Podcast: Prerequisite for Mindfulness
In this podcast Billabong Retreat teacher Basia Nowacki looks at our tendency to have busy minds and provides some simple tips for how to reduce any negative effects from this. About Basia: Basia is a yoga and meditation teacher, known for her down to earth kindness,...
Film: My Year of Living Mindfully
If you have been to Billabong, there is a good chance that you have watched The Connection. Well, good news. The Director, Shannon Harvey has just released a brand new documentary – this time exploring the wonderful world of Mindfulness. After looking (and...
Tips for a Conscious Christmas
Somehow 2018 has whizzed by and we are jetting towards Christmas at lightning speed. Given the state of our environment, the effects of the boom in social media and the increasing busy-ness of our lifestyle, it is more important than ever to be conscious of what we...
Book Review: Everyday Blessings – Mindfulness for Parents
it is no secret that Jon Kabat-Zinn is one of our heroes! He was the real powerhouse behind getting mindfulness out of temples and into everyday homes and his program “Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction” is helping thousands of people around the world. Jon...
Watch your Words
I mean really watch them. What are you saying to yourself over and over again on a regular basis? Notice if we say I don’t have this or this always happens to me. I can’t do this or perhaps I can do that. What happens? Does it ironically always happen to you? If we...
Three Easy Breathing Techniques to Calm Your Mind
Breathing techniques (also known as pranayama in traditional texts) have been around for thousands of years. The breath is such a powerful tool because it can be both automatic and controlled. See “Pranayama: What is it and why should you include it in your...
Five ways that learning meditation will improve your life
Meditation has been around for thousands of years but has become much more prevalent in modern times due to the fact that science has finally caught up! There have been countless studies based around the effects of meditation on our overall health and happiness as...
Documentary: Brain Games
Brain Games is a Netflix documentary looking at how our brains affect our reality. We recommend Season 4 Episode 1 which is a brilliant short film aimed at kids and adults alike about how our brains are wired for compassion. Check it out on Netflix.
Book: The Mind Workout
A really simple and user friendly book that was recommended by a recent guest that explains basic mindfulness practices in ways that are really easily digested and put into practice in every day lives. Mark talks about learning to notice urges, break compulsive...
Understanding Meditation
A brilliant TED talk by Andy Puddicombe founder of Headspace talking about meditation and how to observe the mind, observe thoughts and emotions.
Mindful Eating
Mindfulness is a very practical way to bring meditation into your everyday life. It’s a technique that can be practised at any time of the day, wherever you are and what better activity to practice it than when you are eating a meal or a consuming food. When we bring...
Books: A New Earth and The Power of Now
Here are 2 books we would recommend to everyone! A New Earth and The Power of Now, both by Eckhart Tolle. “Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious...
Metta Meditation by Basia
This technique is a method of developing compassion – essentially about cultivating love. A love that is unconditional, inclusive, and with no expectations of anything in return. It can be helpful when there is a concern about someone and the continuous worrying...
Trigger Happy by Paul von Bergen in CEO Magazine
Paul’s article entitled Trigger Happy as featured in CEO Magazine feb17-ceo-magazine
Book: Wherever You Go, There You Are
“Wherever you go, there you are. Whatever you wind up doing, that’s what you’ve wound up doing. Whatever you are thinking right now, that’s what’s on your mind. The important question is how are you going to handle it?” Jon...
How to Ease Your Stress by Paul von Bergen
Interview between Dr William De Jean and Billabong Retreat founder Paul von Bergen about how to reduce stress.
Instinct vs Impulse by Paul von Bergen
On first look, an impulse can feel very much like an instinct. It comes from inside and seems to drive you to do something. Instincts also come from inside but are more a general gut feeling that you should follow a particular path. Impulses are not always good for...
What Is Mindfulness by Paul von Bergen
By Paul von Bergen Mindfulness is quite simply the biggest revolution in health and wellness but not because it is new, it is not. The concepts and ideas of mindfulness have been around for thousands of years. It is because the concept of mindfulness has captured the...
Dear Body
By Charlotte Thaarup-Owen We protect what we fall in love with– fall in love with your dear body. Sometimes I think that the relationship we have with our body is like a veil that stops us from stepping fully into life due to feelings of shame and ‘not good enough’....
Top tips for practising mindfulness by Paul von Bergen
By Paul von Bergen Anchor each day with a meditation, however small Be forgiving with yourself & your mind first Sprinkle your day with short minute meditations Identify stress triggers and watch out for them Notice repetitive patterns of thought Tail each day...
How to do Mantra Meditation
A mantra is a word or sound repeated to help in concentration and meditation. The yogic mantra Soham (Pronounced as So’ Hum) translates to I am that” (so = “I am” and hum = “that”). To practice this begin by bringing your attention to the rhythm of your breath,...
Biology of Belief
By Paul von Bergen We have been fans of Bruce Lipton for a while now and the more we read and absorb, the more obvious and simple his teachings become. His core statement is that our thoughts affect our genes. We think thoughts which create emotional chemicals that...
How to Set Intentions or Goals by Paul von Bergen
By Paul von Bergen With the new year firmly established it is appropriate to reflect on the direction of our life and whether we are creating the reality we want. It is also a time when a lot of us set goals with the belief that this will more likely make them happen....
Free Guided Meditation by Paul von Bergen
By Paul von Bergen A counting meditation is designed to improve your ability to hold the mind steady, without wandering. Listen to our guided counting meditation here taken from our mindfulness training retreat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMs-Ue-XfZM
Background to Mindfulness by Paul von Bergen
By Paul von Bergen Inspired by John Kabat Zinn If you were part of the London Philharmonic Orchestra you would not dream of using your instrument without tuning it first yet. The mind is our instrument of running our life yet most of us don’t spend even a moment of...
Practice Makes Perfect by Paul von Bergen
By Paul von Bergen We have all heard this phrase a million times and know it to be true. It is a simple concept that us humans are able to grasp. We know for instance that if we practice a sport we will get better at it, if we practice the piano our skills will...
ABC Radio ‘Practice Makes Perfect’
ABC Radio ‘Practice Makes Perfect’ Great program about neural plasticity and the importance of regular practice – this is the science of why we need to do a daily yoga meditation practice!
City Life by Paul von Bergen
By Paul von Bergen Why is it that when we have all this space in the world, most of us like to cram in together in cities. Is it just because of work opportunities? Is it because of the arts? Do we think we will miss out on something otherwise? Perhaps we get a buzz...Read more“The breath is the link between the conscious and unconscious mind”
Breathing Meditation Made Easy by Paul von Bergen
By Paul von Bergen Breathing is such an under-rated skill in the West. Our obsession is all about the heart, and exercising to get it to beat fast in the bizarre hope that is all we will need to do to stay healthy. We are so dumb sometimes. Breathing is what gives us...
Indigenous Wisdom by Paul von Bergen
By Paul von Bergen If you have read the article on perspective, then you will realize that the amount of time that Europeans have been in Australia is miniscule compared to the time that indigenous people have. About 250 years versus 40,000 years – 0.00625% of the...