Dear Meditator,

Looking to learn to meditate? Or to remind yourself what it's all about. Courses at all our venues start next week. If you're planning on joining the new course in Yarraville, you can still make use of our 2 for 1 offer and bring a friend for free.

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

In This Issue...

• Spot Meditation
• Meditatainment?
• Course Schedule
• Events
• Meditation Article: How to change your mind

Spot Meditation — Smell that coffee

Here's a meditation many of you may do on a daily basis. But how deeply do you let yourself fall into the coffee (or tea) experience?

Next time you grab a tea or coffee, take a moment, a long moment, to really savour the smell. Inhale as though that aroma were the most important thing in your life. Let it last one full breath — or more if you feel so inclined.

For added effect, enjoy the warmth of the cup in your hands too.

Our sense of smell is one of the most direct pathways into calm; make use of it.

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.

Meditainment?

Meditation has really gone mainstream at www.meditainment.com— complete with slick marketing, glowing multimedia presentations, meditations narrated by a woman with a lovely English accent and obligatory testimonials from delighted customers. They point out with some fanfare that their meditations "also feature on the in-flight entertainment of Virgin Atlantic, US Airways, Qantas, Air Canada and China Airlines."

So, if you don't get out of town much, pop over and take a listen to the Free Stress Buster  Video * (Best viewed when totally stressed out!)

* Please note that (unlike most of the websites or downloads I write about here) this is not a site I would necessarily endorse; but it's worth checking out just for the sheer novelty, perhaps as a warning of what can go wrong when things get 'popular' and finally, because, who knows, you might find that Stress Buster Video to be pretty damn useful!

Course Schedule

Our next term of meditation courses for 2010 commences next week. You can register online for any of the following.

Term 2, May/June 2010

Meditation Events

How to Meditate Workshop

Sunday May 16, 2.00 - 5.00pm, Elwood

A condensed form of our Basic Meditation Course, this workshop is designed as an introduction to meditation and will help you get started with a range of simple techniques.

Australian Meditation Conference

The Australian Meditation Conference this year will be held at RMIT Story Hall on Saturday July 30th, with Meditation Master Classes to follow on the Sunday. Presenters will include David Michie, author of Hurry up and Meditate, as well as Pauline McKinnon, Marc Cohen and Arian Young, with more to be announced soon. More information...

Simply Silence

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

Elwood Schedule

• May 10 - Adam Nicoll

Northcote Schedule

• May 6 - Ajay Ramdas
• May 20 - Rita Cattivera
• June 3 - Sabina Vitacca

How to change your mind.

Can meditation really make you a more relaxed person? Can it help to dissolve unhealthy habits of mind? Traditional wisdom suggests so, and increasingly, neuroscientists are coming to the party, revealing through their research, that the brain is surprisingly maleable.

Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, one of a popular new wave of Buddhists Monks with an interest in neuroscience explores this fresh territory in his recent book The Joy of Living, explaining just how meditation can work to change your brain.

Here's a key passage from Chapter 2: The Inner Symphony

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.)