and then a lot longer to explain it to my daughter.

'Quiet Mind' e-newsletter out

Just hit send on our June E-Newsletter "Quiet Mind"

.. you can sign up HERE .. and since it is suddenly Winter here in Melbourne there are some free resources and suggestions for your time indoors this month.  I have been so cold this week, despite lots of cosy clothes and warm socks, I am already dreaming of warmer weather up North and the possibility of a road trip out of here!  {Seriously though I am contemplating a short retreat but more on that once its sorted}.

In the meantime .. our newsletter provides some resources for YOU this month in honour of our natural desire to slow .. relax .. cosy-up and be still ..

* Details on how to join Sarah McLean's Facebook study group to support your reading of her book "Soul-Centered: Transform Your life in 8 Weeks with Meditation". I completed the study group a few weeks ago and it was brilliant fun, insightful and inspiring .. and FREE

* A link to a FREE guided breath meditation by the amazing Tara Brach .. one that you can download and build into your monthly meditation practice

I also talk a little about being a Meditation Coach and there is a current schedule of classes .. our next Exploring Meditation (6week) courses start in JULY and bookings are already coming in BOOKINGS HERE. 

Stay warm .. and you can sign up for our Quiet Mind e-newsletter HERE

Springtime Meditation

The September Quiet Mind free e-newsletter has just gone out .. it has been a busy (and cold) month just past and such a joy to wake this morning to the world singing the praises of Spring. 

The sky has been a crystal blue all day.  The jasmine are suddenly dripping off the side fence.  The air is crisp but with a hint of warmth .. I made pancakes for breakfast and spring vegetable soup for lunch.  I even spent an hour weeding the garden.

Spring.  It's all about renewal and rebirth.

And to celebrate we have our next Exploring Meditation course starting in two weeks : Black Rock and Brighton venues (our lovely new space).  CLASSES LIMITED TO TEN PARTICIPANTS.

To register for the course or for our free e-newsletter : sarah@quietmind.com.au or call 0417 403 714

Red Light (Spot Meditation)

This is posted from the June Edition of our Quiet Mind E-Newsletter .. it's a free monthly newsletter .. providing some great articles, news and views on meditation from across the globe.

The Red Light Spot Meditation:

Recently I woke up to the fact that I was rushing! Rushing late to a class, ignoring the warning signs and blind to the world around me as I drove a little faster to get somewhere. I could feel the rising panic ..

.. that sinking feeling that I had failed, was going to be terribly late, that participants would think badly of me .. and that I would be a tangled mess of tension on arrival!

At some point on the journey however I stopped .. correctly I stopped at a red stop light .. and the thought arose "what is the point of rushing?".

Suddenly it seemed very clear that there was little point in winding myself up about potential lateness, when there was in fact a very real potential to have a car accident, alongside the physical and mental manifestation of the stress .. which I could suddenly feel in my body and mind. How silly to be racing to teach a meditation class .. when I was stressing myself out!

The realisation occured mid Stop Sign .. and took me back to Meditation 101! I purposefully took a couple of slower, deeper breaths and rested my gaze on the bright red light ahead. And when the light changed to green I took another very purposeful inhalation .. and calmly moved forward on my journey.

At each subsequent stop light (and it was rather interesting how I seemed to hit every single light along the way) .. I took the moment provided to .. check in with my body, breath into my shoulders, feel them fall, releasing my body into the seat, allowing the tension to drain away, resting my breath and gaze on just the stop sign ..

I began to really noticed how different my journey now felt. Whether it was the breathing or the change in my intention (to stop rushing) .. I definitely altered the flow of my journey .. and the flow of my mind.

I didn't arrive late to class at all .. in fact, I found a car spot right outside the venue, appreciated the beautiful smells eminating from the local korean restaurant, and calmly flowed into my talk without any residual tension or lack of focus.

Shifting our focus inward when we notice stress, allows us to rest in this deeper stillness that is always within. From this place, time seems to stop and slow .. and when we return to our journey or tasks we do so from this deeper place, with a broader view of ourselves and the world.

This doorway inward is always there for us .. it arises in every moment, we just don't normally notice. Meditation shows us how to notice ..

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