Images by: Jo Fay Duncan, Lisa Behan and Saisai Luo
It felt very natural to go with the flow of the weather, the conversation, the feelings expressed. Compassion expanded to create a safe container for those in the circle. It was a rich sharing of ideas, experiences, longings, confusion and connection. In the excitement of the flow I had to calm myself to remain steady to attentively listen so each of us felt recognised for our presence in the circle. It was joyful to respond to what came up with matching meditation practices and then discuss their effect upon us. It’s always both surprising and unsurprising how quickly safety is established and the values of generosity, kindness, openness, tolerance, respect and compassion emerge connecting us to our innate goodness. These inner strengths that are undervalued in a society “where competition, invidiousness, status-seeking and authoritarianism prevail.” In the face of these societal urgings meditation, over time, allows us to reconnect to ourselves, to gain self-knowledge, to be steady, to have our own back and to be true to ourselves. A meditation lounge reminds us that this is possible in any moment we choose.
BE HERE NOW.
It’s a way of clicking in to the present.
The Meditation Lounge was one of the offerings at the inaugural day retreat hosted by Retreats Stradbroke Island at the
Point Lookout Hall on 12 April 2025. The next wellbeing retreat is scheduled for 12 July, 2025.
Quote from Philip Slater’s The Pursuit of Loneliness
