Skillful Mind

Skillful Mind Learn and Teach Meditation. Awaken the mind. Our vision is a qualified meditation teacher in every town and suburb in the world

We would love to see everyone learn the art of mental stillness. Only then can the world be truly at peace.

Meditation this morning.Online. Free. 9am ACST.All welcome.skillfulmind.net/zoom
02/05/2026

Meditation this morning.

Online. Free. 9am ACST.

All welcome.

skillfulmind.net/zoom

There's a question I ask students sometimes when they're stuck:"What would this feel like if it were easy?"Not as a tric...
02/05/2026

There's a question I ask students sometimes when they're stuck:

"What would this feel like if it were easy?"

Not as a trick. As a genuine inquiry.

Most of us bring a lot of effort and self-criticism to meditation. We sit down braced for struggle. We monitor our progress. We decide, before the session is over, whether it was good or bad.

What if you sat down instead with the assumption that it might go well?

Not forcing it. Not pretending the mind isn't busy when it is. Just — arriving with a different orientation. Relaxed expectation rather than tense vigilance.

The practice does ask for effort. But it's the effort of a skilled craftsman, not a person fighting their own material. Light, consistent, curious.

Try it this week. See what's different.

The most common thing people tell me when they find out I'm a meditation teacher:"I've tried it but I can't stop my thou...
30/04/2026

The most common thing people tell me when they find out I'm a meditation teacher:

"I've tried it but I can't stop my thoughts. My mind is too busy."

Here's the thing: a busy mind during meditation isn't a sign that you're bad at it. It's a sign your awareness is working.

You can only notice that your mind is busy if you're aware enough to observe it. The beginner who thinks they're failing because their mind keeps wandering is actually doing exactly what the practice trains — noticing when attention has drifted.

The goal of meditation is not a quiet mind. The goal is a clear mind. One that can see what's happening without being carried away by it.

A quiet mind might happen eventually — as a side effect, not an achievement. But clarity can come sooner. And it's more useful.

If your mind wanders in meditation and you bring it back — you're meditating. Full stop.

Most people who come to the Wake Up Workshop have tried meditation before.An app. A class. A retreat once. They got some...
28/04/2026

Most people who come to the Wake Up Workshop have tried meditation before.

An app. A class. A retreat once. They got something from it, but it didn't stick. Or they understood it in theory but couldn't quite find their way in practice.

The Wake Up Workshop is 90 minutes. Free. Online.

I cover what meditation actually is (different from what most people think), why the usual approaches often don't work long-term, and a few specific practices you can use immediately.

No fluff. No philosophy lecture. Just practical instruction from someone who's been teaching this for fifteen years.

If you've been meaning to get serious about your practice, this is a good place to start.

skillfulmind.com.au/wake-up-workshop/

Every Sunday morning I run a free online meditation session.It's not elaborate. We sit, I guide, we share briefly at the...
27/04/2026

Every Sunday morning I run a free online meditation session.

It's not elaborate. We sit, I guide, we share briefly at the end if people want to. It's an hour.

People come for different reasons. Some are complete beginners — they've never meditated before and want to see what it's like. Some are experienced meditators who come because sitting with others is different from sitting alone. Some come because their week has been difficult and they want to reset before Monday.

All of that is fine. There's no entry requirement. You don't need experience, equipment, or a particular belief system.

If you've been meaning to try meditation and haven't found a way in yet — Sunday morning might be it.

This week: Sunday. 9am ACST. Online. Free.

skillfulmind.net/zoom

Meditation progress doesn't feel how most people expect.People expect a gradual, steady improvement. A bit calmer each w...
26/04/2026

Meditation progress doesn't feel how most people expect.

People expect a gradual, steady improvement. A bit calmer each week. A bit more focused each month.

What actually happens is more like this: long plateaus, occasional breakthroughs, and — importantly — apparent regression that isn't really regression at all.

You sit for three months and feel like you're getting worse. Your mind seems busier than when you started. That's usually not backward movement — it's that your awareness has sharpened enough to actually notice what was already there. You're not thinking more. You're noticing your thinking more.

That's progress. It just doesn't feel like it.

The other thing about meditation progress: it shows up in your life before it shows up in your sits. You'll notice you're less reactive in a difficult conversation before you notice your sits have become steadier. Pay attention to the other 23 hours.

The practice is working. It just works quietly.

Years ago a student came to me who had been meditating for a long time — more than a decade — with another teacher.She w...
25/04/2026

Years ago a student came to me who had been meditating for a long time — more than a decade — with another teacher.

She was technically good. Clean posture, steady attention, no major obstacles in her sits. But she'd hit a wall she couldn't explain. The practice felt like maintenance. Like ticking a box.

We worked together for a while doing coaching, and eventually she said something I've thought about often since: "I've been doing the practice but I haven't been giving it permission to change me."

I'm not sure if she came up with that herself or heard it somewhere. But it's exactly right.

Meditation isn't just a technique. It's an invitation to change — in how you see yourself, how you respond to things, what you hold onto. The technique creates the conditions. But something in us has to be willing.

The practice can't do that part for you.

Something I don't often share: what my own morning practice looks like.I am often awake in the middle of the night and r...
23/04/2026

Something I don't often share: what my own morning practice looks like.

I am often awake in the middle of the night and rather than just lying there staring at the ceiling waiting to go back to sleep, I started using this time to meditate. It is a great use of time and the sleep I have afterward is not only very restful but sometime full of amazing things like lucid dreams.

But even now- not all meditations are perfect. There are times when I struggle too.

What I don't do is judge the sit by how it felt.

The only metric that matters is: did I sit? Everything else is just weather.

I teach this — consistently — but it's worth saying that after thirty years I'm still practising it myself. It doesn't become automatic. You don't reach a point where the practice just runs itself.

You just get better at showing up for it even when you don't feel like it.

What does your morning practice look like? I'm curious.

The body is the anchor.Most meditation instruction focuses on the mind — what to notice, what to let go, how to return a...
23/04/2026

The body is the anchor.

Most meditation instruction focuses on the mind — what to notice, what to let go, how to return attention. But the body comes first. Always.

Before you close your eyes, check in physically. Are your shoulders up near your ears? Is your jaw clenched? Are you slumped forward with your chin dropped, cutting off the breath?

Posture affects everything. A collapsed posture leads to dullness. A rigid one leads to tension. What you're looking for is stability without strain — an upright spine that feels natural, not forced.

I tell my students: sit like a mountain. Solid. Still. Unhurried. Not tense — just settled.

This doesn't require a special cushion or a particular position. A chair works fine. The floor works. What matters is that your body is in a position it can sustain for the length of your sit without fighting you.

When the body is at ease, the mind follows more readily. Not immediately — but more readily.

Start there.

One spot just opened on the May retreat.A cancellation came in this morning — which means there's one shared room availa...
13/04/2026

One spot just opened on the May retreat.

A cancellation came in this morning — which means there's one shared room available at Nunyara Retreat Centre in Belair.

15–17 May. Three days of meditation, teachings, yoga, nourishing meals, and real silence in the Adelaide Hills. All inclusive.

$647 full price · $50 deposit holds it · payment plans available on request.

If you've been sitting on the fence, this is the nudge.

👉 https://skillfulmind.com.au/packages-for-adelaide-retreat-may-2026/

12/04/2026

Something from this morning's meditation.

We talked about the difference between thinking about the breath and actually feeling it. Most people spend their first few months thinking about breathing rather than sensing it directly.

When you make that shift — from concept to sensation — everything changes. The mind quiets not because you forced it, but because you gave it something real to rest on.

Small shift. Big difference.

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