O-tribe, Sydney (2025)

29/10/2025

2 Minutes of Stillness

23/10/2025

The ocean mind

16/10/2025

Thank you so much for this beautiful testimonial, Sandra.

Your openness, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn have been such a joy to experience. This kind of mindset truly supports the blossoming of your meditation and mindfulness practice.

Having a teacher to walk alongside you can bring motivation, inspiration, and a deeper sense of connection on the path.

Although meditation is fundamentally a solo, internal experience, learning and practicing it doesn’t have to be.

If you’ve been thinking about exploring meditation or mindfulness, and would like a guide to support you along your journey, you’re always welcome to reach out.

09/10/2025

Life can feel like a stream of thoughts and emotions. One moment joy, the next unease. A thought arises, and almost instantly, another takes its place.

Meditation reminds us we’re not those thoughts or feelings. They drift through us like clouds across a vast sky. What remains is the sky itself: steady, spacious, aware.

There’s an old instruction that points to this truth: “Go into the silence.”

Sit quietly. Take three deep breaths. Listen for the still, small voice within. Stay long enough for the surface noise to settle, until clarity begins to gather and what’s true becomes visible. Simple. Reliable. Timeless.

Ancient wisdom on silence:

* Tao Te Ching: “Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know.”
* Patañjali: “Yoga is the settling of the mind’s movements.”
* Desert Fathers: “Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”
* Meister Eckhart: “Nothing resembles the Divine so much as silence.”
* Rumi: “There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.”

Let these words form a quiet council within you.
Today, take a few moments to go into the silence. Watch what passes through, and rest as what remains.

When was the last time you sat fully in silence, not waiting for answers, but simply listening?

02/10/2025

“You already are the peace you are looking for. Be still and know that.” - Mooji

So often, peace feels like something we have to chase. We think, ‘when life settles down, when I fix this problem, when I become a better version of myself’… then I’ll finally feel peaceful.

But this teaching reminds us of something profound: peace isn’t out there waiting to be found. It’s already here, within us, as our natural state.

When the mind quiets, even for a moment, that peace reveals itself. It isn’t something we create, but something we uncover by slowing down, softening, and becoming still.

The practice is simple: Pause. Breathe. Rest in the present moment without needing to change it. Notice that underneath the noise of thought and emotion, a deep stillness is always present. It can be as ordinary as sitting with a cup of tea, listening to the rain, or watching the sky.

Notice that underneath the noise of thought and emotion, a deep stillness is always present.

You don’t have to earn it, you don’t have to search for it ... you already are it.

Today, let yourself return to that truth. Be still, and know.

Where might you find a moment of stillness today?

25/09/2025

We live in a world of constant input: music, podcasts, news, the endless scroll. From the moment we wake to the moment we sleep, our attention is pulled outward.

How often do we pause to listen inward?

When we give ourselves a little space, something beautiful happens. We begin to notice what’s really going on inside: the thoughts looping in the background, the feelings we’ve put aside, the quiet voice of intuition that so often gets drowned out.

It doesn’t have to be dramatic. A walk without headphones, driving without the radio, sitting for a few minutes in silence...

At first it can feel unusual, even uncomfortable, but slowly, that stillness becomes nourishing.

In these simple pauses we start to understand ourselves more deeply:

- What brings us joy.
- What drains us.
- What matters most.

From that clarity, life feels steadier, more purposeful, more our own.

Sometimes the wisest thing we can do is to turn down the noise and listen.

18/09/2025

“A joyful life is an individual creation that cannot be copied from a recipe.” - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

What does joy look like for you?

Csikszentmihalyi, the psychologist who explored “flow,” reminds us that joy isn’t something we can borrow or copy. It has to be discovered and created for ourselves. For one person, joy might be tending to a garden and watching new life emerge. For another, joy emerges from painting, walking in nature, or sharing a meal with loved ones.

Meditation and mindfulness open the doorway to this discovery. When we pause to notice our thoughts, feelings, and the world around us, we begin to see what genuinely brings satisfaction and meaning.

Each path to joy is different, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s not about chasing someone else’s formula for success. Joy grows from presence, awareness, and the simple moments that touch our own heart and animate our soul.

Through mindful living, little by little, we design a life that feels genuinely ours.

&mindfulness

11/09/2025

Chronic pain can be utterly exhausting - physically wearing us down, mentally draining us. The good news? Recent research shows mindfulness can make a fundamental difference. One large-scale clinical trial, recently published in ‘JAMA Network Open’, found that adults with opioid‑treated chronic lower‑back pain experienced significant relief after just eight weeks of mindfulness‑based therapy or cognitive behavioural therapy. The effects lasted up to a year: reduced pain, improved quality of life, and lower opioid use.

Mindfulness isn’t about fighting pain. Instead, it invites us to sit with it: to notice the sensation, breathe into the moment, and move mindfully. Over time, this shift in response can make the discomfort feel more manageable and offer a deeper sense of self-empowerment.

Even a few minutes of mindful practice each day can begin to transform how we experience pain. It’s gentle, powerful, and it comes from within, which can often be the most supportive form of healing.

What might happen if, for a moment, we paused and simply asked ourselves: Can I meet this discomfort with awareness rather than resistance?

If you’d like to explore this more deeply, I’d love to support you in studying and practising meditation and mindfulness to help move through physical discomfort.

04/09/2025

“Flow is being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz.” - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Have you ever noticed those moments when life feels effortless? When you lose track of time and everything unfolds with ease? Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called this state “flow.” He compared it to jazz, where one note flows into the next without hesitation.

Meditation and mindfulness help us touch this same quality in daily life. By sitting with the breath, or simply noticing what’s here now, the inner noise quiets. The need to control softens. We begin to move with life, not against it.

Flow isn’t something to chase; it’s already present, waiting to be noticed. Washing the dishes, walking outside, or sharing a conversation can all become part of this rhythm of being.

28/08/2025

In the Kadampa Buddhist tradition, there are two kinds of sickness:

- Outer sickness, like colds, viruses, or physical pain
- Inner sickness, like anger, frustration, or envy

We spend so much time treating the outer ones, but it’s often the inner sicknesses that cause the deepest suffering.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the founder of this tradition, reminds us that if we heal our mind, outer problems lose much of their power over us. Anger, attachment, jealousy... these are subtle but they colour everything in our lives.

The good news is we can transform them. Through mindfulness, meditation, and simple acts of kindness, these inner pains begin to dissolve. Healing from within brings calm, clarity, and lasting peace.

Imagine if we cared for our inner health as much as we do our outer health? The results could be life-changing. Start small: notice your thoughts, breathe, choose kindness. That’s the real medicine.

21/08/2025

Say not, “I have found the truth,” but rather, “I have found a truth.”
Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.” Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.”
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself like a lotus of countless petals.

- A poem by Kahlil Gibran

11/07/2025

Part 3: Lavender: The Soothing One
Recap: In Part 1, we grounded with sandalwood. In Part 2, we expanded with frankincense. Today, we close the series with something gentler ... lavender.

Lavender may not be the first incense that comes to mind for meditation. It’s often linked with sleep, baths, or self-care rituals, but don’t overlook its quiet power.

Lavender soothes the nervous system, which is why it’s commonly used as a sleep remedy. It’s also a balm for emotional overwhelm, for when the mind is spiralling or the heart feels heavy. Lavender doesn’t rush to fix, it simply softens the edges.

I often turn to it on the days I don’t feel like sitting. When the resistance is high. Lighting a lavender stick feels like being gently held. It doesn’t create pressure, rather, an invitation to rest.

** A note to close this 3-part series **
Over these past three weeks, we’ve explored three beautiful incense traditions:
- Sandalwood to ground
- Frankincense to expand
- Lavender to soothe

Each brings a different energy. Each can support you in different ways. The key is not to overthink it, simply ask: What do I need today?

Allow incense to be more than fragrance. Let it be a companion to the breath, a quiet ritual that marks the transition into presence.

Light the stick, watch the smoke and allow it to carry you gently into the now.

O-tribe

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