Quiet Mind Meditation 2016

Welcome 2016!

A New Year. A new start. A fresh page.

I have loved hearing the phrase 'Sweet 16' for this year .. and it does feel sweet and fresh with potential.

I have been quiet here over the past month, not just because of family visiting and seasonal festivities and super hot days here in Melbourne, but also because I have been cocooned in my studies as I polished off the final stages of the McLean Meditation Teacher Certification.

I started this training early 2015 .. and it has been transformational on so many levels

I have been meditating for more than 20+ years .. since I was a teenager .. but the opportunity to embrace Beginners Mind and dive into a world of new books (ten books on the curriculum plus additional reading, audio and video requirements), current research (tons and tons of it - learning from original scientific research papers to published articles in journals), regular hook-ups with others on the path across the globe (from Vancouver to Ireland), committing to new meditation techniques each month (from mantra to self-inquiry to mindfulness), reflecting and writing in my Meditation Journal (finally submitting a book size journal on the 31 Dec) and maintaining this path of Sādhanā with gentleness and kindness, and a twice daily meditation practice.

I am now about to travel to the US to attend the final stage, an 8-day intensive retreat .. followed by a 3-day Meditation Symposium.

I am blessed.

Over the next few days I am going to share some thoughts on Preparing and Attending a Retreat ~ as I get ready myself to leave my cosy, Australian Summer routine for the snow covered retreat venue in Arizona. 

Have you attended a retreat?  

It is always a life changing experience to step away from our regular life and commit to a period of intense study and reflection.  And while I shall be mostly silent from here during the retreat itself (retreating from technology is just one part of the adventure) .. I will have a bounty of insights and things to share on my return.

Our monthly Quiet Mind e-newsletter will be going out in a few days - you can sign up here - and I believe there will be some rare moments that I can capture some images of my journey, which I will share on Instagram and Facebook.

And I leave you with this quote from Deepak Chopra, which I love:

“My body travels. I never leave home.”

Chopra 21-Day Meditation Challenge

In the August Quiet Mind e-newsletter I wrote about my decision to commit to a new practice/goal/habit every month. And recently I had been reading about Sādhanā - a Sanskrit word that means spiritual exertion towards an intended goal .. a "means of accomplishing something". I can only assume there is something in the 'almost Spring air' because I also had recently also written about the Reiki Principle 'Just For Today' which is also about committing to something (a new practice, belief or habit) 'just for today' .. taking the pressure off having to commit forever. Simply doing it now without planting ourselves too far into the future.

I decided after a very successful personal commitment in July that I really enjoyed .. that for the remainder of this year I would like to explore a new Sādhanā each month (a one month commitment). And then suddenly my Sādhanā for August arrived unexpectedly into my inbox .. an email from the Chopra Center and an invitation to join their 21-day Meditation Challenge. While I practice meditation in some way every day .. I have found that I have become lazy with my morning practice .. something about Melbourne's cold winter mornings or perhaps now working freelance.

Along with a worldwide community of participants I have committed to a renewed daily morning meditation practice. The Chopra Center will provide a daily meditation, support and guidance, some new techniques and tips and shared experiences.

I received my first Chopra Meditation this afternoon (given time differences) and I am going to start tomorrow morning .. first thing .. with the rising of the sun .. a new day full of 'infinite possibilities' ..