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.”