Mindfulness
A Buddhist Practise to Awaken Compassion – Tonglen
It takes courage to face our thoughts and emotions with gentle honesty. The parts of ourselves we’d prefer to deny and cover up with our well perfected strategies of escaping. Some are rather benign like going for a walk or watching a movie whilst others can be quite... read more
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... read more
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... read more
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... read more
Jill Bolte Taylor: Stroke of Insight
Incredible story of a neuroscientist who had a left brain stroke and experienced what is what like to inhabit a pure right brain consciousness. This gives an amazing insight into the right brain’s connectedness with the energy all around us and as humans become... read more
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... read more
Ten Minute Morning Practice
Simple morning routine from Billabong Retreat founder Paul suitable for all ages and middle aged men as well! read more
Altered Traits Book Review
This book is amazing. For those of us who like a bit of science with our ancient wisdom then look no further than ‘Altered Traits’ by Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson. Both these authors are well know and are well established within the mindfulness and... read more
The Divided Brain
I am fascinated by this TED discussion by Psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist how our brain fundamentally works in two different ways yet this duality is often masked by our mindlessness. Our left brain is good are knowing defined detail yet this often delivers a... read more
Trigger Happy by Paul von Bergen in CEO Magazine
Paul’s article entitled Trigger Happy as featured in CEO Magazine feb17-ceo-magazine read more
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... read more
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. Basia is a yoga and meditation teacher, known for her down to earth kindness, warm and... read more
Tea Time Meditation
How to Transform Your Tea Time Into A Meditation Practice by Billabong Retreat Basia Nowacki. Basia is a yoga and meditation teacher, known for her down to earth kindness, warm and calming spirit. She teachers and inspires acceptance of what is, living in the present... read more
Meditation 101: Can You Stop Those Pesky Thoughts by Paul von Bergen?
Introduction to meditation by Billabong Retreat founder Paul von Bergen read more
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. read more
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... read more
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... read more
Setting Quality Intentions: Top Eight Tips by Paul von Bergen
By Paul von Bergen, Founder, Billabong Retreat Learning how to set high quality intentions rather than poor quality resolutions is an essential skill for anyone who wants to create change in their lives. How many times have you or someone else set a new year... read more
Paul von Bergen’s Article in CEO Magazine
Check out Paul’s recent article in this months CEO magazine. Paul (our founder) is now a regular featured health & wellness contributor. read more
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... read more
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... read more
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.... read more
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 read more
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... read more