Meditation and the Inner Journey

Imagine you are to be granted an audience with the wisest person of your choosing. Living or dead. Who would you choose? Jesus? Socrates? The Buddha? Germaine Greer? Mahatma Gandhi? Aung San Suu Kyi? The Dalai Lama? Your favourite grandparent? Who would you choose?

What if you could learn to access that level of wisdom from within your own mind? This indeed is the potential, the very real possibility that comes with learning and practising very specific techniques relating to meditation and the inner journey.

Ruth and I have taught these techniques during a range of programs over many years and in June will share them as the focal point of a 5 day retreat in the Yarra Valley at the Gawler Foundation’s Living Centre - Meditation and the Inner Journey - winter being an ideal time of year to venture inwards.

So this week, an introduction to how to engage with this technique, but first



                                Thought for the day


                  Realization of Truth is higher than all else. 

                 Higher still is truthful living

                                 Guru Nanak - Founder of Sikhism



Clearly our mind has different aspects. We speak of the intellect, and we speak of wisdom. We know these are two ways in which our minds can function.

We know that intelligence used without wisdom is commonplace and often dangerous. We know that wisdom is often harder to come by than intellectual learning.

Who would not like to be thought of as wise? Who would not like to have more access to their own wisdom?

Well, in theory at least, accessing more of our own inner wisdom is fairly straight forward – once we know where to look, and what to look for.

Wisdom comes in two most obvious forms, the first of which is through our own accumulated life experience. We experience life events, we learn from them, we remember the lessons and with age and maturity we become wiser. Simple enough.

But how to access this stored wisdom more directly? Knowing something of the mind makes it possible.

Our memories, along with our accumulated wisdom, are stored in the unconscious aspect of our mind. This being so, to access our wisdom we need to access our unconscious. We need to connect the conscious, thinking aspect of our mind with the unconscious in a way that makes it possible for the two to communicate. We need an interface; a “language” both the conscious and the unconscious mind can understand.

This is where it gets easy. The natural “language” of the unconscious is imagery, and the conscious can work with images quite readily. Imagery is the common language.

If we enter a meditative state and begin to use imagery, we are already in the territory of the unconscious. In that state, we can then invite our inner wisdom to be represented by an intermediary, an image, that we can communicate with through an inner dialogue.


But there is even more to this possibility.

Karl Jung was a champion for the notion of the collective unconscious.


Unlike the wisdom that springs from our own accumulated life experience, Jung claimed this aspect of the unconscious was common to all people.

This aspect of the unconscious does not develop individually but is inherited. It is collective, universal, and impersonal. It is identical in all individuals.

And the collective unconscious, because it also resides in the domain of the unconscious; it too is also accessible via guided imagery!


So meditation and the inner journey involves learning how to enter into an inner state where we can generate an image for our own inner wisdom and dialogue with it. For years I have observed people derive great benefit from this technique, obtaining answers to often vexing questions they might have been pondering for years or needed answers to in an immediate sense.

People often ask how do you know if the answer you get from your inner wisdom through such a technique can be trusted. Ever experienced doubt? Ever just known deep in your being that something was true? When this inner wisdom exercise works, the answer comes with conviction. It is that simple.

If there is doubt, then you doubt the supposed wisdom. If there is conviction, then you can trust it. You will know the answer to this from your own inner experience.

The mechanics of this exercise are detailed in my book The Mind that Changes Everything, however, to be direct, while many have learnt it for themselves, to do it with guidance and support makes it easier to learn and more effective, hence this year’s retreat.

Feedback or questions welcome via the Comments section

RESOURCES

SPECIFIC RETREAT

Meditation and the Inner Journey
This retreat brings together 2 powerful experiences - the deep natural peace of meditation, and a gentle process of introspection that will help you reconnect with your own inner wisdom.

For thousands of years, people have removed themselves from the busyness of daily life and entered into a retreat situation to meditate. Come, join like-minded people, be inspired, be renewed. Immerse yourself in meditation. Be guided, be nurtured. Take the opportunity to reconnect with your own inner wisdom and the essence of who you really are.

DETAILS Click here

BOOK
The Mind that Changes Everything

CD and DOWNLOAD
Inner Peace, Inner Wisdom

NOTICEBOARD

SPECIFIC CANCER PROGRAMS for 2015

This year, Ruth and I will be presenting two follow-up 5 day residential cancer programs for the Gawler Foundation plus another in New Zealand for Canlive.

We will also present one comprehensive 8 day program (also in New Zealand for Canlive) that will be well suited to anyone who has not done a program with us before - Cancer, Healing and Wellbeing. Australians are welcome in NZ and vice-versa!

CANCER, HEALING and WELLBEING
Eight day residential program in New Zealand   May 15th  –  22nd , 2015

All welcome; attendance with a partner/ support person is ideal but not essential.

This program will lead you through all the self-healing options:
. Therapeutic nutrition
. Practical positive thinking
. Therapeutic meditation, plus the healing power of imagery and contemplation
. Accelerated healing
. Healthy, healing emotions
. How to get the most out of mainstream treatments and minimize side-effects
. How to be most effective as a support person/carer, and to look after yourself in the process.

I actually lead most of the main sessions, with support from Ruth and 2 exceptional New Zealanders. We live in for the full program so there is plenty of time for questions and personal interaction.

This program is organized and supported by Canlive New Zealand.

FULL DETAILS Click here

Has Ian Gawler retired?

This is going to be a somewhat personal blog. Fairly regularly I’m being asked - “Are you retired?” The short answer is no, but maybe the question is coming as I recently passed 65 ? Maybe some people know it is now over 5 years since I did retire from my full-time job at the Gawler Foundation.

And yes, I did stand back for a year after leaving the Foundation and did very little but speak with people who had good ideas, reflected, contemplated, meditated and worked in the garden.

Now, with some new clarity and vigor, I am back doing many things, several of which are pretty extra-ordinary (as in : out of the ordinary). Definitely not retired but doing some different things to years ago, so thought it time for an update.

Also, following on from Paul Kraus’ story last week of surviving mesothelioma comes more good news with a great article in the Melbourne Age recounting Scott Stephens’ recovery from melanoma. Check it out below.

I first met Scott at a Foundation cancer residential program 8 years ago. Now, after a couple of early relapses and perseverance and sustained meditation, good food and smart thinking, Scott has been cancer-free for 6 years and he regularly meets with and inspires cancer groups at the Foundation and elsewhere.  Did you see him on that excellent Mind-Body Medicine documentary called The Connection???

Good news to share, but first




            Thought for the day

              I slept and dreamt that life was joy.

              I awoke and saw that life was service.

              I acted and behold, service was joy.


                                Rabindranath Tagore









In stepping down from the Foundation I had worked in for nearly 30 years, the intention was to make way so that the Foundation could establish itself in its own right, free of this founder; and to give me space to re-think what I had been doing for so long and to consider whether there were other ways to be more helpful.

Retiring from the Foundation when all was going well was a huge personal step, but being very conscious of the limitations of habitual thinking, the retirement was actually more an act of principle than of any necessity.

It would have been easy, comfortable and hopefully worthwhile for me to continue working for the Foundation. But when you have worked in one area of expertise, with one group in a similar way for nearly 30 years, there is a danger of a rut developing.

Personally, I like the idea of keeping the “beginners mind” active, stepping back from the norm regularly and considering what can be done to be most effective, most useful.

Also, sooner or later I was bound to leave the Foundation; either because I was too old, or the proverbial bus came to visit. So there seemed real value in having a new association with it in a well-planned, measured way.

So what is the current state of play?


Speaking personally
Ruth and I have been married 15 years now. Wow! What a treat that is being. Just held my fifth
grandchild, Tucker, son of Peter and Kerrielee. The garden is thriving and abundant and we are currently resurrecting the cottage on our property - countering old termite and water damage.

I am planning to go to France for a secluded 12 week meditation based retreat in July this year. It feels like the right time to do something more personal and intense.





1. The  Gawler Foundation
Ruth and I have a great relationship with all at the Foundation and we are really impressed with the services they provide and the manner in which they provide them.

Actually, I rather do hope they will change the name of the organisation to better represent the actual work they do, rather than their origins, but I am no longer involved with their management, so that stuff is all up to them.

Ruth and I presently lead the residential cancer follow-up programs at the Yarra Valley centre. Targeted for people who have done an initial “Gawler” program, either at the Foundation or elsewhere, and it is good for us to be doing a few less retreats each year so we can prepare extra thoroughly for these programs.

2. Working with Ruth – the retreats we present together
It is such good fortune to be able to work creatively and closely with your partner. Ruth being a doctor, with her special interests in Integrative Medicine, psychotherapy, meditation and yoga is such an asset to our groups. And there is always the feminine perspective……. We balance each other well. What a delight!

We do 2 types of retreats

a) Meditation retreats
For those becoming more serious about their meditation, or for those who already are, there is
nothing that deepens the experience of meditation more than going on retreat. So it is a pleasure to lead retreats regularly!

Our retreats are very much styled along the lines of what we would ideally like to attend ourselves. Middle intensity – enough meditation to have real effect, but not too much that you need a holiday when you get home. Enough stimulation via teachings to satisfy the intellect, but the emphasis is on the experience of meditation itself.

Then plenty of free space to contemplate, reflect, do some yoga or Chi Gong, go for a walk, rest and regenerate. Add in good company, great locations and excellent food. Bloody good combination really!!!

Each retreat has the recurring elements of  lots of practise and time for discussing personal meditation experiences/questions; but then each retreat also focuses on a particular theme.

For example Meditation in the Forest is the annual Pre-Easter meditation retreat we hold at the Foundation, and this year the focus is on understanding just what the stillness of meditation really is and how to experience it more directly and more reliably.

Later, in November, Meditation Under the Long White Cloud in New Zealand will focus on contemplation where we learn how to think things through more completely, to overcome confusion, develop clarity and certainty in decision making; and more – how to access insight, intuition and inner wisdom.

I must say contemplation is probably the most important “add-on” to basic meditation and we particularly love doing this presentation! Actually, we really love doing all the retreats.

b) Specific cancer programs

There are 2 types of these
i) The complete, integrated program for anyone affected by cancer and their partners. We call this Cancer, Healing and Wellbeing. Here we give good attention to living well with cancer, but there is a big focus on Accelerated Healing and what helps recovery – along with minimizing treatment side-effects and getting the best results from any medical or other treatments.

We will only lead one of these programs in 2015 and it is in New Zealand in May, organised and supported by Stew Burt and Canlive.

ii) The cancer follow-up programs. As explained, these are for those who are further down the track and we present them either at the Gawler Foundation Yarra Valley centre, or in Wanaka in New Zealand for Canlive. These too have their own specific themes and are designed so that people can attend them regularly and maintain their momentum.

3. Seminars, workshops, conferences
We have presented many of these in the last couple of years, but just for 2015, we decided to limit them. Aimed for zero, but saying no to some people is not easy, so the day or evening seminars we are presenting this year are for an inspiring and diverse bunch of people.

It occurred to me that if we could get our hosts together for a meal, it would lead to quite some conversations. There is Lionel Fifield - founder of the Relaxation Centre of Queensland and while well into his 70s, still totally dedicated to providing access to, and support for personal growth. Then Ani Rinchen Wangmo - a Tibetan nun working for a Buddhist centre in Cairns; Greg and Dawn Fitzgerald – passionate South Sydney naturopaths intent on curing all people of all things; and Rabbi Laibl Wolf – who supports Spiritgrow a Jewish community centre in Caufield that has a major charter to foster good physical and mental health and wellbeing. Would be some dinner!

4. The net and IT
Some know when I left the Foundation that my computer skills made IT troglodytes seem nerdy. So learning about all this stuff has been the big personal step forward. Blog. Facebook. Webstore. I even own and can use (to some degree) a computer. Still keep the old mobile phone – no Smart phone distracts me as yet!

But also there has been development of the high tech online meditation program, Mindbody Mastery that goes way beyond simply providing meditation instruction online; it provides on-going support via daily emails, weekly SMS and comes with a whole range of other fancy features.

Putting that together with my business partner in the IT adventures, Saurabh Mishra, has been such fun. So much to learn. So much benefit from the “beginner’s mind”. I ask all the dumb questions, and if it can be explained to me and if it works for me, then anyone can do it!

Now Saurabh and I are near to completing the development of a meditation app that will do way more than “just” run Mindbody Mastery (MBM), as many people these days tell us they want all the MBM features via app.

Also we recognized that students at many meditation schools would benefit from having direct access via an app to the specific teaching, practices and support of their own group. Problem is that developing an app that can do all that is a big deal. That we do know!

So, we have developed an app that makes it easy for individual meditation schools to upload their own material and provide their students with all the benefits of a very high tech app for little cost. No doubt there will be more on this soon as it comes to complete fruition – not far away.





And of course there has been development of the Pearl range that provides meditation for stress relief, better sleep and pain control via a mini MP3 player - ideal for personal use or a meaningful gift.







5. Corporate mindfulness and meditation
Recently there has been the opportunity to get to know Rasmus Horgaard from Denmark who runs the Potential Project. In my view this is by far the best corporate program of its type and yes, sharing more on that too soon; also having a small role around the edges of some corporate mindfulness projects has been very rewarding. The response has been very gratifying.

6. Writing
To be direct, with all else going on I have been doing my best to resist committing to another book, but I suspect this will not last much longer. There is one very exciting idea that has been brewing for some time and maybe more on this soon.

So if anyone is still reading after this particular diatribe, it has at least helped to sort out what is going on in my own mind, and no, I am not retired.




RELATED ARTICLE


Scott Stephens story of overcoming melanoma in the Melbourne Age, written back in November 2012 by Sarah Berry, LINK HERE





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

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 PROGRAMS
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 

CANCER, HEALING and WELLBEING
Eight day residential program in New Zealand   May 15th  –  22nd , 2015

All welcome; attendance with a partner/ support person is ideal but not essential.

This program will lead you through all the self-healing options:
. Therapeutic nutrition
. Practical positive thinking
. Therapeutic meditation, plus the healing power of imagery and contemplation
. Accelerated healing
. Healthy, healing emotions
. How to get the most out of mainstream treatments and minimize side-effects
. How to be most effective as a support person/carer, and to look after yourself in the process.

I actually lead most of the main sessions, with support from Ruth and 2 exceptional New Zealanders. We live in for the full program so there is plenty of time for questions and personal interaction.

This program is organized and supported by Canlive New Zealand.

FULL DETAILS Click here

The stillness of meditation – the key to stress-free stress management

Some people suggest meditation needs to be free of effort; that if we make an “effort” to meditate, then the meditation can become just another source of stress. Yet many people seem to work very hard at meditation.

So this week, let us examine how to make sense of effort when it comes to meditation; and the 3 main benefits that flow from stilling the mind, but first



     Thought for the day

To be nobody but your self

In a world which is doing its best, 
Night and day, 
To make you everybody else,

Means to fight the hardest battle 
Which any human being can fight;

And never stop fighting.


           e e cummings 





Some people would tell you that meditation is all about letting go and going with the flow. Some give the impression there is nothing to do; again, just let go and allow yourself to be.

My sense is that this is a bit like saying to a young athlete – basketballer, footballer, runner, whatever – just wish to be a great athlete, no need to work at it, just go with the flow. Look at the great athletes; they make it look so easy!

When I was a teenager, my chosen field was athletics and I marvelled at the natural talent of many of my fellows. While not greatly talented myself, I worked hard. Trained hard. Studied. Listened to my coaches. Did all they told me to do and more.

As the years went on, many of the "naturals", relying on their natural talents, felt little inclination to train hard. So in fact, as we became older, the hard work overcame the natural talent and I began to shine. However, I never became a great athlete. To be that you really need both great natural talent and the hard work.

My experience with my own meditation and with observing thousands of others meditate is just the same as this. Some do have a natural talent for meditation. It just seems to come easily for them. But maybe even more so than with athletes, with meditation, beginners generally benefit greatly from making concerted, intelligent, well-guided effort.

Now, to be clear, when speaking of meditation, I speak of learning to relax deeply in a physical sense and keep still, and then to go beyond the activity of the thinking mind into a deeper stillness. These skills  can be learnt. Reliably. When we work at it.

So why bother? Well one thing that meditation helps to make abundantly clear is that the mind has two aspects - the active thinking mind and the still mind.

The thinking mind is the domain of many skills, including stress. Most reading this post will identify with Shakespeare’s quote


There is nothing either good or bad
But thinking makes it so.

The thinking mind regulates how we perceive things, how we interpret things. It analyses, visualises, discriminates, categorises, conceptualises....etc. In doing so, the thinking mind 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 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? Meditation! For meditation provides a reliable way to go beyond the activity of the thinking mind and to directly experience the stillness 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.

Natural Balance is the inevitable product of this profound peace being combined with deep physical relaxation. This is how meditation diffuses stress and anxiety – with a return to a natural, healthy balance.

Physically our body chemistry and physiology regains its natural balance. But there is more! This natural balance flows on to be experienced as emotional balance as well as mental balance; there is even a deep sense of connectedness, knowing what is right for us, and a natural inclination to be more loving, compassionate and altruistic – 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” and it's emotional patterns, but also from a more profound vantage point –the calm, clear still mind.

The View describes our perspective in a very full sense of that word. The View is how we view the world, how we interpret what is happening in 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.

Often times it seems as if we can get stuck with a somewhat rigid view of ourselves, our world, and our place in it. However, when our View changes, there is the potential for everything to change.

If we have a problem, as we see it, and we fixate on it, it is like holding an egg to our eye. With an egg that is very close to our eye, we can see nothing. We cannot even recognise that it actually is an egg and it is obscuring our capacity to see everything.

However, if we change our View, it can be like taking the egg away from our eye and holding it at arms-length. Now there is the possibility that we may recognise the thing for what it is. It is an egg! And as we know, an egg has loads of possibilities, loads of potential.

So meditation offers three great gifts: profound peace, natural balance and the view.

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

NOTICEBOARD

Pre- EASTER MEDITATION RETREAT with Ruth and Ian Gawler

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

During this meditation retreat, we will be focusing upon the deeper stillness of meditation. We will explore the understanding, but moreso, the actual practices and techniques. A time to rest and rejuvenate.

All amidst the magnificent big trees of the Upper Yarra Valley.

Accompanied by high-quality organic meals and juices, optional Yoga or Feldenkrais.

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

FULL DETAILS Click here 



A REMINDER

The Pearls are back 

Just the thing for that special, meaningful present, or for your own convenient, take them anywhere use.

Beautifully presented in a raw silk lined box, easily rechargeable, elegant mini MP3 players complete with their own earphones and specific meditations.





       Calm Pearl for stress management



       Sleep Pearl to assist with natural sleep


       Pain Relief Pearl for pain management.


                TO ORDER   CLICK HERE