The Centre for Western Mindfulness

28/01/2026

When a narrative is rehearsed often enough, it stops feeling like a perspective and starts feeling like reality. It colours how we interpret other people’s intentions, how we judge our own worth, and what possibilities we believe are available to us. By becoming aware of the story rather than unconsciously living inside it, we create space for new choices, new responses, and a more truthful experience of life.

26/01/2026

This is such a profound practice.

19/01/2026

Fear often arises from predictions about future outcomes. Our brains use past experiences as a reference, so we anticipate danger or discomfort based on what has happened before. The amygdala (our fear center) and the prefrontal cortex work together to evaluate potential threats, and if we’ve experienced or observed negative outcomes in the past, the brain flags similar future situations as potentially threatening.

Most fears are tied to “what might happen” rather than “what is happening now.” Anxiety and worry are future-oriented emotions that rely on past patterns. By learning to observe our thoughts without automatically acting on them, we create space to respond with clarity rather than be driven by every imagined threat.

Find out more in our article where Russell explores how In Awareness There is No Fear

https://www.westernmindfulness.com.au/post/understanding-awareness-part-3

15/01/2026

I’ve been revisiting some of our blogs over the Christmas break, and I enjoyed this one so much that I wanted to share it again with the community.

At the end of the blog, Russell shares an experience he had in the late 80s in downtown San Francisco late one night. It's one of his first real-life lessons in awareness. It’s a powerful story with a message that still lands deeply today.

It takes about eight minutes to read and watch the video, and it’s eight minutes truly worth your time.

In Awareness There is No ReactionIn this second instalment of the Awareness Series of blogs, I will be looking at another of the non-awareness descriptions to better understand awareness. Last blog covered the notion that awareness wasn’t about giving your thoughts, feelings, sensations and desire...

13/01/2026

Stepping out of your story and into awareness begins with the simple act of surrender, of loosening your grip on the beliefs and judgements you’ve attached to the situation. It's simple, yet it often feels difficult. Surrender is effortless when you’re willing to release your narrative and meet the moment as it truly is. It becomes challenging when the ego clings to certainty, identity, and the illusion of control. But once you experience how natural surrender can be, it becomes easier to return to it again and again. And remember, surrender is not the same as not caring. Not caring numbs the heart and withdraws from life; surrender opens you to it. It’s meeting the moment with clarity rather than resistance, letting go of the story so you can respond from truth instead of fear.

08/01/2026

When we live from the story, we’re reacting to old wounds, not responding to the moment. Presence reconnects us to flow.

07/01/2026

When we’re trapped inside an ego-centred lens, we interpret everything through the narrow filter of our story. We project our fears, insecurities, and past wounds onto neutral situations and assume the world sees us the same way we see ourselves. But the distortion isn’t out there, it’s within the identity we’re clinging to. As our awareness expands beyond ego, we begin to see life as it truly is, not as our story insists it must be.

06/01/2026

How easy do you find it (or not) to not only step into the place of the observer, but to maintain that state of consciousness as you engage the world around you?

21/12/2025

Dr. Bruce Lipton explained that the function of the mind is to create coherence between our beliefs and our reality. So the question becomes: what self-image do you carry? What beliefs do you tell yourself about who you are based on the situations you’ve experienced?

17/12/2025

From a very young age, we learn to adapt to our environment. We rely on others for acceptance and basic needs, so we develop strategies to be “okay.” Over time, these strategies become habits, filters, and ways of navigating the world.

Each experience tends to get observed, labeled, and turned into a plan, how to get more of what we want, how to avoid what we don’t. Instead of experiencing life and letting it pass, we carry it with us, adding layers to the weight we bear.

Awareness is noticing experience without immediately adding meaning, judgment, or strategy. It doesn’t erase challenges or the lessons of life, but it changes how we relate to them. When we stop taking everything so personally and see the impermanent nature of experience, life can feel lighter, more spacious, and more free.

16/12/2025

A chasm is a profound gap between people, viewpoints, or inner experience. It is also the name of the 5-step framework we use in our Pathways to Mindfulness program to help people bridge the gap between a life largely governed by subconscious habits and one lived from conscious observation.

Why does that matter?

Because when we step back into the place of observation, we begin to loosen the grip of subconscious patterns and our suffering begins to soften. And from that space, peace naturally arises, followed by joy, love, and a deeper sense of happiness.

15/12/2025

How willing are you (or not) to surrender your position and simply observe?