A passion for speaking out

After being declared cancer free in 1978, the story of my recovery was published in the Australian Medical Journal and soon hit the press. Almost immediately I was asked to explain my survival from community and veterinary groups in Adelaide where I was living and working.

To be frank, I was scared stiff. With little experience in the public arena, it took me ages to prepare for each of those early talks – both to get the content together and to get myself together!

Time has moved on. Adaptation and learning occurred, and I became used to appearing in public. Currently in 2015 I am stepping back a little from the steady round of public seminars, workshops etc, which has been a large part of my work in these last few years, so that Ruth and I can focus on the retreats we present – both for everyone interested in deepening their mindfulness and meditation practice, and the more specific residential programs we run together for people affected by cancer.

Also, we are both giving time for our own personal retreats – I am going into retreat for 12 weeks in the middle of the year – and it may well be that I am writing another book this year.

However, we have agreed to present a couple of public talks in 2015, the first is on quite soon in Sydney (this is the only Sydney event planned for 2015, the others will be in Brisbane and Cairns).

Greg Fitzgerald is the Sydney organiser - Ruth and I have joined him in a series of well-received events in the last few years - and he has contributed to this blog below.

If you are in Sydney and can join us, please come and say hello personally on the night. If you know anyone in Sydney who may be interested, please share the details with them.

Also, we have received a large number of enquiries asking when our Pearls will be back in stock and available again from the webstore after the first sold out in record time before Christmas.

Happily, we can announce that stocks have been replenished and the full range of Pearls is available once more - including the 'Pearls Collection' bundle.  Check them out : CLICK HERE.

So now, at the risk of self- aggrandisement, to help publicise the Sydney event I have decided to post the guest blog Greg has written - as he talks about what makes for a worthwhile speaker, but first




            Thought for the day

People do not care how much you know, 
Until they know how much you care!

                         Greg Fitzgerald









“During my 35 years in the natural health field, I have spoken at hundreds of seminars here and overseas, and shared the stage with countless speakers. I can honestly say only a handful of speakers have left a deeply unforgettable impression.

I have thought about this long and hard. How is it that that people’s lives can literally change in one talk at one seminar? Firstly, you have to know your stuff. If you talk nonsense, you will be seen through and lose all credibility.

Secondly, you have to have passion. If there is no “feeling” in your communication, you will become the best drug for insomnia ever discovered. In other words, passion for the subject is inspiring, and keeps the audience’s attention.

Thirdly, you have to care. People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care!

And lastly, and this applies to the health area particularly, the best teachers are those who have suffered themselves. What I call “wounded healers”.

Great communicators in the health field are as rare as great communicators in the political or financial field.

Dr Ian Gawler overflows in all 4 criteria.

He has studied the field of mind/body medicine for well over 35 years. He lectures doctors and the public alike. He knows his stuff, no question.

His words, knowledge and very presence is inspiring. The fact that he is alive and in wonderful health is inspiring. His presence forces you to listen to his message. He is certainly no drug for insomnia!

Thirdly, he cares. He and his wife, Dr Ruth, deeply care so much about the declining state of mental and physical health in the western world and the conflicts of interest which confuse so many people, that they have devoted their lives sharing this wisdom. He has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1987 for services to the community.

He founded The Gawler Foundation in Victoria, where people travel from all over the world to learn the best ways to live and overcome or prevent chronic health issues.

Lastly, Dr Gawler has suffered. In his mid 20’s AFTER his entire leg had been amputated and his cancer returned, he was given only weeks to live. While he had palliative radiotherapy and chemotherapy, he was told there was no real prospect that modern medicine could cure him. He was told “Get your affairs in order”. 

But Ian thought there might be something he could do for himself. So he did. And from this transformative experience, Ian has helped change literally millions of lives directly and indirectly.

By utilizing mind/body techniques and dietary change, Dr Gawler not only survived but thrived.

My wife dawn and I are very excited to announce that Dr Gawler will be speaking at our first seminar of the year on 3rd of March, 2015 at Kareela Golf Club, 1 Bates Drive, Kareela in the south of Sydney.

Modern studies have shown the tremendous effect the mind has on the body. Our psychology affects our biology! The issues in our heads often become issues in our tissues!

Dr Gawler will be addressing the critically important subject of what to “feed" your mind. This covers the sort of thoughts and emotions that feed our mind for the better. He will also address what thoughts and emotions poison our mind, predisposing us to unhappiness, inner turmoil and chronic illness. 

Dr Gawler will also discuss what he calls “The Missing Link”. This link is what is lacking in most people’s lives today, something that almost guarantees unhappiness and a restless mind. 

He will also explain the wonderful benefits of simple meditation, and take the audience through a deeply relaxing practical session."

                                                        Greg Fitzgerald

Ian again: 
This is the only public seminar I am likely to present in Sydney for 2015, and I am very pleased to be doing so in conjunction with Greg Fitzgerald. Greg, a Naturopath, Osteopath and Chiropractor and Principal of Health for Life Clinic and Seminars, will speak on ways we can nurture our physical bodies.

What is the good of having inner peace but a body that is falling apart with pain and disability? Greg will cover 10 life-changing areas, including explaining the puzzle of why some people eat well but still suffer health problems and the biggest exercise mistake most people make. This one tip alone can change your life.

See you there?

FEED YOUR BODY, FEED YOUR MIND

Public Seminar with Ian Gawler and Greg Fitzgerald

South Sydney -  Tuesday, March 3rd 2015

When?  Tuesday 3rd March 2015

Time?    Registration  6.30pm  Seminar 6.45pm - 10.15pm

Where?  Kareela Golf Club,  1 Bates Drive, Kareela

EARLY BIRD OFFER $39.00 only - until 24-3-2015 or until seats sold
(Normal price $59.00)

How to register and pay for this event?  Register online : CLICK HERE 


For enquires please call Dawn at Health for Life Seminars on 9540 1962 or 0424246847



2015 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Full details are on the website, click here

NEXT MEDITATION RETREAT

Meditation in the Forest        March 27th to April 2nd  2015   Yarra Junction

During this meditation retreat, we will be focusing upon the deeper stillness of meditation. We will explore the theory, but moreso, the actual practices that help us to go beyond the activity of the thinking mind into a more direct and profound experience of the still mind.

Deep, natural peace. A calm and clear mind. So many possibilities follow…..

FULL DETAILS Click here 

NEXT SPECIFIC CANCER PROGRAM

CANCER and BEYOND  May 2015   Monday 4th at 11am to Friday 8th at 2pm

Five Day Residential Follow-up Program at the Gawler Foundation in the Yarra Valley

This program is specifically designed for those with cancer along with their support people who have attended a previous Gawler Foundation program or equivalent such as with Sabina Rabold, CSWA, Cancer Care SA, CanLive NZ, or with the Gawlers

A unique opportunity to meet with like-minded people once again, to consolidate what you already know, to learn more from the combined knowledge, experience and wisdom of Ian and Ruth, to reaffirm your good intentions, and to go home refreshed and revitalised.

FULL DETAILS Click here 


NEWS

CANCER SUPPORT IN MELBOURNE

GOOD NEWS for people affected by cancer in Melbourne. Much respected colleague Liz Stillwell has recommenced the Cancer Support Group and is meeting each Tuesday at the Augustine Centre.

The group will meet in term-times and all are welcome, including caregivers of course.

Many of you will know the Library at the Augustine Centre/Habitat Uniting Church, a large & wonderful book lined place of comfort, well seasoned with history for this group (I was running groups there in the early eighties and for those who have seen the historical documentary Mind the Healer, Mind the Slayer that was made in those heady days, this building featured quite prominently).

Liz has an excellent volunteer in Katrina Jenner and is well resourced. She is very experienced having trained extensively including with me, we have worked together for many years and still do and she has just completed her first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Royal Melbourne Hospital.

PS : Sleep workshop:  Please note Liz is also facilitating a 3 session Sleep Improvement workshop at Sentient Being Wellness at Eltham on Friday 20th, Sat 21st & Friday 27th Feb.

A melting pot of sleep information and experiential Hypnotherapy.

For details contact Liz on 041 5665 822 or  www.stilwellinhealth.com

Ian Gawler Blog: Learn to relax, and change your life

We hear so much these days about mindfulness and meditation, yet relaxation is often overlooked or even dismissed. It seems relaxation has become the poor cousin of Mind-Body Medicine.

Having taught meditation for over 30 years now, it is my experience relaxation itself is incredibly useful, and without deep physical relaxation, mindfulness and meditation are far less effective.

So this week, how to deepen physical relaxation before meditating and how to maintain relaxation of body and mind in daily life. Only 4 weeks before the cancer residential Ruth and I will present in Auckland,  Cancer, Healing and Wellbeing - more detail later, but first, with the spirit of Easter still close by,





Thought for the day

Truly I tell you
If you have faith as small as a mustard seed
You can say to this mountain
‘Move from here to there,’ 
And it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you.
                   
                       Matthew 17: 20, 21      






Why bother with learning to relax?
You may take up meditation to manage stress or to heal physically or mentally, to find more peace and balance in your life, to be more efficient at work or to perform better at sport, or to be a nicer person. All these things will be vastly assisted by beginning by learning to relax.

There is a beautiful synergy between relaxing the body and calming the mind. The more we relax the body, the more that relaxation flows on to calm the mind. The more we calm the mind, the more the mind sends out messages that relax the body. Therefore, when we bring concentration and mindfulness to the process of relaxing the body, this synergy leads to profound relaxation of both the body and the mind.

Mindfulness-Based Stillness Meditation
Mindfulness-Based Stillness Meditation (MBSM) is the style of meditation I have been teaching for over 30 years and it is very simple. There are four key steps, preparation, relaxation, mindfulness and stillness.

Preparation is to do with all the practical details of your meditation.


Relaxation comes second, and here we take time to learn how to relax our body and our mind. This


frees us to be in an ideal state to learn and practice mindfulness, and to then advance into the simple silence of meditation itself.


                   Cats are pretty good at relaxing


How to get started – a summary
The Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is an age old, well tried and tested, super reliable way of letting go of tension and stress, relaxing deeply and experiencing inner peace. Again, my feeling is that this technique may well be overlooked or disregarded by many meditators – to their disadvantage.

To learn the PMR, we learn how to pay attention to four things in each muscle group of the body, starting with the feet, then moving on to the calves, thighs and so on.

These are the 4 things we need to pay attention to
1. Notice how each area of the body feels when we first take our attention to it.

2. Contract the muscles in that area and hold the contraction long enough to notice the feeling that the tightening of the muscles creates.

3. Slowly and smoothly relax the muscles, noticing the feeling of tension releasing and the feeling of relaxation that follows.

4. Give attention to what that area feels like now that we have relaxed it.
We begin by noticing the feeling of relaxation in the muscles of the feet, then we work our way up through calves, thighs, tummy and so on up through the head.

Concentration and the PMR
As we practise the PMR exercise, we do need to concentrate. We concentrate on doing the contracting and relaxing of the muscles, and we particularly concentrate on the feeling as we go through the 4 steps described above.

However, it will work best if our concentration is light rather than too intense. As an analogy, consider a stringed instrument such as a violin or a guitar: if the strings are either too tight or too loose it will sound bad. The strings need just the right amount of tension for them to be in tune and for the instrument to sound its best.

So it is with the mind. If we are too relaxed, too ‘loose’, it will not work so well. Too intense, too serious, too much effort, and again it will not be so useful.

Mindfulness and the Progressive Muscle Relaxation exercise
There are two ways to do an exercise like the PMR. One way is to do it mindfully, the other is mindlessly. Mindfulness is simply concentrating on what we are doing in a way that is focused but free of judgment.

Mindlessness, on the other hand, is when we do not pay attention, when we do not concentrate, and when our mind wanders off and thinks about all sorts of other things.

The wandering mind

Almost everyone will find that, as they do these exercises, the mind will wander, so we need to use the vigilant part of our mind to notice when we do become distracted and, once we recognise this, to bring the mind gently back to the exercise again.

The key here is to avoid beating yourself up in the process. Be reassured that this is the normal experience. Especially for beginners, the mind does tend to wander and become distracted. We need to notice this and bring it back.



Beginning your practice
The text for the Progressive Muscle Relaxation exercise is in all my books. You can either learn the
script so that you can lead yourself through the exercise or you can use a CD or download to guide you through. You do not necessarily need to learn the scripts word-for-word, although you can if you prefer.

The PMR follows a simple pattern of contracting the muscles and relaxing them, starting with the feet and then moving progressively up through each significant muscle group of the body.

The phrases recommended for use between each set of muscles are intended to keep the mind focused and to build a feeling of relaxation all through the body. The fewer phrases you need to use to stay focused and the longer the gaps between the words before you become distracted, the simpler the whole exercise is and the better it works.

Of course, initially it can be helpful to be led by an experienced teacher through exercises like these, and many people find listening to CDs very useful, especially as beginners. But either way, the intention is to learn to do these exercises for yourself, and to repeat them until you master them in the way described.

Making progress
You will probably find within a week or two of beginning this practice that you can do the PMR without having to think about it too much. The next step is to simplify it. To learn to gain the same depth of relaxation more directly. So we learn to do the PMR without contracting the muscles first. Then even more simply. All this is in the books.

Do be warned that as you become more familiar with any exercise there is a tendency to lapse into doing it on automatic, in that way we describe as being mindless. So as you become more familiar and proficient with this and all the other exercises, remember to do them mindfully. The key principle is to pay attention and be interested in what you are doing; interested in that open, curious and non-judgmental way.



Concentration, mindfulness and relaxation


By concentrating on the feeling of relaxation in the body, it is as if we become absorbed in the feeling of relaxation itself. As we feel the body relax, the mind goes with it. The relaxation of the body flows into the mind. Our body is relaxed. Our mind is relaxed. And we simply rest in that feeling of relaxation.




               But then again, some dogs relax OK too!



How to proceed
In my experience this approach based on the PMR works well for many people. In fact, when I first started to teach meditation, this was all I taught. Many people reported developing a deep awareness of relaxation in both the body and the mind, and were satisfied with this as a reliable technique for meditation.

RELATED BLOGS
Slow down and go faster

RESOURCES

BOOK
 : Meditation – an In Depth Guide, Ian Gawler and Paul Bedson:  a useful manual to practice with, to study and refer to. Details : CLICK HERE

CDs and Downloads : A series of meditations to help support and develop your meditation has been prepared by my wife Ruth and myself : Details : CLICK HERE

Mindbody Mastery  - The on-line meditation program and support system I helped develop.
Details : CLICK HERE

NOTICEBOARD

1. Warrnambool:  Sunday May 4th, 2014

The heart and science of
Health, Healing and the Mind

Seeking to use the power of your mind
for health, healing and wellbeing ?

Interested in a deeper experience of meditation ?

What really is best to eat ?

• Dissolve every day stresses; experience mindfulness, relax effortlessly, meditate profoundly
• Discover the practical, life changing implications of neuroplasticity, epigenetics and telomere research
• Clarify your questions; be confident of eating well and living well – and enjoying it!

Ideal for people interested in evidence based health and wellbeing, disease prevention and management, for health professionals and for those seeking profound healing

Date: Sunday May 4th, 2014 : 10am (arrive 9.30) to 4pm
Venue: St Brigid's Community Center, 186 Port Fairy - Koroit Rd, Crossley 3283
Cost: $130, conc $90 Includes morning tea.  Please bring lunch to share.
Enquiries: Integrative Health Services - Rosemary Gleeson : 0447 6177 68
                    or email rosemarygleeson@ymail.com

Bookings: Online CLICK HERE 
                   or via telephone with Visa, Mastercard : call Angela on (03) 5966 6130



2. Cancer, Healing and Wellbeing : Auckland, May 16 - 23
This 8 day cancer recovery program residential program is evidence based and will be highly experiential. We will cover the full range of Integrative Medicine options, with the emphasis on what people can do for themselves – therapeutic nutrition, exercise and meditation, emotional health, positive psychology, pain management, the search for meaning and so on.

I will personally present the majority of the content but along with Ruth, participants will have the additional support and experience of Liz Maluschnig and Stew Burt; two very experienced and committed New Zealanders.
For details on this and the other cancer related residential programs for 2014 CLICK HERE

Ian Gawler Blog: Enough with gratitude

Gratitude may well be one of the most positive forces for good in our lives. New research is even showing it has potentially major benefits. Yet let’s be practical, how much gratitude is enough? How to develop gratitude as a regular state of mind? How to be grateful when life is not so easy?

This week I am on retreat once more and so I have called for a guest blog. Roxy Lebsanft was motivated by her personal and clinical experience that many women these days are feeling over whelmed, exhausted and isolated as they struggle to cope effectively with stress, relationships, work and family.

Roxy responded by helping to set up Bare Hands with the aim of assisting women to build sustainable relationships through practical education, see her website below.

Here is what she has to offer us, but first




Thought for the day

The mind is its own place,
And in itself can make a heaven of hell,
A hell of heaven

                John Milton, Paradise Lost

Gratitude - it is more than an attitude.

Ian suggested I write on something dear to my heart and as our passion with the Bare Hands Project is to build sustainable relationships through practical strategies, I thought I would discuss one strategy that I believe is fundamental to finding balance, wellbeing and contentment - gratitude.

This week, one of our lovely workshop participants, Katrina, heard a quote that struck a deep chord with her and she shared it with our group. It made all of us stop, take a breath and become present.

Gratitude is what makes what you have, enough! (Source unknown)

In our current culture, gratitude comes naturally when things are going in a seemingly positive direction - success, recognition, reward, ease, abundance, health, happiness, joy, excitement, etc.

When relationships are ‘up’ – it is relatively easy to feel confident, connected, accepted, loved and loving. This is the perfect time to practice gratitude as a strategy, so that when the going gets tough, you have built a habit of mind that can rapidly get you ‘unstuck’ from feeling overwhelmed, depressed or anxious. This is the preventative side of this phenomenal tool.

Strengthening the ‘gratitude strategy muscle’ requires amplifying the positives. Too often we forget to express gratitude and appreciation when life is busy and full of distractions. However, these are the times when you have golden opportunities to be present, to appreciate, connect and build resilience in your relationships, the glue that will hold things together during ‘stormy seasons’.

Develop a habit of noticing and sharing, (internally about yourself and externally to others) things that are working and going right. Express your appreciation. In can be the simple, small things - a smile, someone offering to do a chore first, silence, whatever tickles your fancy. Let people know that you notice.

But what if things seem bleak? Some days may not be a bed of roses and for as many ups as there may be, there will be an equal number of challenges. Such is the natural balance and order of life.

It can be really difficult to be grateful when you are unwell, unhappy, stressed and doing it tough. The mind can get stuck in a rut of looking at how bad things are and focusing on everything that seems to be going wrong.

Michael Yapko, PhD, who specialises in treating depression, suggests that simply going through a gratitude list of three things, once a day for a week (either on waking or before going to bed), can dramatically improve depression, (even if it is severe) and even more remarkably, if the exercise is discontinued after only a week. (Depression is Contagious, 2009) The results last for months and there are no side effects! This is the curative side of gratitude.

How does it work? It is our natural instinct to resist challenge, discomfort and displeasure and yet, “What we resist, persists”. For any situation there are equal positives and negatives. All we have to do is lean into what is happening, get really curious rather than defensive or resistant.

The mind is a master at finding balance if we allow it to observe wholeheartedly. If you can trust that in the most dire of circumstances, the most challenging situations, there are an equal number of opportunities and positives to be found, engage your curiosity to find them, very quickly, meaning and purpose will appear along with a solution.

In this space, exactly what you have, where you are and what is happening, is enough. From here, you are empowered to either accept things as they are and find true contentment or you have the freedom to change and make different choices.

Thank you for listening and warm wishes,

Roxy Lebsanft  GDipCouns, BHSc. Co-founder Bare Hands www.barehands.com.au

Reference: Yapko, M. (2009), Depression is Contagious, Free Press, USA.

RELATED BLOG
Curiosity, humour and exercise

RESOURCES
CD (or MP3 download)  Emotional Health – where I speak on a 2 CD set about how to develop manage and transform destructive emotional states, and how to maintain healthy emotions, healthy relationships.http://www.iangawlerwebstore.com/cds-dvd

NOTICE BOARD
Meditation in the Forest - Yarra Junction - April 11 - 17, 2014
There are only a couple of places left on this pre-Easter retreat so call soon if you wish to attend - The Gawler foundation 03- 59671730 or click on the link above.


Cancer, Healing and Wellbeing - Auckland - May 16th - 23rd , 2014

Ruth and I are very pleased to have been invited to New Zealand (Aussies welcome!) to present an 8

day cancer recovery program residential program in May. This program, while being evidence based, will be highly experiential.

We will cover the full range of Integrative Medicine options, with the emphasis on what people can do for themselves – therapeutic nutrition, exercise and meditation, emotional health, positive psychology, pain management, the search for meaning and so on.

I will personally present the majority of the content but along with Ruth, participants will have the additional support and experience of Liz Maluschnig and Stew Burt; two very experienced and committed New Zealanders.

For details on this and the other cancer related residential programs for 2014 CLICK HERE

Understanding Death, Care for the Dying
A residential retreat building resources for Spiritual and Emotional support


I had the good fortune to meet Christine Longacre (CV: Click here) many years ago and know her well enough to highly recommend a rare opportunity to attend a seminar with her in Australia that focuses on caring for the dying – as individual carers or health professionals.



Maybe it seems a little strange to include details of a seminar on Understanding Death, Care for the Dying along with a post on gratitude, but awareness of death serves to heighten our gratitude for how precious life is, and how fragile it can be.

The basic premise of this training is that when others are suffering, what helps them the most, more than anything we say or do, is how we are. Thus the training introduces contemplative methods and practical skills that enable participants to develop qualities of compassionate caregiving: presence, authenticity, and confidence.

Methods of mindful listening and communication are practiced throughout, so integration of these skills into work and daily life becomes possible.

Dates: Friday 20th June 2014  at 9am to Tuesday 24th June at 5 pm
Group leaders: Christine Longaker, supported by Alexandra Yuille and Wendy Wright
Where: Foothills Conference Centre, Mooroolbark, Melbourne, Australia
Fee: Includes accommodation and all meals
Early bird: $1300 twin-share or $1500 single
From 1 April: $1450 twin-share or $1650 single

Certifcate of Completion, Continuing Professional Development by request.
Bookings: Click here https://registration.rigpa.org.au/index.php?option=com_users&view=login
Note: Registration is managed by Rigpa - you will be prompted to create a login before you can sign up to the course
.
Enquiries: SCP Australia via australia@spcare.org

Meditation’s 3 great gifts

For some reason most probably to do with those delightful but mischievous creatures known as computer gremlins, this blog dropped out of the ethers, so I am re-posting. Apologies for any inconvenience to those who have read it already, I think it one of the better ones for those yet to read it!

Why do so many people meditate these days? What is really on offer? Are you missing out? Or are you experiencing meditation’s 3 major benefits?

This week, we go Out on a Limb, go to the heart of meditation and seek to understand why it is so reliable as a stress-free way to manage stress.

Also, more details on the tour of New Zealand that starts with an evening public talk in Auckland on Thursday 14th November and includes workshops and retreats around the country – details CLICK HERE.

Then breaking news with a very important piece of research examining the effects of taking multi-vitamin/mineral supplements on the lifespan of women with breast cancer, but first

Thought for the day:
In meditation the mind keeps wandering.
We keep bringing it back, and it wanders again.
And we bring it back again, and so it goes on,
Maybe for months and years, until at last the mind becomes stabilised . . .
Thoughts go roving around in the head,
But if we bring them down into the heart, that is, the centre of the person,
They come to rest.
Fr Bede Griffiths. River of Compassion: A Christian Commentary on the Bhagavad Gita.

Being asked to speak at the Happiness and its Causes conferences in Brisbane and Perth this week on the topic of stress and anxiety set me to think deeply about why meditation is such a reliable and all-encompassing antidote to both. This led to understanding meditation's 3 great gifts.

Now to be clear, when I speak of meditation, I speak of learning to relax deeply in a physical sense, and then to go beyond the activity of the thinking mind into a deeper stillness.

In fact, meditation introduces us, or perhaps just makes abundantly clear, that the mind does have these two aspects; there is the active thinking mind and the still mind.

The thinking mind is the domain of stress – how we perceive things, how we interpret things. Clearly a great deal of stress is to do with how we think. To a large extent it is the thinking mind that determines the stress we may or may not experience.

The still mind is beyond all this. The still mind is calm and clear. The still mind is highly creative, highly productive, but it is the domain of deep, natural peace.

How then to help the thinking mind let go of stress, to become clear and calm, to become stress free?

First an analogy. If we were interested in the true nature of the sky but had never seen it before; and went outside on a cloudy grey day, we could form the view that the sky was this grey fluffy stuff that filled the space above us.

However, those of us who do have a little more familiarity with the sky; we know of course that clouds as we call them are only one part of the sky. There is a second part, a second aspect – that big blue canopy we are so familiar with and that is so evident on a cloud-free day.

Those of us that are more familiar with the sky know that clouds come and go, the blue canopy is always there. So even on the cloudiest, stormiest, wildest of days, sooner or later the clouds do clear and there it is. It was always there of course, that clear blue sky, it is just that sometimes the clouds obscure it from our direct sight.

So, the analogy is good. With our minds, thoughts come and go all the time; they are ever-changing and impermanent. Happy thoughts, stressful thoughts. They come and they go. But sooner or later they will clear, and reveal this deeper stillness, the more fundamental enduring, stable aspect of our mind.

So there is the active and the still mind. Meditation provides a reliable way to go beyond the activity of thinking mind and directly experience the stillness of the more fundamental or true nature of our mind. And in doing so, meditation offers 3 major benefits: Profound Peace, Natural Balance, and the View.

Profound Peace speaks for itself. There is a natural ease, an inner clarity and confidence that comes with meditation that provides a profoundly effective antidote to stress.

But more, this profound peace, coupled with deep physical relaxation brings Natural Balance to our whole being. Physically our body chemistry and physiology regains its natural balance. It is like meditation resets our factory settings and recalibrates the physiological changes we know accompany adverse stress, and over time becomes our default setting.

So this is how meditation diffuses stress and anxiety – with a return to a natural, healthy balance. But there is still more! This natural balance flows on to be experienced as emotional balance, mental balance; there is even a deep sense of connectedness and a natural rise of love, compassion and altruism – a spiritual balance.

And perhaps even more profoundly, meditation offers a new perspective. We begin to see the world, and our life, not just from the perspective of the ever-changing “thinking mind”, but also from a more profound vantage point – that of the still mind, the true nature of our mind.

The View is a word that is used to encapsulate how we view the world, how we interpret our life. What meaning and purpose we experience in this life. Our View is tied up with our values, our ethics, our habits, and our beliefs. How we live our life.

Now, our View of course is radically affected by our perspective. For those whose perspective does happen to lead them to think that all they are is just this body, it is easy to imagine how they “over-identify” with their body image and their physical health and in doing so become highly stress-prone.

For those whose perspective or View is such that they conclude life is all about relationships, and in so doing over-identify with their partner or children, or even their community, it is easy to imagine how the ups and downs of life will make them particularly vulnerable to chronic stress.

For those whose View is that life is all about mental reason, and as a consequence over-identify with the rational, logical, scientific aspects of their mind, it is easy to imagine how the mysteries of life, the unexplainable, the new, the challenging makes them significantly prone to stress.

So, one elegant definition of stress is “over-identification with the wrong part of our self”.

Body, emotions and mind are very important, but they are not who we really are. Over-identifying with them will mean we are bound to be stressed, maybe even full on anxious.

When we change our perspective, everything changes. If we have a problem, as we see it, and we fixate on it, it is like holding an egg to our eye – we can see nothing. It is a big problem and it obscures everything. However, if we hold the egg at arms-length, we recognise it for what it is. It is an egg with loads of possibilities, loads of potential.

So meditation introduces us to who we really are, what is in our heart’s essence. And in doing so, meditation offers three great gifts Profound Peace, Natural Balance and the View.

Truly meditation offers a unique pathway to stress free stress-management.

RELATED BLOGS
Meditation in 4 easy steps

NOTICEBOARD
Ruth and I will be presenting a range of public talks, workshops and retreats around New Zealand
in November/December.

We start with an evening Public Talk in Auckland on Thursday November 14th (which will be followed up by a weekend in Auckland on November 30th and December 1st), then there are a range of other events.

We are delighted to be including our first meditation retreat in New Zealand (which quite a few Aussies have also booked for already!) - December 2 -8.

Please do let anyone you may know in NZ about the visit -  all the details are on my new public Facebook page: Dr Ian Gawler,    or the website.

NEWS
An important new study has shown that taking a regular multivitamin and mineral supplement (MVM) significantly reduced mortality for women over 50 with breast cancer.


Given how contentious the supplement issue has been in cancer medicine for years, and how often people tell me that their oncologists have told them MVM will reduce the benefits of treatments and give advice not to take them, this study adds weight to a growing body of research that does support their use.


Here is a short summary of the abstract and the reference for the full article.



This prospective study followed the effects of MVM use on breast cancer mortality in postmenopausal women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. It included 7,728 women aged 50-79 at 40 clinical sites across the United States and followed them for a mean of 7.1 years after breast cancer diagnosis.



In adjusted analyses, breast cancer mortality was 30 % lower in MVM users as compared to non-users (HR = 0.70; 95 % CI 0.55, 0.91). This association was highly robust and persisted after multiple adjustments for potential confounding variables and in propensity score matched analysis (HR = 0.76; 95 % CI 0.60-0.96). 



The results suggest a possible role for daily MVM use in attenuating breast cancer mortality in women with invasive breast cancer but the findings require confirmation.



Wassertheil-Smoller S et al, Breast Cancer Res Treat. Multivitamin and mineral use and breast cancer mortality in older women with invasive breast cancer in the women's health initiative; 2013 Oct; 141(3):495-505. doi: 10.1007/s10549-013-2712-x. Epub 2013 Oct 9.

For the full reference, CLICK HERE

Clean Food – and the 4 elements of gourmet health food

I am sitting in the dining room at Gaia, looking out on a golden evening as the landscape rolls away over serene hills and on into infinity. But amidst the calm and the beauty, my thoughts go to “What will the food be like?”

Will it be a disappointment, or a pleasant surprise? For this is Olivia Newton-John’s luxury spa retreat where I am due to give some talks and where people come to be pampered and treated with gourmet meals that are intended to be healthy. This week we find out, prepare for talks in Coffs Harbor, Katoomba and Sydney and share a short video link that is well worth a look. But first

Thought for the Day
To keep the body in good health is a duty,
otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear
                                                                                 The Buddha

Gaia. The luxury spa retreat in the hinterland near Byron Bay in the far north of New South Wales that I have heard about from my old friend Olivia (who is not so old at all!) and who I know to be genuinely passionate about good food and a healthy lifestyle.

Olivia’s hand is evident everywhere, whether it be in the beautiful setting, caring, discreet and friendly way the staff conduct themselves, or in the quality of Gaia’s facilities with their earthy, natural décor, or the excellent standard of the massage therapists, hand-picked to work in the day spa. There are thoughtful touches of care and beauty everywhere.

But what will the food be like? Gregg Cave, the resident manager who treats each and every person like a personal guest, a personal friend, is with us when the dinner arrives.


It is immediately apparent. More than a pleasant surprise, it is wonderful! True gourmet health food. A chef who knows how to cook good food well.

“I like to call it clean food” says Gregg. “We start each meal from raw ingredients and we make every effort to use organic produce for its environmental and the health benefits as well as the enhanced flavor."

"Then we keep it simple. We stay away from salt and sugar so that again, the natural flavours are not swamped and guests get to really taste what they are eating.”

What I notice is the clean taste and the lightness that accompanies eating such food. You finish the meal feeling satisfied, clean and light. So different to many meals we eat when out that in one way taste OK, but leave you feeling heavy and feeling like another meal at home would have been a better choice.

Here, every meal is delicious and delightful. And clean!



Gaia does believe in choice so at different meals they do present chicken, seafood and some straight vegetarian meals. You can choose to leave cheese or other ingredients out of the meals that are offered; with vegan and gluten free options reliably and easily catered for.


So, the four 4 elements of clean food?

1. Start with top quality raw ingredients

2. Use organic produce wherever possible

3. Avoid salt and sugar

4. Keep it simple. Allow the ingredients and the naturally enhanced flavours to speak for themselves and do not complicate things with heavy, overbearing sauces and too many complicated flavours.

Oh yes, and to add that gourmet touch, do what Gaia have done - hire a top chef or 2 or 3 who are really into this style of cooking! And support them with top staff.

Simple really.

So if you are fortunate enough to have the time and money to go to a top-quality health retreat in Australia, and if you are seeking a place where you choose what you do, where there is no set formal teaching program, where you can go when it suits you, with oodles of pampering, excellent regular optional Yoga, Chi Gong and fitness classes, then Gaia comes very highly recommended.

RELATED BLOGS
Organic food – good for fruit flies, good for you

Eating well, being well

NOTICEBOARD




Ruth and I were in Brisbane this last week where for the 30th year in a row I presented at the Relaxation Centre. Quite a milestone really and what a fabulous volunteer driven centre. See the recent blog : One remarkable man, one great lesson.






This weekend we are in Coffs Harbor being organized for a day workshop through another old friend and colleague David McRae. David and I worked closely together in the Foundation way back in the eighties and so we look forward to spending more time with him and his wife and speaking in Coffs.

Then the following week, Katoomba and Sydney

Coffs Harbour
July 6; Day workshop: Medicine of the Mind

Katoomba
July 9; Day workshop: Health, Healing and Wellbeing

Sydney
July 13 - 14, Weekend workshop: A New Way of Living

AND HERE IS NEWS OF ANOTHER HIGHLY SKILLED COLLEAGUE’S MEDITATION CLASSES IN MELBOURNE

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
Not sure whether to laugh or cry, whether it is politically incorrect or not, but here is a short video that is definitely worth a few minutes. Check it out:

It’s not about the nail

Ian Gawler Blog: Tahiti’s top 5 stress management tips

Maybe it all began with the florid yet languid images of Paul Gauguin. But maybe it was the exotic tale of sailors in Mutiny on the Bounty risking all for the romantic allure of the tropical paradise known as Tahiti that lead to this boy’s life long yearning to visit.


So just back from fulfilling a dream, lets go Out on a Limb once more, share some amazing photos and learn what Tahiti can teach us about stress management. But first


Thought for the day
The mind is a universe 
and can make a heaven of hell, 
a hell of heaven.

                              John Milton, Paradise Lost

My karma with this particular slice of heaven finally ripened courtesy of my older sister and her husband who have been sailing around the world for the last 8 years. Tahiti seemed the perfect place to join them and to experience cruising around paradise. In the process of going somewhere so beautiful, so different, so warm!, some dramatic stress management lessons became crystal clear.

Tahiti’s top 6 stress management lessons

1. Wherever you go, stress is ready to greet you

Here I am floating around, all at sea.


Am I ? A. Blissed out – feeling totally enamored with the opportunity for a real holiday in such a divine setting. Aware of relaxing and letting go while floating on warm and tranquil water, marvelling at the amazing light as the sun settles, and feeling really grateful for the experience.

Or B. Freaked out - aware I am really unfit when it comes to swimming; preoccupied that I am way out of my depth, have just jumped over the side of a yacht well off any shore, am unaware of any currents or even my capacity to get back to the boat and am stressing out?


Many people think stress is an external problem, something that is caused by things outside of them; outside of their control. Going to Tahiti made it crystal clear, you can find the catalysts for stress anywhere and everywhere.

In fact, this is the human condition. If you are alive, you have the potential to be stressed. Sure, some environments, some people can provoke stress more readily than others, but even being in paradise can do it for you.

2. An untrained mind is at the mercy of the currents


Here is Ruth steering the ship (OK you nautical types, I know it is a yacht).

How often do you hear people saying “He is the cause of all my stress”?

“If only we were not so busy at work I would be more relaxed.”

“Once the kids are a little older, they are bound to be easier to manage and life will be OK.”

“ Once we pay of the mortgage, we can relax”.


A trained mind learns that it is how I respond to “her” that determines whether I become stressed or not; how I respond to the work, to the kids, to the mortgage.

There is no need to take stress personally, as if we are the only ones affected. We all have potential stress. What we need to take personally is learning how to manage it.

3. A trained mind learns how to navigate life
Here I am helping to repair a sail (best use of my veterinary surgical skills for many years!)

Imagine taking all the essentials from your house, kitchen, bathroom, laundry, bedroom etc and squeezing them into a long, fairly skinny caravan that floats. Then take it out on the ocean to be buffeted by wind and tide, to have corrosion eat at everything and to find yourself regularly in exotic places where few people speak your native tongue and parts are hard to come by for the regular repairs that not surprisingly are needed fairly frequently.

Sprinkle all this with incredibly joyful times when all is working and the wind is coming from the right direction in the right amounts, and you have the life of the ocean sailor.

You could easily be stressed or blissful. Or alternate between the two. Is it up to the external events? Or is it up to how you manage them?


4. Stress is all in the mind; well almost

Here is an image of peace and tranquility.


Holidays do make sense. It can be very useful to take time out, change you external circumstances if they are proving very difficult.

But while managing our circumstances as best as possible is a vital starting point for effective stress management, the key point remains, doing so does not guarantee a stress-free life - as I am sure we all know.




5. Stress management requires learning and practice – as I am sure we all know.

Here is the vanilla orchard, precursor to the vanilla bean.



Study botany and learn how to grow vanilla.

Study the mind and learn how to grow a stress-free life.

It starts with the knowledge, then we put it all into practice.




My guess is you probably know what to do. I came back from my holiday deeply grateful to Sue and Ross for the privilege of sharing time on their yacht, and more aware than ever that stress is all in the mind! Meditation anyone?

RELATED BLOGS

In praise of tall trees

Mindbody Mastery

NOTICEBOARD
WORKSHOPS COMING SOON in NSW and Queensland 
Ruth and I love these events where we get to meet up with people we know, make knew friends, to remind ourselves and others of what works and to share the latest in our field of health, healing and wellbeing.

Please do forward the details to those you may know in any of these places and if you live nearby, we hope to see you at one of the events. Bring your family (we had 5 members from the same family share a day workshop recently), come with a friend, tell your colleagues.


These workshops are interactive, a great way to review what you already know, to be re-inspired and re-enthused, and to learn exciting new things, like the latest breakthroughs in epigenetics, the neurosciences, telomeres and nutrition. And we all get to meditate together!

Something for everyone really!

Brisbane
Thursday June 27; Evening Public Lecture: Health, Healing and Wellbeing
     Weekend workshop: A New Way of Living
Saturday 29th: Meditation and the power of the mind
Sunday 30th: Profound Healing and Sustainable Wellbeing

Coffs Harbour
July 6; Day workshop: Medicine of the Mind

Katoomba
July 9; Day workshop: Health, Healing and Wellbeing

Sydney
July 13 - 14, Weekend workshop: A New Way of Living

RESOURCES

BOOKS  The Mind that Changes Everything

Meditation – an In-depth Guide

The online meditation program: Mindbody Mastery 


RESEARCH ARTICLE
The brains of experienced meditators appear to be fitter, more disciplined and more "on task" than do the brains of those trying out meditation for the first time. And the differences between the two groups are evident not only during meditation, when brain scans detect a pattern of better control over the wandering mind among experienced meditators, but when the mind is allowed to wander freely.

Those insights emerge from a study which looked at two groups: highly experienced meditators and meditation novices, and compared the operations of the "Default Mode Network" -- a newly identified cluster of brain regions that go to work when our brains appear to be "offline."

"I think it's safe to say this is brain-training at work," says Yale University psychiatrist Judson Brewer, who conducted the study with psychologists from Yale, the University of Oregon and Columbia University.

"It makes sense," adds Brewer. "Anything you train to do, you do better."

Reference: Click here