Using Imagery to Bring Meditation and Healing Together – a Community Service you might like to help with or benefit from - or both

Are you a meditator who believes meditation can foster healing? I sure am. Want to join us and offer this service to others?

Are you in need of healing and would like to join in a group where people meditate and/or pray for you? I have certainly been in this position in years gone by and felt the benefits.

The Meditation Community is now offering regular, free Healing Circles. Here we invite people to gather who have the altruistic, compassionate motivation to create a meditative healing field, and into which, those in need of healing can enter and be supported in this unique way. 

We teach you how to give - or receive this healing energy. This is a skill you can then use anytime, and in doing so, send healing to anyone you care for.

These Healing Circles had their genesis in the earlier, discontinued Alleviate App where they were much appreciated. Now we are offering them through the Meditation Community, and you are invited to be a “giver” or “receiver” of this healing energy. Here are the details, but first

         Thought for the Day

   What I have learned from the year past 

   Is something about miracles

   - miracles of healing and answered prayer, 

   And unexpected happy endings. 

   Each came quietly and simply, 

   On tiptoe, 

   So that I hardly knew it had occurred.


   Every time something hard becomes easier; 

   Every time you adjust to a situation 

   Which, last week, you did not know existed; 

   Every time a kindness falls as softly as the dew; 

   Or someone you love who was ill grows better; 

   Every time a blessing comes, 

   Not with trumpet and fanfare, 

   But silently as night, 

   You have witnessed a miracle.


                        Faith Baldwin

How often have you known a loved one you wished to help and said - I will think of you... I will pray for you... I will meditate for you??? But how do you do this?

Are you someone who would like to have others think of you, pray for you, meditate for you???

This is all very simple. It works! People enjoy helping others, and those in need often find surprising benefit. 

There are no specific religious connotations but you are certainly encouraged to bring your own faith. 

We use a traditional and well tested method that is totally inclusive and adapted to modern times. 

People who choose to create a meditative, healing space gather together and are guided to do so. 

They are what we call “the givers”. 

No prior experience is needed, although if you are a meditator, so much the better. 

Everyone who aspires to helping those in need through meditation is welcome.

Then, people in need of healing – from whatever that might be – join the group and allow this healing energy to flow over and through them. 

These are “the receivers”. 

This shared practice can be deeply comforting; and who knows – miracles definitely do occur. I have personally witnessed the healing power of meditation and prayer in many people’s lives. And these days there are a good number of compelling scientific studies supporting these practices. 

One such article that is objective and reviews many studies is Andrade C, Radhakrishnan R. Prayer and healing: A medical and scientific perspective on randomized controlled trials. Indian J Psychiatry. 2009 Oct-Dec;51(4):247-53.

There are many more studies, however, this is something that may be best experienced.

So please do join us. 

During each Healing Circle, those seeking healing are encouraged to relax and simply be receptive. 

Those creating and sharing the healing energy are guided by myself or another teacher I have trained. 

Of course it does help somewhat as a giver if you do know those to whom you are sending healing. However, many in these Healing Circles do not know each other; it is all about creating this healing, energetic field that as givers we radiate out freely with the expectation the receivers will tune in and allow the energy in.

The sessions go for 40 minutes.

It is a wonderful practice both to give and to receive. 

In fact, as a giver the process involves you being imbued with this healing energy before you transmit it. So the givers do indeed gain quite a boost themselves as the energy accumulates and then is radiated through them. It makes for excellent Preventive Medicine and lifts one's own energy!

Maybe you join in with people you know, love and care for to share the process with you ...

And while the Meditation Community is a paid online meeting place where people gather to learn, practice and deepen their meditation; this service, the Healing Circles, are offered freely. 

So clearly those in the Meditation Community are encouraged to either add to the healing energy, or be on the receiving end. Also, we would love to have keen meditators join us and add to the momentum of these sessions; and of course, we welcome everyone in need.

The Meditation Community’s Free Healing Circles are presented on the first Monday of each month at 8pm Eastern Australian time (check for daylight saving changes). You are all welcome; please do join us...

NEXT FREE HEALING CIRCLES 

Monday 2nd November 8.00 - 8.40pm AEDT with Ian Gawler.

Then Monday 7th December 8.00 - 8.40pm AEDT with Brigitte House.

Also, another regular Healing Circle is held on the third Monday of each month at 8pm for subscribed Meditation Community members only. Next one of these is on Monday, 16th November 8.00 - 8.40pm.

HOW TO JOIN the FREE HEALING CIRCLES

Connect to the Healing Circle on Monday 2nd November using THIS LINK 

By December, you will be able to register once on the Meditation Community website and automatically save every free Healing Circle to your calendar, so the link is always there when you need it. I will share the details here when it is ready.

MORE ON HEALING VIA YOUTUBE

You may be interested in the wide range of material I am now sharing on YouTube.

On this new channel, which is a collaboration with the Meditation Community, there are 4 categories:

Meditation Practice Tips

Perennial Wisdom

Wellness & Lifestyle 

Healing.

In the Healing domain, you might like to try these:


1. What type of meditation is best for anxiety?

2. How does meditation help when facing a cancer diagnosis?  In this longer video, I recount in some detail my own recovery from a very difficult, supposedly terminal cancer, and then share what I have learnt from helping many thousands of people affected by cancer who applied meditation therapeutically. If you or anyone you know is affected by cancer, my wish is this may be both inspiring and informative... 
Maybe good to share the channel's homepage CLICK HERE

COMING EVENT

Are you one of those people who can make a last minute decision? Still a couple of places left for this retreat!

Meditation Retreat with Ian and Ruth Gawler

This retreat will focus on the direct experience 

DEEP NATURAL PEACE

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  

 

 

 

Ian Gawler on YouTube – insights shared, questions answered

Amidst so much current misinformation and vested interests, it seems YouTube remains a credible platform where one can share important information for free. 

Having been through so much personally, having worked with so many people facing and overcoming serious life challenges, having learnt so much that truly has the potential to turn lives around, I have been persuaded to make videos encapsulating various elements of these learnings and share them on YouTube.

This is now being done in collaboration with the Meditation Community, with the videos bunched into 4 main domains. But before the details,

   Thought for the day

       Vision without action 

       Is merely a dream. 

       Action without vision 

       Just passes the time.

       Vision with action

       Can change the world.

              Joel A Baker

It is not just me! 

The new YouTube channel to which I am now contributing regularly, is being presented as a joint venture with the Meditation Community and will also feature videos from the teachers I have trained over many years and how are co-presenters on the MC. 

As you probably know, the Meditation Community is the online meeting place where like -minded people gather to learn, practice and support each other to develop and deepen their meditation. The MC is building steadily, and while it has a subscription model, the YouTube offerings are all free.

On our new YouTube channel we answer the questions people ask us the most; as well as sharing the benefits of my decades of experience with a wider audience. 

It has turned this new venture into something that is both fun and meaningful; and a bit of a legacy project...

Each week we are adding new videos to a growing library organised around 4 themes:

1. Meditation Practice Tips 

— practical guidance for building and deepening your daily practice.

Here is an example: What type of meditation is the best for anxiety? What 40 years of teaching has revealed. LINK

2. Perennial Wisdom — the deeper teachings I have spent a lifetime exploring that build resilience, along with a sense of connectedness, love and compassion; and wisdom.

Try this: What are the differences between mindfulness, awareness and meditation; and which one do you need? LINK

3. Wellness & Lifestyle — how meditation contributes to a good life; including our relationships, our lifestyle and our own inner peace and clarity. 

Try this: How meditation can reverse aging naturally – what science has to say about telomeres. This is one of my favourites. Regular meditation has been shown to be capable of adding 15 years to your life; and telomeres are the key... fascinating and obviously important. LINK

4. Healing — what meditation has to offer when we, or someone we love is facing illness. Here I offer lessons learnt through real life experience; exploring coping mechanisms and recovery. I will also be discussing other aspects like nutrition, what positive thinking really is, pain management and so on...

Try this: I have been diagnosed with cancer; what does meditation have to offer? Here I share the story of my cancer recovery from the perspective of meditation – what practices I did and how they helped; and then I share what I have learnt from decades of experience and now recommend for others dealing with cancer. LINK

To restate it, one of the things I particularly like about YouTube is that it provides a free service. 

So if you are interested in the material we post and believe it could be useful for others, maybe you can help... 

It seems that when people engage with what we post — especially watching the videos in full, and subscribing — YouTube takes that as a sign the content is worth showing to others and broadcasts it out more widely.

So if you do value what we are offering, please do subscribe – CLICK HERE

This will help enable the message to reach people who have not found us yet...

And an invitation - if there is something you have always wondered about meditation, simply add it into the Comment section, and I will follow through.

Happy days...

                                     COMING EVENT

Meditation Retreat with Ian and Ruth Gawler

This retreat will focus on the direct experience 

DEEP NATURAL PEACE

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  

 

 

Is Meditation Dangerous?

Amidst increasing reports in the scientific literature and media regarding adverse effects of meditation, and reported risks, I must confess to being somewhat perplexed.

In short, the level of concerns being raised does not match my own experience, based as it is on introducing meditation to well over 100,000 people over 45+ years.

However, this is not to say there are no risks, so in this blog, what is real? What are the potential risks, and how do we avert them, but first

 

    Thought for the day

        Relax…

           Nothing is under control

              Da Free John 

This will be a personal account – and quite a long one!

Not an exploration of the literature, but a sharing of lived experience. 

In brief, here is the issue:

Recent research claims one in ten meditators will experience an adverse effect that lasts more than a month or is associated with impairment and functioning.

In America, the number of people meditating has increased from 10 to 20% of the population over the past two decades. We lead the way in Australia where one third of the population is practising some form of meditation. Amazing numbers!

And while there are a wide range of proven mental and physical health benefits of mindfulness and meditation, the potential negative or adverse effects of meditation remain relatively unknown and under-researched.

And to be clear, for me who has meditated most days for over 50 years, and taught meditation for over 45 year (not to mention who has read my books), I have had literally no reported adverse side-effects. 

So what is going on?

It is like this. 

For me learning to meditate can be likened to starting at the gym. 

As a beginner, one starts with modest weights. 

Works within one’s limits. 

Gradual become fitter, and moves on to heavier weights and more demanding routines. 

Along the way, there will be breakthroughs and setbacks. 

Some days one leaves the gym feeling elated – fit, energetic, strong, confident. 

Other days on might overdo it, pull a muscle, feel out of your depth, feel despondent, question what you are doing...

So it is with meditation. 

The meditation that really impacts positively on our lives is a life-time daily practice. 

There will be ups and downs. 

Times for a sense of accomplishment, times for despondency. 

Always the commitment to persevere, and the gentle sense of this being an essential part of life.

So what of adverse events or side effects? 

Here is my experience...

I first learnt meditation from a book. 

This was in the 70’s and it was not very helpful. Nothing much happened – good or bad.

Then, when faced with a difficult secondary cancer diagnosis, I learnt directly from Dr Ainslie Meares. Being a psychiatrist, Dr Meares was risk averse. He also had a profound confidence in the natural state of the human being. His view was that a human in balance naturally displays all the positive, life affirming qualities we all value and aspire to. 

So Dr Meares methodology was all about helping people to regain their natural state of balance – in body, emotions, mind and spirit. And he believed the most powerful way to do this is through resting in one’s own inner silence – or stillness. 
So he was not about making things happen. It was all about letting go, and letting be. Not doing. Being. So very simple; and very safe.

I did have the good fortune to be mentored by Dr Meares for many years and discuss a wide range of things to do with meditation. 

We regularly discussed the potential for risks. 

He was of the view the only psychological type to not introduce meditation to was those with bipolar mental health issues.

As it happened, especially back in the 80s when the mental health stigma was so strong, while we asked newcomers about their mental health, very few would disclose. 

So in fact, I heard after the event from quite a number of people who came with a bipolar diagnosis, did not declare it, and found real help.

My next major teacher was the great Tibetan Sogyal Rinpoche. 

He attracted me in the first instance through his exquisite depth of knowledge around meditation. 

I learnt so much detail from Rinpoche on how to introduce meditation safely and methodically. 

He was instrumental in helping me develop what I now teach – Mindfulness-based Stillness Meditation (MbSM) with its 5 sequential steps: Preparation, Relaxation, Mindfulness, Awareness and Stillness. 

Over the years, there have areas of concern where different techniques and programs led by others did seem to be creating real problems. 

Mostly I would observe they seem to have resulted from poorly managed intensity. This occurs when either the technique, or the duration of a retreat is intense and pushes people to and even past their limits, and where the process is not well guided and/or supported. 

Here are some of the difficulties observed...

Firstly came breath work and in the 80’ its intense variant, Rebirthing. This is a dynamic breath technique that while it helped many, created real problems for others. I saw 2 close friends become deeply unsettled and mentally unwell through this practice.

In response I brought to Australia a world authority Karl Scherer, and also attended workshops with Stan Grof. It became clear to me that intense breathwork is like neurosurgery. In capable, well trained hands, this can be lifesaving. Karl was a master. But who would want a part-timer operating upon them? Not me. And I concluded to never teach these techniques.

Next there was guided imagery. Not nearly as risky, but still with the potential to create real problems. To learn more about this I brought Dr Emmett Miller to Australia for workshops, and then did many trainings with Dr Nimrod Scheinman; both of whom are very competent in this field.

Guiding imagery is something with which I do feel very comfortable. The use of abstract imagery is inherently very safe. However, work more personally with one’s images can be quite challenging – for the client and the teacher. So for this, solid training and experience is mandatory; while to introduce it, a retreat setting is ideal, or at least to work on it within the protective support of a regular series of meetings. 

Imagery is one of the Meditation Teacher Trainings Ruth and I provide, along with the more benign Contemplation and MbSM trainings.

We do need to make mention of the Vipassana. 

These intensives have been very helpful to many, but it is clearly documented there have been real problems with mental breakdowns. 

There have been hospitalisations and long term adverse effects, particularly in earlier days when the method was held to so tightly and many young people attended the 10 day intensives almost as a right of passage like one might tackle climbing a high mountain to prove something – to self and others.

For the retreats Ruth and I present, we take a middle path. Rather than the 10 hours of sitting each day, we guide around 5 – 6 which history has shown to be enough for an impact, but not to overdo it. And we provide close supervision and follow up after retreats.

So one final point. Most of the risks as I observe them seem to come through either intense breath/energy work, through people being ungrounded and too much in their heads, or through unmanageable intensity.

To avoid these risks, some suggestions:

1. Do seek a proven teacher who teaches a sound technique

If seeking a teacher, it is important to check them out – seriously. This is a normal part of the process. Experiment. Try different teachers and different techniques. This is normal and important. Keep an open mind as you explore. You enter into a long-term relationship with a meditation teacher; so take your time and choose wisely. 

Ideally you also find a good community to join that shares your particular interests and methodology. This is why I have established the Meditation Community – to provide an online community where meditators can be safely supported, and support each other, to learn, practice and deepen their meditation.

2. Meditate in the body, not just the head

When the technique is all in the head, it is easy to become disassociated, lightheaded, ungrounded. Starting your practice with a formal way of connecting with the body and having the ongoing sense of meditating in the body is grounding, avoids most issues and simply – it works. My sense is this step is the key to the lack of problems observed in people I have taught.

3. Be prepared for fluctuating experiences

It is normal for most things to go up and down. Meditation is like this. So there is no need for despondency or despair when one’s practice seems flat. Persevere...

4. If problems do arise, seek help

Ask your teacher. Ask your friends. There is online support for managing adverse meditation effects through Cheetah House

COMING EVENTS

ONLINE WORKSHOP – COMING SOON

Deepening Your Meditation – the Direct Path into the heart of meditation

Online meditation intensive coming very soon...

Having taught 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 – The Direct Path, the direct experience. 

The workshop will have some talking – enough to provide the framework; but then mostly we will practice together. 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 here through Eventbrite

 

Meditation Retreat with Ian and Ruth Gawler

This retreat will focus on the direct experience 

DEEP NATURAL PEACE

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  

YouTube Channel now Live

Check it out... And if you subscribe, it is free, you will be notifIed of new posts, and the YouTube algorithm will respond and put this content in front of more people - might just be helpful... spread the message...

Here it is: CLICK HERE

Three Pathways to Peace – Outer, Inner and Secret; and what we can do to contribute meaningfully to a more peaceful world

Like me, you may have watched in horror a recent video of a 50 year old man ranting racist abuse at a 13 year old girl on a bus. I felt compassion for them both. How devastating for the child; what a tragedy that an “adult” could be in such a state of mind to do such a thing.

So much conflict in the world... do we just become resigned, or is there really something we can do to contribute to a world at peace?

Despite the challenges, I remain optimistic, and so in this post share how we can build peace in 3 innovative ways that just might make some difference - and recognises the United Nation's Day of Peace on 21st September, but first

       Thought for the day

   The most precious thing 

   We can give to each other 

   Is our presence, 

   Which contributes to the collective energy 

   Of mindfulness and peace. 

   We can sit for those who cannot sit, 

   Walk for those who cannot walk, 

   And create stillness and peace within us 

   For people who have no stillness or peace. 

                              Thich Nhat Hahn

Three ways to generate peace – outer, inner and secret

1. Outer peace – the externals

Down through the ages there has been this recurring fantasy that peace could be imposed on others. With a strong enough army, with enough resolve, with the right program we can make people peaceful. Well that did not seem to work...

Do not be downhearted. As individuals, we can make a contribution. In your local community, just think – what can I do to help others feel safer, to feel recognised, appreciated; seen for their own worth? More at peace.


Simplest thing is to make eye contact and smile. 

Totally cost free, risk free, and reliably effective. 

Second thing is to open a conversation. 

It sounds so obvious, but in my experience “how is your day going” almost always leads to a conversation. 

I was on a tram recently and sat opposite an elderly Asian man. 

Following the question and brief answers, he asked me what happened? 

An unusual question – few adults ask about my amputation. 

Before long he was sharing how his wife had died from cancer 15 years earlier, how he missed her all the time and found it difficult to look after himself in his older age. All this amidst a crowded tram. Much better than scrolling through TicTok, and we both departed knowing we had connected in a meaningful way – and with a good feeling in our hearts.

Maybe there are other ways you connect with the individuals or groups within your community. The adage “Think globally, act locally” really does apply here...

2. Inner Peace – our psychology in 2 parts – emotional and mental

a) Emotional Peace

The antithesis of inner peace: the destructive emotions, particularly guilt, blame and shame. All built on fear, all aimed at displacing feeling the emotions ourselves and projecting them externally onto others and internally onto ourself.

Much can be said of all this, however, there is a simple antidote that replaces fear with love, inner conflict with peace; and that is forgiveness. 

As the great American psychiatrist and founder of Attitudinal Healing, Gerry Jampolsky said “Love is Letting go of Fear” (classic book he wrote of that title). 

So the need is to forgive self and others. 

To come to peace with and accept the past, reconcile where possible, seek justice if necessary, but ultimately, for our own good, let go of the hurt, the sad story, forgive and be at peace.

b) Mental peace

Our Active Mind with its thoughts and emotions is highly goal orientated. 

The mind functions by making choices, then doing all it can to full-fill, to accomplish those choices.

If we have a goal and feel we are moving confidently towards its realisation, we feel at peace. When we accomplish a goal we feel at peace.

When there is a significant gap between what we are aiming for and what we are experiencing, we experience deep unease; no inner peace.

So the secret to a peaceful mind is to clarify our goals, work within our limits, extend ourselves where possible, enjoy the process of pursuing goals and learn the art of combining this with being in the moment. 

3. Secret Peace

“The peace that passes all understanding”. 

All the great traditions know of this. 

It is their major promise. 

Move beyond the activity of thoughts and emotions and enter the peace and calm of deep, natural peace. 

This is our default. 

Our natural state. 

Deep, natural peace.

Once we experience this we know there is a part of us that is beyond all conflict. Beyond all hurt and pain. Sure we can be hurt physically. We can be hurt emotionally and mentally. Yet deep within, there is this part of us that is beyond all that. 

And to access this profound inner peace is the path of meditation. This is indeed, the promise of meditation. The direct experience of a peace that is beyond words, beyond expression, yet it can be alluded to in words and more importantly, experienced directly through our own inner exploration via meditation.

So we can contribute to world peace. 

We can make a real difference to our communities, to our inner and secret world, and surely, we will only ever have a world at peace when we have a world filled with individuals at peace – first with themselves and then with those around them. A strong choice...

RESOURCES

Calm in the City - peace video with Ian

As part of the recent 100 days of peace initiative, leading up to the United Nation's Day of Peace on 21st September, I recorded a video on inner peace which is now uploaded in my new YouTube channel CLICK HERE

Next Workshops - where peace is a theme

Deepening Your Meditation – the Direct Approach: Thursday 1st October 7.30 – 9.00pm

In this online workshop, we will be exploring the Direct Approach in meditation that leads to this secret peace of which we have been talking

Register through Eventbrite CLICK HERE

Three pathways to Peace – Outer, Inner and Secret: Thursday 26th November 7.30 – 9.00pm

This workshop will elaborate upon what has been presented in this blog and I will be guiding techniques that actually contribute to the different levels of peace of which we have been speaking.

Details to be announced soon.

Meditation Retreat with Ian and Ruth Gawler

Again, this retreat will focus on the direct experience – the secret peace :)

DEEP NATURAL PEACE

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 

Deepening Your Meditation – the Direct Path

Can you remember what it was that got you into meditating? For many of us it was a particular need; a need that meditation offered to fix – and in all likelihood it did...

So where are you now with your meditation? Practicing regularly? Up and down? Lapsed? Reality is, once the immediate issue that brought us to meditation is alleviated or satisfied to some degree, we might well find ourselves asking, why continue?

So here is the thing... After meditating for a while, there often comes the nagging feeling there is more on offer. Something deeper, more profound. An element of the mystical. Transcendent and yet practical. Maybe we even have had a glimpse, a taste of what truly is the heart and essence of meditation. 

And with this the feeling - if only I could concentrate a little more, resist distractions, let go a little more thoroughly... I may well experience this something deeper that is on offer. So in this post, details of how you might make the leap, but first

   Thought for the day

      You cannot go back

      And change the beginning,

      But you can start where you are

      And change the ending

                       C.S. Lewis

I have been practicing and teaching meditation for decades and know this territory all too well. These deeper experiences can be alluring, frustrating, incredibly satisfying, disappointing and then fulfilling once again.

And as we seek to go deeper into meditation, we have 2 choices – the Gradual Path which involves pursuing a method, and the Direct Path which is less about technique and more about simply letting go. But how to do this?

Hence the coming workshop on Thursday, 1st October. We will explore how we can deepen our meditation in a real and practical manner using the Direct Path. During the workshop I will begin by introducing and guiding 3 major techniques that lead past the distractions, help us to move through the barriers, and guide us into the Direct Path. 

And at this level, the key of course is in the experience. So just a little talk, some time for questions, but lots of practice...

So do consider joining me and fellow meditators for this major event...

TITLE: Deepening Your Meditation – the Direct Path

DATE: Thursday 1st October 2026 – 7.30 – 9.00pm AEDT
VENUE: Online only. There will be no break in this 1.5 hour workshop. 

FOLLOW UP: Available courtesy of the Meditation Community where you can gather online with other meditators to learn more, practice together and continue to deepen your practice.

PRESENTED in conjunction with the Meditation Community
RECORDING: The session will be recorded but only made available to members of the Meditation Community.

COST: General $29, Concession $26, free to subscribers to the Meditation Community (subscribers will be emailed a specific link to register for the workshop). 

If you are considering joining the MC, this could be a good time 

BOOKINGS: Eventbrite – CLICK HERE

NEXT MEDITATION RETREAT 

with Ruth and Ian Gawler

DEEP NATURAL PEACE

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