i'm A meditation teacher once again

Many years ago I was a miserable alcoholic. Outside of work I struggled to make sense of my life and more and more I found myself wondering what was the point of getting out of bed?

I was inspired to seek help after a friend told me she had depression. I went to see a doctor, started taking anti-depressant medication and soon - for a variety of reasons - I gave up drinking. I started doing yoga and then began meditating. I was drawn to Buddhist meditation and eventually went to England, lived in a Buddhist community and soon became a monk. 

Me in my robes, having the time of my life (really!)

Meditation reached me on a deep level that I just couldn’t reach any other way. I started teaching classes because I wanted to share what had helped me so much with others. For six years I meditated, taught and worked hard to train my mind. It was, at that point, the best experience of my life. Alas, my Buddhist adventure ended with me disrobing; at the time I couldn’t explain why, I simply knew I couldn’t go on any more. Looking back, I had all the classic signs of burnout - oh the irony!  

I rediscovered my passion for inner peace on the yoga mat, and then in New Age workshops and different courses. I trained as a counsellor and - over time - began unravelling my inner contradictions. 11 years ago I met a wonderful woman who became my partner and then my wife. Together we discovered and healed a lot of the reasons why I burned out as a monk.

I also discovered Performance Poetry - the art of storytelling and poetry recital done with theatrical flair and gusto - and used this creative outlet as a way of healing emotional/childhood issues. I made a name for myself as a local poet worth listening to, and even published a collection of poems. I was the Mindfulness Poet, using storytelling and poetry to bring people into a state of awareness.

The Mindfulness Poet, performing live on stage. I often performed in between music bands, hence all the gear on stage. All I needed was a microphone.

Another important milestone for me was running Mindfulness sessions at a local Health Retreat every Sunday for four years, helping people suffering burnout to find their own way to health and wellbeing. I researched the neuroscience of stress and read up on holistic approaches to mental health. I started a business called Mindfulness Mentor, aimed at helping groups and individuals use Mindfulness to answer the problems of our busy modern lives. When my time there ended I started looking around for a reset, which was when my yoga teacher sent me an email about a meditation course in Victoria with Ian Gawler.

Ian was famous in the 1980s as the man who cured himself of a very aggressive (and previously fatal) cancer with meditation and a healthy diet. Doctors had told him he had months to live and yet here he was, 40 years later, looking healthy and happy and still going strong. For those 40 years he has helped people with all sorts of medical conditions use meditation to improve themselves. And the people he was dealing with often had no experience of mediation and very little time to learn. Some people had been given weeks to live! Ian managed to help them meditate and there are numerous testimonies about how helpful his instructions were. 

The email came at just the right time. For a few years I had been trying to restart a formal meditation practice. I remembered how helpful it had been all those years ago, but I struggled to actually sit on the cushion and get started. Reading what Ian was offering I thought this was my chance to do a reset and reconnect to meditation.

Me and my classmates and teachers at The Yarra Valley Living Centre. A truly transformative week!

The course was exactly what I needed. Ian has distilled four decade’s worth of meditating, teaching and research into a simple and effective form of meditation that anyone can do. It’s simplicity is one of it’s great strengths; anyone can understand and practice it with about 10 minutes explanation. The Blue Sky Mind approach is science-based, there’s no religious aspect and the emphasis is on relaxing and reducing stress to make ourselves happier and healthier. Most people do it sitting on a chair and you can do 10-20 minutes, once or twice a day. Some results are immediate and others take time to come, but they do come.

I found myself formally meditating for the first time in years. I was reminded of why it transformed my life in the first place. Quite simply, for me, sitting in meditative stillness reduces stress and improves my mental and physical health in a way nothing else can. After a few weeks of daily practice I was inspired and I decided I wanted to teach this style of meditation. I’m now reaching out to groups in my area to organise public talks, workshops and regular classes. I'm a meditation teacher once again.

While the practice is simple it has great depth to it, and provides a solid basis for meditators to customise it to their individual needs. For people dealing with physical health issues, there are numerous ways that meditation can encourage the body heal itself. For anyone suffering from burnout and chronic stress this meditation cuts to the root of the issue. It is also a great method for breaking out of the anxiety/depression cycle and rediscovering inner peace and self-acceptance. The list goes on and on.

If you want to know more about my story I have self-published memoir called ‘How Wonderful’ which details my struggle with depression and anxiety, and how I used mindfulness to find my way out of the hopelessness and pain. The book ends with me running mindfulness sessions at the health retreat. If you’re interested in learning more about me, about what  can offer as a mentor or about the Blue Sky Mind meditations please send me a message at [email protected].

I'll be posting about my ongoing adventures with meditation, mindfulness and poetry. I'll also be talking about articles and blog posts that help me have a balanced and grounded life in our crazy 21st Century world. I hope you can find something of value in what I offer.