| 8.30 | Music by Peter Roberts |
| 9.00 | Opening Address |
| 9.10 | Marc Cohen |
| 9.50 | Paul Bedson, Australian Teachers of Meditation Association |
| 10.00 | Swami Shankarananda |
| 10.40 | Morning Tea |
| 11.10 | Arian Young |
| 11.50 | Andrew Joyce & Janet Etty-Leal |
| 12.10 | Panel Discussion — Meditation and Modern Times |
| 1.00 | Lunch |
| 2.00 | Music by Carmen Warrington and David Jones |
| 2.30 | Clarke Scott |
| 3.10 | Kate James |
| 3.20 | David Michie |
| 4.00 | Afternoon Tea |
| 4.30 | Pauline Mckinnon |
| 5.10 | Laurence Mills |
| 5.50 | Closing Remarks |
This presentation will discuss meditation as a wellness strategy that provides access to the deep inner well of your being, creating harmony between internal and external worlds.
Whenever we ask ourselves, “What shall I do? What choice shall I make?” we are practicing Self-inquiry. Unfortunately, results show that the answers we get to big questions in our life can be unreliable.
Self-inquiry is a time-honoured method which accesses the true voice of the Self, clearing away inner obstacles, giving us clarity. Shiva Process Self-inquiry brings this meditative technique to contemporary life. It engages your awareness to remove blocks in career, relationship, health and spirituality. Drawing on the teachings of Kashmir Shaivism, Self-inquiry gives you tools to reveal your true nature. It will empower you to make confident, creative and fruitful decisions.
What does it mean to be a woman who meditates now, in the 21st century? How can we know for sure if women are happy and healthy in their meditation practice? What kinds of secret experiences do women have during meditation? What effect does meditation have on a woman's intuition? Has anyone bothered to ask? Meditation classes are filled predominantly with women. Arian, with the support of meditation pioneers Camille Maurine and Dr. Lorin Roche, looks into the intersection of tradition, science, and innovation to reveal what women need to meditate successfully.
The Mindfulness Meditation in Primary Schools Project has involved Janet training Grades 5 and 6 teachers at Primary Schools in Melbourne. The Program consists of a 10 week curriculum component and practical daily exercises for the classroom. Andrew will discuss how evaluation of the pilot program revealed a decrease in the number of children that would be considered at risk of a mental health problem. Janet will share insights she has gained from teaching Mindful Meditation to children.
The stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, can often lead to dysfunctional cognitive states, which in turn lead to misunderstanding our place in the world. This dispositional narrative is based on fundamentally misunderstanding our own ontology — who we really are. This, then, begs the question: can mental training affect dispositional narrative in such a way as to lead to a flourishing life? Clarke's talk will present current research that suggests this is indeed the case — thus detailing the efficacy of meditation as both a diagnostic and therapeutic tool used to explicate these dysfunctional cognitive states.
Clarke will explore these themes further during a worshop on Sunday August 1, from 10.00am - 5.00pm. For more information visit www.meditationevents.com.au
Most people’s self image remains relatively static throughout their adult lives. Meditation is a wonderful tool to raise your awareness so that you can easily recognise where you limit yourself, and make some changes. Kate James shows you how to achieve that awareness and use it to improve your business performance, creativity and fulfillment in life.
There are many good reasons to meditate. These include improved physical health and enhanced psychological well-being. From a Buddhist perspective, the main purpose of meditation is to engage in what His Holiness the Dalai Lama calls 'the science of the mind.' Although our minds are constantly thinking about this or that, paradoxically the one thing they seldom focus on is mind itself. But when we engage in this activity we make astonishing discoveries about the nature of mind and our innate capacity for enlightenment.
Harmony, health and happiness are found in the way we live each day. One of the greatest obstacles to those gifts is that of the inability to let go. The theory and purpose of Stillness Meditation is a potent yet gentle way to gain the confidence to let go, to experience mental rest and to find the joy of living calmly. If time permits, a brief experience of the simplicity of stillness will take place.
Laurence says of his topic, "Many people take up meditation with the idea of 'getting something', but meditation is all about finding something that you never found before, to suddenly wake up to something different inside."
