The grass is greener where you water it.

Breathing in: May I experience peace.

Breathing out: May others experience peace.

At the beginning of any action we engage in, it can be beneficial to establish and clarify our intention, if we can do this, it can help to direct the energy of our activities of body, speech, and mind.

Mindful Meditation practices, in general, help us to focus the mind; in particular, the training when we follow the journey of our breath around the body can be beneficial.

This form of mindful movement allows us to slow down both our body and mind and let go of the tension that has built up in the upper half of our body.As we take each step, we allow the stress and anxiety to dissolve into the ground beneath us.

I encourage students who attend my classes to try and meditate as soon as they arise, giving them the best possible opportunity to be influenced by a peaceful mind throughout the day.

In this way we have a peaceful mental breakfast which we can then enjoy our physical breakfast with, making us empowered both mentally and physically for the day.

There is no secret recipe for bringing peace into our life, simply, sitting down regularly and engaging in meditation, and then applying our experience into daily life.

If there is a relationship in our life, whether it is a home or work and wish to improve it, try changing your mind towards the person in the quiet space of meditation and see what happens. There may be an instant result, or it may take time, either way, only good can come from establishing a positive mind towards those in our life.

When we travel with a companion, they can influence and affect the way we relate to the world around us. With a peaceful mind as our companion, we can be confident that the way we relate to what arises in our life is influenced by peace. This peaceful approach will ensure that we have the foundation for an experience of happiness.

When we sit down to train in meditation it is beneficial for our practice to establish our intention for training.

We can practice without any intention, but this is like sitting in a car and not driving to any location.

The experience of gratitude is available for us continuously. The more we can remember and allow ourselves to be governed by this mind, the less emotionally dependent we will be on others. As a consequence, our relationships strengthen and improve.

In this short explanation, we are going to explore an effective method for reducing the pressure built up in our face. This method can initially be applied in sitting meditation and later introduced during the day in micro-meditations when we are engaged in our daily activities.

If we can establish the habit of turning inwards and checking our mind, the activity itself will begin to calm the movement of our thought. We can try to see beneath the flow of thought and recognise the peace that is present beneath it. Similarly to the ocean beneath the waves of the ocean.

Thoughts are not the problem; it is the way that we relate to them that will govern whether they are an issue. If we can take this approach to our thoughts in meditation, we will come to enjoy a far more expansive feeling when we sit down.

It is helpful to appreciate that speed is limited in accomplishing our goals and what is more important is our intention and our ability to stay focused on our decision.

With a trained mind, adverse conditions help us to cultivate compassion, patience, wisdom, acceptance. We can strengthen our mind, so it becomes happy and peaceful, regardless of what is arising in our life.

Through training in Meditation, we can train ourselves so that we can ensure happiness continuously arises in our mind by zooming into that which produces it, and zooming out to be able to see everything that arises in our mind in perspective.

As we start to look at our mind in a non-judgmental way, our thoughts begin to calm. Our mind gathers, and peace begins to arise.

This state of mind is possible with a clear determination and an insight into the workings of our mind.

Taking the process one step at a time, and as my dear Grandfather used to say, ‘always follow the instructions’.

With a skilful strategy, we can increase the mental investment as well as enjoying the fruits of it; this requires continual daily practice and a decision to keep training our mind regardless of what is taking place in our life.

When our mind is calm and positive, we regard the world in a lighter manner.

If we happily create the causes, slowly and mindfully, the effects will take care of themselves.

It is helpful to appreciate that the present moment is made up of past moments. It doesn’t exist in isolation.

The umbrella to anger is patience.
The umbrella to confusion in our mind is wisdom.

The breath is our anchor to the present moment, and we can flavour it with whatever theme we wish to gain a deeper experience of.

We could see each week of the training as ascending 1000 metres up a mountain. If this is done gradually and carefully, by the time we reach chapter 7, the equivalent of 7000m, we can breathe are primed and ready to enjoy the experience, exhilaration, and view.