Have you felt this? After meditating for a while, there often comes the nagging feeling there is more on offer. If only I could relax a bit more, hold my concentration a little more, resist distractions, let go a little more thoroughly... something deeper is on offer.
The reality is, the most profound experiences – and benefits – of meditation are to be found in the stillness beyond all our thoughts and emotions. In this natural inner silence, we come face to face with our own true nature. We can experience the truth of who we are; and our whole perspective on self and life can change for the better. More loving, more knowing, more appreciative. Better able to engage with others, to see things more clearly, to be as we would truly like to be.
So this week... how we can make this profound shift and Deepen Your Meditation – and news of the workshop coming up on that topic, but first
Thought for the day
You are the sky.
Everything else
- it is just the weather
Pema Chodron
who recently celebrated her 90th Birthday :)
Here is the challenge.
We are so used to thinking and feeling. Thoughts and emotions are our constant inner companions. We sit to meditate – and who do we meet? Our own inner circus. Well, to be fair, some thoughts are useful – often we become distracted by fiendishly good ideas, or useful planning sessions. Some thoughts can lead us down a convoluted, tortuous path; while others can be just like the dross of the day drifting on by.
And then there are the emotions. Sweeping us along into all manner of delightful and severely fraught states.
So how to move past all of this? Is there even this peaceful, silent inner refuge beyond all this immediate mental action?
On the grand scale, mystics from all cultures and traditions have waxed lyrical about the ecstasy of the transcendent or unified experience they encountered in their own inner silence.
Many of us will have had powerful glimpses. Moments when it felt as if the clouds parted for a moment and we were able to experience and comprehend the magnificence and purity of the blue sky.
So how to make this leap – from the Active Mind to the Still Mind?
Meditate!
Meditation provides the royal road, the reliable pathway to this inner peace and revelation.
So how to proceed?
When it comes to meditation, there are two main possibilities – the Direct Path, and the Gradual Path. The Gradual Path is what works for many – it involves using a technique that gradually helps us to move beyond our thoughts and emotions. There are many possibilities in the Gradual Path; many techniques. A good starting place for most.
And then there is the Direct Path. Here we recognise inner silence, inner stillness is just that. To be still, we simply need to be still! With this understanding we realise if we are doing something, if we are using a technique, we may well be doing something useful, however, we cannot be still. Not if we are doing something.
So real meditation starts when the technique stops.
The Direct Path recognises that to enter into the heart of meditation, we need to stop all the doing. In this practice, there is nothing to do, apart from being aware we are doing nothing.
To explain how this becomes possible, is more about the experience. The theory is simple – just let go and be still. The doing is a bit tricky because we are so habituated to thinking and feeling.
Hence the workshop in October.
Having been teaching meditation for decades, I have found 3 key techniques that lead past the distractions, help us to move through the barriers, and guide us into that deeper experience.
So this is what I will attempt to convey – The Direct Path, the direct experience.
The workshop will have some talking – enough to provide the framework; but then mostly we will practice together.
And while this is ideal to do in a retreat setting, my wish is that even online you may come to experience what truly is the heart and essence of meditation.
An element of the mystical. Transcendent and yet practical.
Join me for this major online event...
Deepening Your Meditation - the Direct Path
Online with Ian Gawler
Thursday 1st October 2026 7.30 – 9.00pm AEST
Register through Eventbrite: CLICK HERE
3 Day Meditation Immersion with Ian and Ruth Gawler
NOVEMBER 2026 – Friday 6th to Sunday the 8th - Yarra Junction
These days, many people have had some introduction to meditation and the power of the mind. Soon comes the realisation of the extraordinary depth and breadth of it all. And often we get a sense there is more to it ….. More to experience ..…
So while this retreat will include ample instruction, the focus will be upon direct experience; finding and immersing ourselves in the deep inner peace, the regenerative power and the clarity of our own stillness. And the balance between doing and being...
This process will be enhanced by being in the wonderful, peaceful and majestic forests of the Upper Yarra Valley, by being supported by the staff and amenities of the Yarra Valley Living Centre, and guided by Ian and Ruth Gawler.
For details and to register CLICK HERE
