Dear Meditator,

It seems each year as the weather cools down the meditation community warms up, because there's plenty happening over winter.

Firstly, tickets and full program details are now available for this year's Australian Meditation Conference, Meditate09. Get in quick to secure reduced price early bird tickets, which will be available for a few weeks longer than the original May 1 cutoff.

I'm also looking forward to the arrival of Jason Siff from the Skillful Meditation Project. He's running our next Meditation Master Class. If you're looking to explore meditation at a deeper level, his workshop should suit you.

Or if you're just getting started, then our Learn to Meditate workshop on May 24 might suit you better.

Our first Intermediate Meditation course for the year will commence on Monday nights in Clifton Hill from May 25. This is part of a new series of themed Intermediate Courses designed to develop your meditation skills to the next level. The theme for the upcoming course is Mindfulness — in which we will focus on integrating meditation more fully into your daily life.

For those who live or work in the CBD, we'll be running two casual Simply Silence sessions each Wednesday afternoon/evening from May 27.

And for those who have been asking me for a handout or details of the new spot meditations I've been teaching in class, you'll find them included in this month's Meditation Tip.

Also, there are just a few spots left for our second and final Meditation Teacher Training course for this year. The course starts on July 27. Email matt@melbournemeditationcentre.com.au to reserve your spot.

Finally, for those who haven't time for any of the above — you might like to get in touch with your "Inner Tortoise" by checking out Carl Honore's talk In Praise of Slow.

I hope you enjoy the newsletter. Feel free to email comments, questions or suggestions to: matt@melbournemeditationcentre.com.au

In This Issue...

• Spot Meditation
• Meditation Tip
• Course Schedule
• Events
• In Praise of Slow

Spot Meditation - Stop and Smell the Rose[coloured wine]s.

With each breath, millions of molecules register subliminally within our noses — but typically, we'll only pause to take notice when we find a smell particularly pleasing or irksome.

Interestingly, olfaction is handled by the same part of the brain (the limbic system) that handles memories and emotions — so smells and memories often go hand-in-hand — which is why the scents of scones baking in the oven, cleanly laundered sheets, naphthalene flakes and new books might take you back to a childhood spent at Grandma's house.

Take a minute now to pay close attention to what you can smell. Don't worry if there's nothing obvious. Simply focus on the passage of air through the nostrils as you inhale.

Alternatively, deliberately test the air, each time you enter a different room or building, or, even better, before you begin to eat or drink.

How and where do you meditate when you've only got a minute? Send your own spot meditations to matt@melbournemeditationcentre.com.au

The best suggestion each month will be published here.

Meditation Tip — Developing Your Own Versatile Meditation Practice

Most people enjoy the experience of being guided in meditation and find that the results are, at the least, satisfactory. Replicating the relaxation and clarity that may result in a group or classroom situation, however, is not always so easy.

Meditation, like all things worth doing, takes practice. And practice of course, can be either highly effective or just a means of reinforcing bad habits. Those of you who have completed a course with me recently will be familiar with half a dozen simple 'spot' meditations that you can string together to help structure and replicate the 'deeper' meditative experiences of a class environment more successfully.

Of course, each technique can also be used as a spot meditation in its own right — so they provide a very useful means of getting the most out of meditation. You can learn all about them here.

Comments? Email matt@melbournemeditationcentre.com.au

Course Schedule

Our next term of meditation courses commences towards the end of May. You can register online for any of the following.

Term 3, May/June 2009

Meditation Events

Meditation Master Class — Jason Siff

Friday May 29 — Evening Talk from 7.30-9pm ($20/$10)
Sunday May 31 — Full-day workshop from 10am-5pm ($150/$100)

Northcote Town Hall
189 High Street
Northcote

Those who attended the Meditation Events' Master Classes with Eric Harrison and Graham Williams last year enjoyed the opportunity to meet, listen to and learn from two of Australia's most interesting and experienced meditation teachers.

This May, the Meditation Master Class series continues with a visit from Jason Siff, head teacher at the Skillful Meditation Project in the USA. Like Eric and Graham, Jason's initial meditation studies were done under the tutelage of Buddhist teachers. Like them, he has gone on to develop his own approach to meditation.

Jason's approach is particularly interesting as he is one of few teachers who looks really closely and critically at meditation instruction and what is actually going on when we meditate (which is often very different from the expectations inculcated during instruction).

During the one-day workshop, there will be about five meditation sittings, ranging from 20 to 40 minutes. You will be able to meditate sitting on cushions, in chairs, or lying down, and you'll be free to meditate in your own way, or according to the basic instructions suggested for beginning meditation students. All the meditation sittings will be done in silence. After each meditation, Jason will talk about an aspect of the meditative process and will listen to people’s experiences and answer any questions. It is suggested that you bring a journal or notepad to write down your meditation sittings.

Jason's Friday evening talk and Sunday workshop promise to be fascinating and insightful, as he discusses:

• Basic Meditation Instructions
• Three Conditions for an Independent Meditation Practice
• About This Approach and How It Is Taught
• Unmasking Meditation Instructions
• About Learning and Unlearning Meditation
• Why I Teach the Way I Do
• My Own Unlearning

Note: Those attending the workshop may attend the talk at no additional charge.

Tickets available from www.meditationevents.com.au

MEDITATE09 Australian Meditation Conference

MEDITATE 09, the annual Australian Meditation Conference brings together many of Australia's leading meditation teachers, including Paul Wilson, bestselling author of The Quiet and The Little Book of Calm, Petrea King, Founding Director and CEO of the Quest for Life Foundation and Andrew Wells, Director of Dru Yoga in Australia.

The theme of this year's conference is Meditation and the Mind. Our presenters will explore how meditation promotes physical wellbeing and emotional literacy and can be used in the prevention and treatment of stress, anxiety and depression.

With a full conference program on Saturday and post-conference workshops on Sunday, this event promises to be a wonderful opportunity for anyone with a professional or personal interest in meditation to explore a diversity of approaches to this transformative practice.

The conference program will also interest medical and health professionals, researchers and students, as leading experts present research in body/mind medicine from the disciplines of neuroscience, physiology and psychology.

More information and tickets available now from www.meditate09.com.au

Simply Silence

Get your regular dose of relaxation and calm at one of our Simply Silence sessions in Northcote, Elwood or the CBD. It's a great way to discover and explore meditation in a friendly group environment.

Elwood Schedule

• May 11 - Yvonne Anderson
• May 25 - Adam Nicoll
• June 8 - No Session (Queen's Birthday Holiday)
• June 22 - Sarah Fletcher
• July 13 - Kate James

Northcote Schedule

• May 7 - David Hall
• May 21 - Rita Cattivera

CBD Schedule

Two sessions every Wednesday. Session One from 5.30 - 6.30pm and Session Two from 6.45 - 7.45pm. All sessions hosted by Peter Douglas unless otherwise specified. Sessions start from Wednesday May 27.

In Praise of Slow

Journalist Carl Honore is best known for his advocacy of the Slow Movement. His book In Praise of Slowness dissects our speed-obsessed society and celebrates those who have gotten in touch with their "inner tortoise." If you're not in too much of a rush, listen to him on TED: Ideas Worth Spreading.

Know someone who could chill out?

Do you have friends who are perpetually stressed or anxious, have trouble sleeping or could just do with learning how to relax? Do them a favour and forward this email to them. (Or if this is you, subscribe here.)