L E T T E R – SERVICE Intention Setting For The Week Ahead April 21, 2019April 18, 2019 This week, we will place our awareness and our attention on Service. How do you define being of service?What tasks do you do to be of service?Do you contribute to charity?Do you make your time available to those in need?If this is something you are unfamiliar with, where could you start?If you are perhaps giving… Read More +
L E T T E R from Emily – Joy April 20, 2019April 18, 2019 Today is Easter Saturday, this day will mean different things for all of us, some will be engaged in spiritual or religious practices, others will be enjoying the holidays with family or you may be going about your life as normal. No matter what this day means or doesn’t mean for you, it’s hard to… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jo – It’s All About The Joy! April 19, 2019April 18, 2019 I’ll be honest I have not leapt in to the Marie Kondo approach to tidying but I have observed from the sidelines (likely because of the tidying) as there is something that feels so good about it that I couldn’t quite discern (likely because of the tidying). After witnessing my husband happily (dare I even… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Everything Changes April 18, 2019April 16, 2019 There is a story told about Suzuki Roshi, a great Buddhist teacher. “Suzuki Roshi, I’ve been listening to your lectures for years,” a student said during the question and answer time following a lecture, “but I just don’t understand. Could you just please put it in a nutshell? Can you reduce Buddhism to one phrase?“… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Never Too Small April 17, 2019April 16, 2019 I have so many moments where I think in despair, I am just one person what can I do. And then I remember this quote. It inspires me to be persistent, as I have never, met anything more persistent than a mosquito. Think you can’t be heard? Just keep going. Eventually, you will be heard.Think… Read More +
L E T T E R – Tuesday Tips; Taking Time To Retreat April 16, 2019April 15, 2019 Easter is this weekend, and I’m personally taking time out to heal and nourish myself. My dear friend and fellow teacher Claire is kindly letting me stay at her place Thursday through Tuesday, and I am going to take time for an At Home Weekend Retreat, for deepening my meditation practice, spending lots of time in… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Why You Don’t Master Meditation, You Master Life April 15, 2019April 13, 2019 After studying meditation in various lineages for a decade, something dawned on me. I was looking for this experience of utter bliss, where I would feel the best ever I could feel. And if the best I was to feel was sitting still with my eyes closed, perhaps I didn’t want that. Perhaps I actually… Read More +
L E T T E R – QUALITY Intention Setting For The Week Ahead April 14, 2019April 12, 2019 This week, we will place our awareness and our attention to Quality. The highest grade in every area. What will I invite in this week that is the highest quality?How can I raise the quality of my communications?How can I increase the quality of my relationships?How can I allow my creativity to create quality in… Read More +
L E T T E R from Emily – A Love Letter April 13, 2019April 12, 2019 It’s easy to lose perspective of who we really are and what we’re really here to do or be. It’s even harder to keep this perspective when the entire universe is one big paradox. We can simultaneously feel like nothing and everything, fulfilled and empty, expanded and contracted. Like this quote by Mother Teresa, a… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jo – Be More Like Coffee April 12, 2019April 11, 2019 It’s no secret that I love coffee. A most honoured daily ritual of joy – a hot, fresh cup of coffee enlivens all my senses and brings gentle contentment to my day (and also, I’m always much smarter after my coffee). There is a magic to coffee that goes beyond the functional and I am… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Running Them Storylines April 11, 2019April 10, 2019 The brain is a remarkable affirmation tool. Allow our minds to tell us something, believe it, and watch the brain prove it true. Storylines develop dramatically from here. Find a little fault in someone and watch the brain find ALL sorts of things to affirm negativity about them. Decide to go on a vacation somewhere,… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Mastery Of Life April 10, 2019April 9, 2019 We can ask, how can I bring myself, to the fullest, to this moment? It will require presence. Fullness is expansive. We can ask, how can I apply my creativity to this situation? It will require lateral thinking, curiosity. Creativity is expansive. We can ask, how can I bring love to this moment? It will… Read More +
L E T T E R – Tuesday Tips; Let’s Dedicate 1% Of Our Day To Learning April 9, 2019April 9, 2019 Part of our Integrated Meditation program is encouraging 1% of the day dedicated to learning. It’s just 15 minutes. Reading something of a high grade, about creativity, consciousness and clarity creates inspiration, new ways of thinking and more importantly begins to pave new ways of being in the world. Knowledge is power. When the mind… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Before The Drought April 8, 2019April 5, 2019 Isn’t this a brilliant sentence, ‘When the well is dry, we know the worth of water’?. I teach so many people meditation that says one of two things: 1. Why in earth’s name did I not do this earlier?2. I wish I wasn’t learning because of my diagnosis/grief/shock and had done this when I was… Read More +
L E T T E R – CREATOR Intention Setting For The Week Ahead April 7, 2019April 5, 2019 This week, lets set our acknowledging and exploring that we, solely, create our experience of the world. The world is an inside out phenomenon. Everything that we experience is through the lens of our consciousness. If we feel expanded, as does our world. If we feel contracted, as does our world. Consider how you are… Read More +
L E T T E R from Emily – What “Should” I Do? April 6, 2019April 5, 2019 I’m writing this letter for anyone who has ever found themselves caught in the perfectionist loop, the spiral of Instagram comparisons and the slope of procrastination. We call our devices “smart” but something that is truly smart should be used to propel us further and more fully into our own worth and expand our consciousness… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jo – You Love You April 5, 2019April 5, 2019 Imagine you are holding a container – it can be as big as you like, any shape you like and decorated just the way you like. Now, “fill it up” with all the love you have for yourself (positive thoughts, adoration, things you are good at). Observe how full your container gets … you can… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Wanting Change April 4, 2019April 3, 2019 We all want change, every single person wants something different to what is actually happening. It might be little, it might be big. It might be, I wish I had ordered that dish instead of this. It might be, I wish I hadn’t married this person. It might be, I wish I had lived more… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Daily Devotion April 3, 2019April 2, 2019 We are building on a theme here, which you might have picked up on because it’s my obsessive personality to get caught on ideas. I hope you do the same. The soaking in a concept until it’s a reality. Until you don’t think, you just feel. The theme I am working on constantly is daily devotion to the… Read More +
L E T T E R – Tuesday Tips; Something Sweet For The Afternoon April 2, 2019April 2, 2019 In Ayurveda, there are three dosha’s and the Vata dosha, when out of balance, can cause anxiety, sleeplessness and restlessness. Which is pretty much everyone in modern society, hehe. Balancing the Vat dosha involves many things, I’ve written a piece on it here. One of my favourite little Data balancing takeaways, my Ayurvedic doctors over the years… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – The Real You Is In There April 1, 2019March 30, 2019 In an age whereby ‘you can be anyone’, being just you, can seem boring and unappealing I have found. When I tell people that meditation makes you a deeper version of you, often people’s shoulders slump a little, and they say they were kinda hoping to become a ‘new them’. There is no such thing, if… Read More +
L E T T E R – CREATIVITY Intention Setting For The Week Ahead March 31, 2019March 30, 2019 This is a little something new I wanted to try with you, where we collectively set an intention and discovered what it means to us. Meditation is a path to self-discovery, and with Integrated Meditation, we aim to combine a daily meditation practice with education and inspiration to be our highest grade selves. I hope… Read More +
L E T T E R from Emily – Moving to Truth March 30, 2019March 29, 2019 There is a part of all of us that wants to stay small, it is afraid to reach our personal optimum because this is unknown territory and when something is unknown, the mind will want to avoid it. But we are dynamic, ever-evolving beings and moving into unknown places is where the magic of life lies.… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jo – Doing It From The Heart March 29, 2019March 28, 2019 I’m a recipe follower – I need that recipe to tell me exactly what I’m meant to be doing, at least for the first time. After I’ve followed it once, I then relax a little and start to add my own flair (and when I say flair I mean different ingredients). My mother and sister… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – More Than One Way To Toast March 27, 2019March 26, 2019 In our cabin in Big Sur, there was a fireplace, and no toaster, so we began to hack hunks of sourdough and toast them in the fireplace, to then lather hot with butter. Mine and Arran’s techniques I found hilarious, as they said so much about us as people. Arran would take a piece of… Read More +
L E T T E R – Tuesday Tips; Healing The Lymphatic System with Jeannie of Venustus March 26, 2019March 25, 2019 I’m going to start experimenting with Tuesday’s being dedicated to a particular study, involving physical health, or a recipe, or on energy etc with tips on how to work with this area/thing. Essentially, things I am studying, learning, experiencing that I want to share with you. This quote I love, because I hope we all… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – You Can Practice Integrated Meditation Anywhere March 25, 2019March 21, 2019 Not all meditation techniques are the same, so I want to preface this with saying if you practice a technique where you need absolute quiet, this is not for you! I put down the success of our daily mantra-based practice of Integrated Meditation with our students, to the fact that you can do it anywhere,… Read More +
L E T T E R – GRACE Intention Setting For The Week Ahead March 24, 2019April 11, 2019 This is a little something new I wanted to try with you, where we collectively set an intention and discovered what it means to us. Meditation is a path to self-discovery, and with Integrated Meditation, we aim to combine a daily meditation practice with education and inspiration to be our highest grade selves. I hope… Read More +
L E T T E R from Emily – The Garden of Sanity March 23, 2019April 11, 2019 When you have a technique that allows the mind to gently settle and guide you to deep restful transcendence, your entire nervous system shifts. Daily, it gets filled up, restored and repaired. The by-product of this is a far more fulfilled experience of just about everything. Your physical, mental and emotional health is being told how… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jo – Watering My Grass March 22, 2019March 21, 2019 How many times have I looked “over there” at the green grass wishing it was under my feet? Too many to count. The idea that I’d be great over there, all my dreams would come true if I was over there, I would be really successful over there, people would love me more over there,… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Remember To Tell People You Love Them March 21, 2019March 20, 2019 I have gotten into the habit of sometimes inappropriately telling the people in my life I love them. I say it’s inappropriate only, because in a society of people whereby we seem to reserve I love you’s for the people only very intimate to us, and sometimes it’s received awkwardly. I think we should tell more people,… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Everything Is The Path March 20, 2019March 19, 2019 There’s something very plain, very simple that I adore about Zen, being that nothing is special AND everything is special. That nothing in our lives should be deemed ‘spiritual’ when everything is. So it’s not just when we go to yoga, or church, or our temple. Or light our incense and read inspiring books. It’s… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Life Is Speaking To Us, Are We Listening? March 19, 2019March 18, 2019 I wrote this whilst sitting in a tiny cabin, on a river in Big Sur California. There is no one here, we are alone, nestled under giant redwood trees. I woke early in the dark to make hot strong milky tea, light the fire and read while it rained loudly on the roof and Arran slept… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – The Fake News In Our Heads March 18, 2019March 17, 2019 Our beliefs define us. Like scratches and smudges on a pair of sunglasses that we have become so used to them, we don’t even see them. We don’t see they obstruct the truth of what’s before us. They colour our view of the world at all times. We don’t know to even wipe them clean… Read More +
L E T T E R from Emily – Foundations of Love March 16, 2019March 14, 2019 I’m sure that every generation has seen themselves in a time of political turmoil in one way or another, I think that is just the nature of the beast. However, the theme of this is ever changing. In this moment I feel we live in a time of political confusion, I myself, in all honesty,… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jo – Moving Towards A Better Me March 15, 2019March 13, 2019 I love the forward motion that focusing on who you want to become creates. It puts yesterday firmly in its place, it anchors you to today but with a glittering eye on tomorrow – this is my kind of set up. It keeps me buoyed in knowing that any action has a course correction built… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Bound by Threads March 14, 2019March 13, 2019 Every single moment that happens now, has with it an accumulation of past decisions. Thin gossamer threads that string through everything. Every wise decision has a fingerprint on now. Every dumb decision too. Everything is a choice. Destiny is a thing, but it is shaped by our decisions. Tiny teeny ones are the most important… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Bringing A Little Love To It March 12, 2019March 11, 2019 An important question I ask myself when I am feeling very contracted is how can I bring more love to this. It might be that I am frustrated at the airport and a security person is going through my every single item and it’s taking a long time and I know I am going to miss… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – The Daily Grinding or Daily Grounding March 11, 2019March 10, 2019 I personally dislike the constant messaging in the self-development and entrepreneurial spaces of rise and grind. Of own the day. Of you can be anything. It’s too big. It doesn’t take into account the sequencing of every element of our lives that brought us to today. Or every little thing that occurred within and outside… Read More +
L E T T E R from Emily – Sinking Ships March 9, 2019March 7, 2019 We’ve all had the experience of treading water, just trying to keep our head above, and at times feeling more like a sinking ship. I love this quote from Deborah Levy from her book ‘The Cost of Living’, I read it at such a pivotal point at the very beginning of this year when I… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jo – The Struggle is Real March 8, 2019March 11, 2019 When I first heard this it gripped my heart with a big fat YES! Tomorrow is too much day for me – so wise that honey-obsessed bear! It was short-lived, because my brain got involved…“What exactly does this mean? What precisely was Winnie talking about here? How do you know what he is saying is… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – The Other Side Of Fear March 7, 2019March 11, 2019 With our upcoming move to London, Arran and I have been working with a lot of fear. That’s the thing with fear that I’ve found, the more heightened your experience, the more you experience ALL your emotions. So joy, excitement, and positive anticipation will also attract fears, nerves and worries. There’s no experience I’ve ever undertaken,… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Support and Synchronicity March 5, 2019March 5, 2019 In life, there is sometimes universal support, and sometimes too many roadblocks. Discerning which is which simply takes years of attuning to. Our instinct and connection to the universe deepens immensely through Integrated/Vedic Meditation. It’s my absolute baseboard for living a high-grade life in collaboration with the universe. From this, it’s easier to discern what… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Not Of This Earth March 4, 2019March 1, 2019 There are over 100 billion stars and there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the beaches on earth. We have only discovered about 5% of the universe so far. The human brain has 86 billion to 100 billion neurons, the number of which aligns to the stars. When we… Read More +
L E T T E R from Emily – The Person I Am March 2, 2019March 1, 2019 How many of us have tried to be shapeshifters, fitting some kind of mould to be more liked, loved, and accepted? Somewhere along the road we learnt that there was a theme, a thread that ran through human interactions, those who smiled, didn’t ‘make a scene’ and were agreeable under all circumstances were safe and… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jo – Get Out of the Cul-de-sac March 1, 2019March 1, 2019 If you ever find yourself knee-deep in self-righteousness (Coo-ee!) or complaining/whining/elegantly demonstrating the shortcomings of others, situations or experiences (who me? looks over shoulder) this is the antidote. The good news is that you are the boss, the bad news is that you are the boss. Hang on – I have the power (Yass!) and… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – The Universal Orchestra February 28, 2019February 27, 2019 We are in a constant collaboration with the universe. Are we holding up our end of the collab? Or are we sitting around and complaining that we do all the work? Perhaps we are being a little lazy and letting the universe do all the heavy lifting? If the universe is the conductor, how are… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – A Giant Update February 27, 2019February 26, 2019 Morning everyone! As a new chapter opens for The Broad Place I wanted to take the time to put the important things into one cohesive note for you! Our mission to provide education for people to enhance their lives and be aligned with their highest grade selves is becoming ever more solid. To live with… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – When Is The Right Moment? February 26, 2019February 25, 2019 The question I get asked from students often is ‘How will I know if it’s the right moment to do X?’. My answer is the same every time; you won’t. There is no ‘right time’ to do anything. The thing is NO ONE is going to be able to do this work for us. No… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Evolution and Change February 25, 2019February 24, 2019 After yesterday’s ginormous Letter, we also have something to share with you! The Broad Place has been one huge adventure for us, initially an experiment that has become my entire life, and a lot of Arran’s, now with two incredible meditation teachers (Emily and Jo) teaching around Australia and New Zealand with us, and my… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Redefining Success February 24, 2019February 22, 2019 I would like to spend some time this week (within the gift to me, that is these Letters, as I get to really nut out ideas), in clarifying and sharing what success can look like versus the realities. This is a conversation that is coming up a huge amount for me at the moment with… Read More +
L E T T E R from Emily – The Four Agreements February 23, 2019February 21, 2019 “Death is not the biggest fear we have;our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive” – Don Miguel Ruiz In his book, ‘The Four Agreements’ Don Miguel Ruiz expands on the four basic principles we can live by to obtain a rich, fulfilling experience of life. I myself, first read this book and… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jo – My Expectation-Laden Day February 22, 2019February 21, 2019 Introducing Jo Simpson, The Broad Place’s new resident Integrated Meditation Teacher! Jo will be teaching in Sydney and in New Zealand all of this year. She’s a phenomenal teacher, and all round awesome human, with a fascinating background as an innovation director. Creative thinking has been her path for decades. She will be contributing a… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – A Yes And A No February 21, 2019February 20, 2019 For every yes there simply has to be a no. Compromise means everyone gets half or less. If you’re a people pleaser, it can be super activating and triggering to say no. But saying yes can come at too big a price sometimes. It took me forever to learn that a lot of what I… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Nature Is My Religion February 20, 2019February 19, 2019 I don’t have an official religion, but my temple is the ocean. My altars are the trees. Animals are my teachers. And the seasons have taught me an immense amount. Aligning with nature’s ways has taught me that Spring is growth and the promise of what might be, a time to plant seeds and to… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Anxiety Remedies February 18, 2019February 17, 2019 Ram Dass really brought home the message ‘Be Here Now’. In fact, it was the title of his pivotal book, of the same title, that has inspired decades of people to understand what it is to be in the present moment. When we experience anxiety, we get further and further from the present moment. I… Read More +
L E T T E R from Emily – The Work February 16, 2019February 17, 2019 “Dust settles, I don’t” – Anita Kopacz I was listening to a podcast (Ancient Wisdom Today) a few days ago, it was fun, light-hearted and all about living a “F**k Yes” life! It made me realise how many ‘F**K NO’ moments I’ve let slide, out of fear of hurting someone, being disliked or not wanting to… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Truly Transform 2019 February 15, 2019February 14, 2019 Life is this strange sequencing of events, isn’t it? And when we look at a year, it is like 12 slices of life. How are we going to prepare for them? What will they reap? Will it be a harvest year or will it be a flailing year? Who will we be? What will we do? How… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Where Are We Blocking Compassion February 14, 2019February 20, 2019 I raised this in our Tea Ceremony and Meditation Gathering last Saturday because someone asked it of me awhile ago and it really stuck with me. “How many times have you walked past someone homeless and thought, damn I’ve got no coins and kept walking”?. For me, I always buy a meal when I see someone as I can… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – The No That Comes Before A Yes February 13, 2019February 20, 2019 I frequently do this, write a YES list. What do I want in my life. It’s a very full life, so there has to also be a NO list that goes with it. I want to write Daily Letters; yes. Rewatching the entire of Game Of Thrones before the next season comes out; a sad but realistic no. I want to go stand up paddle boarding; yes. I… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Our Practices February 12, 2019February 20, 2019 Too often we think, myself included, ‘I don’t have time for this’, surrounding anything that is nourishing, rewarding, spiritual and allows us to be our higher grade selves. If you have had a deeply personal morning ritual, meditation practice, or anything that allows you to experience the day orientated from your soul, you will know the impact this… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Everything Is The Path February 11, 2019February 14, 2019 Even the crap bits, shit bits all the bits in between. It’s funny how in hindsight we understand that everything is there as our oath to understanding ourselves, a curation for our own evolution. But in the thick of it, we forget, panic and meltdown. We have a lot on our plate at the moment,… Read More +
L E T T E R from Emily – Warrior of Love February 10, 2019February 14, 2019 “I am a warrior of love.I am the light that lights the path of my soul” – Unknown Who’s ever found themselves caught in a pattern of thinking ‘life is a battle’? We can go through times of feeling like we are swimming against the current, pushing and pulling our way through the day, we… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Your Anchors February 9, 2019February 14, 2019 I know I bang on and on about Values, but I truly see them as anchors for our souls. When we are a little or a lot lost, we can come back to our Values and they will inform our decisions and what path we should be taking. I teach about Values and have some… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – You Determine The Course February 8, 2019February 14, 2019 Gah how I love this quote! I wanted to end the week with it. When we don’t know what our unique potential is, that’s okay, we’re not all morning knowing our purpose and why we are even here. We all dream of being able to say, ‘I was born to do this! This is THE… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Accepting Everything February 7, 2019February 7, 2019 There is a Zen saying Susan Murphy taught me, which is no matter WHAT is happening, you send out into the Universe, ‘thank you very much I have no complaints whatsoever’. No resistance, no ‘this shouldn’t be like this’, and definitely no complaining. I love it as it reinforces for me this philosophy that I… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Competing and Comparing February 6, 2019February 6, 2019 Due to our recent (Saturday) graduation of beautiful and integrity-filled Vedic Meditation teachers, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to teach authentically and what success might look like. Layer in some recent negative gossip that has been darkly crawling over to me about the way in which I personally teach meditation,… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Working with Anxiety February 5, 2019February 4, 2019 I have an immense amount to speak to on this topic, but I thought I would start with sharing with you a Letter I wrote to a student of mine today, after a phone call about her anxiety. She’s in high school and under immense pressure, and this was exactly when my anxiety started surfacing… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Alchemy February 4, 2019January 31, 2019 I am so grateful for my lowest of lows. They formed and shaped me in ways I couldn’t ever possibly have recognised in the darkness that they were at the time. I also love people who have been through some darkness and waded out of it too. There’s something deeper about them you can feel.… Read More +
L E T T E R from Jac – Deep Gratitude January 30, 2019January 29, 2019 Today is Letter 300. There are so many Letters behind these when I wasn’t tallying them up. But 300 feels like something special. So I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for reading all of these Letters. For all your beautiful responses and shared experiences. There are over 37,000 of you reading them,… Read More +
L E T T E R – Gratitude For The Little Things January 28, 2019January 27, 2019 The other day in London, we discovered a street cart outside a mosque, where Kaz the owner makes some of the most delicious soups and baguettes stuffed with delicacies. He makes a fantastic green chilli sauce that sits on the counter with powdered cumin in a shaker, with a huge bottle of bright olive oil.… Read More +
L E T T E R – Navigating Our Own Path January 25, 2019January 23, 2019 Okay ‘huge news’, we have moved our quotes to a neutral colour palette. I share this not because it’s going to change anyone’s days let alone lives, but it really brought to my attention how silly it is that I clung onto something so small that created so much agony for me. I cannot express… Read More +
L E T T E R – The Critics, The Haters and the Naysayers January 23, 2019January 22, 2019 The brighter you shine the more blinding it will become for those not attuned to it. I was recently chatting to a dear friend who has moved to NYC, landing an amazing position in finance (she’s was a laywer). She’s the most wonderful and inspiring person, utterly talented and intelligent, hilarious, and physically gorgeous to… Read More +
L E T T E R – A Time For Everything January 19, 2019January 15, 2019 As we round out January, there comes a sense of the year looming ahead. Will it be everything we want it to be? Will we be challenged, rewarded, chastised, loved, loving? Some of my wise teachers would say ‘none of it matters’, but for me, at times, it matters deeply. As we putter our way… Read More +
L E T T E R – Our Repeated Actions January 18, 2019January 13, 2019 In Zen, the tensho is the monastery cook. Every moment, every meal is seen as an opportunity to experience truth, to experience satori (enlightenment). It sounds kind of dramatic, but in truth, it is love and reverence for every grain of rice, for the lighting of the stove, the growing and chopping of vegetables. For… Read More +
L E T T E R – No Former Just Present January 17, 2019January 13, 2019 I love this quote by Condoleeza, for its many layers. What if we let go of former everything. Former anxiety.Former stress.Former hang-ups.Former obsessions that didn’t serve us.Former mindsetsFormer titles.Former beliefs.Former worries.All the former bullshit. What if we spent no time in the past at all, and simply created space for just now. Sent with love,… Read More +
L E T T E R – Treading Our Path Without Distraction January 16, 2019January 13, 2019 I think writing yesterday’s Letter stirred up a lot for me. I pondered about all the (necessary) distractions I experienced when I lost my way. I was haunted by the ego and how it can take its grip and lead us so far from our heart. Like a relentless feral dog yanking on a leash,… Read More +
L E T T E R – The Courage We Once Had January 15, 2019January 13, 2019 When I was young, I was a strange little kid. I didn’t fit in at all. Eccentric, hyperactive, skinny and ultra curious, I was into lots of things other kids weren’t. I loved pottery, but it wasn’t cool back then like now, it was quite weird and a lady with a thick braid and hessian… Read More +
L E T T E R – The Thin Thread Between This Life and The Next January 12, 2019January 10, 2019 David Whyte said,’ How easily the thread is broken between this life and the next’. It’s a beautiful line, isn’t it? For we really have no idea when it will all end. These fragile little bodies, whereby one hit to the incorrect part of us, ends it all. Perhaps it will be a series of… Read More +
L E T T E R – Creating Space And Pause Before Action January 10, 2019January 10, 2019 I had a conversation with a dear friend and meditation student on the weekend about the never-ending list of ‘All The Things’ which need doing. And when thinking about the list, the overwhelm was so great that they didn’t enjoy simple pleasures anymore. They, in fact, seemed frivolous. And there was a great sadness in… Read More +
L E T T E R – The Most Expensive Price Tag In The World January 9, 2019January 9, 2019 I had soooo many people respond to the letter (What Would You Create) about what would you do if you couldn’t fail, if success was guaranteed. What would you do? It’s such a huge question, it can almost be paralyzing. The key thing it seemed to bring up for readers was, ‘why am I keeping myself… Read More +
L E T T E R – A Series Of Little Choices January 8, 2019January 5, 2019 Brene always delivers the pithy statements, doesn’t she? I love thinking about authenticity this way, a series of tiny commitments. Every moment there is a decision being made. Literally all the time, we are making choices that might feel innocuous and small, but pack a punch over time. I love placing my awareness as many… Read More +
L E T T E R – Dark Nights Of The Soul January 7, 2019January 4, 2019 This is that tricky time of year I find when we bound in with full enthusiasm, transformed by new possibility and then sometimes fall in a heap of despair. I have had lots of students reaching out with quandaries, doubts and troubled minds and expectations that this doubt or sadness or fear shouldn’t be happening.… Read More +
L E T T E R – Let’s Not Be Lunatics January 5, 2019January 3, 2019 I’ve never met anyone like Arran, he literally doesn’t ever consider what anyone thinks of him. He’s incredibly neat and stylish and takes great care of himself, and on occasion slightly vain, but worrying about what others think of him, means nothing, it doesn’t enter his awareness. I think I might have literally exited the… Read More +
L E T T E R – What Would You Create January 4, 2019January 3, 2019 One of my favourite questions as part of long-term workshops that I host, is ‘if you knew you couldn’t fail, at all, what would you do?’. It’s a DOOZY of a question and takes everyone some time to open up to. You need to let go of the adrenalin, the panic, the doubts. To push… Read More +
Los Angeles March 2019 January 3, 2019February 6, 2019 We are coming to Los Angles to teach a special course in Integrated Meditation! If you are interested in sitting the Meditation Course the details are below, and you can sign up right away. This course will be hosted by Jacqui Lewis personally. Additionally we have a special Group Meditation Meeting for all existing students,… Read More +
L E T T E R – Wise Choices January 2, 2019January 2, 2019 A little list of things I would recommend if you’re stuck making choices at the moment. It’s a big time of year for choices, and they should be bold ones. 1. Commit to a meditation practice. It doesn’t have to be the ones we teach although I personally teach them as after 20 years meditating… Read More +
L E T T E R – The First Day Of 2019 January 2, 2019December 28, 2018 It’s the first day of 2019. If you woke today bright and alive, brilliant. If you woke hungover as hell and in shame spiral, or perhaps like I used to like to see in the New Year a long time ago, without having slept at all and on a dance floor, that’s okay too. Maybe… Read More +
L E T T E R – Happy New Year!!! January 1, 2019December 28, 2018 My absolute goodness what a year. For Arran and I, it was beyond what we imagined. I travelled to London, Los Angeles, New York, India, Melbourne and Byron Bay to teach and host Retreats. We redesigned all our branding and rebuilt our website and upgraded all our existing programs. We launched The Classroom, our online… Read More +
L E T T E R – Humility and Service December 31, 2018December 28, 2018 I spent most of Friday emailing back students who had applied for the scholarship of Be Your Best Self. We committed to giving away ten of this program to students and readers that emailed us with what they feel held them back from being their best self this past year and their commitment in 2019.… Read More +
L E T T E R – The Difference Between Planning And Surrender December 28, 2018December 28, 2018 The Letter I wrote the other day about the need for planning and our common misunderstanding that planning depletes our being in the present moment got a tonne of responses from you guys, with lots of questions. Perhaps it’s a very big time of year for planning and everyone is open to shifting their mindsets?… Read More +
L E T T E R – Being What’s Right Over Concerned With Who Is Right December 28, 2018December 28, 2018 I had a really interesting conversation the other day with a long term meditator who had become disillusioned with spirituality, meditation and the various lineages and traditions (especially the patriarchal ones). I was saddened and also filled with strength, as I have been in a place very similar to them, and not so long ago.… Read More +
L E T T E R – The Balance Between Desire and Satisfaction December 28, 2018December 28, 2018 I find this one of the most challenging of all the opposites we experience, the balance between simplicity and happiness with what we have, and the pursuing of what we want. Both can become out of balance rapidly, and it’s really a slippery slope, the pursuing of desires. However so are excuses and settling for.… Read More +
L E T T E R – Conditions on Behaviours December 21, 2018December 17, 2018 Being only a few short days to Christmas, I thought this quote was utterly perfect, as soon most of us will be on a holiday of some sort, that usually involves family or friends that surprise, surprise, we can’t control. We’ve all been there, the Big Promises… “I vow to be patient and not let… Read More +
L E T T E R – Pouring Out Patience December 20, 2018December 18, 2018 Conscious and Patient are not two words I have always been excellent at embodying in my life. I have been known to throw little tantrums, huff, swear, sigh, roll my eyes, and Arran’s least favourite, stomp my foot in a rage. Yep, stomping my foot like a little child, except with all the humiliation I… Read More +
L E T T E R – Which Would You Choose December 19, 2018December 19, 2018 This quote has been playing around in my mind like a Zen koan for some time. It can be viewed so many ways. Is it true? Is it not? I have been questioning though more deeply if I had to choose one, which would it be? How are they defined? How are they experienced? How… Read More +
L E T T E R – The Privilege Of A Life December 18, 2018December 17, 2018 I was standing on the shore of the beach the other day chatting to Gabriel. Gabriel is Argentinean and I am unsure of his age, perhaps 50? He’s fit, ridiculously tanned and incredibly friendly and happy. He knows everyone in Palm Beach, literally. And everyone knows him. He lives in a cottage at the back… Read More +
L E T T E R – Pioneering Your Future December 17, 2018December 17, 2018 I absolutely adore this quote and have had it pinned above my desk for years. When I am stuck, feeling brittle and frustrated with trying something new that is in a moment not working, I turn to it. Just because it’s easier to continue old patterns and behaviours doesn’t mean it’s the best thing to… Read More +
L E T T E R – The Chasing of Perfection December 14, 2018December 11, 2018 When Emily or I teach Integrated Meditation, we both drill into our students to not chase perfection. You will never have a perfect meditation practice. Nor will you be a perfect human being. We practice Integrated Meditation as it aligns us more with nature, and our most natural selves. This is why students love it… Read More +
