New Offering: Nature Meditation

New Offering: Nature Meditation

Billabong Retreat is proud to announce the arrival of Right Relations, using the ‘Elemental Stations’ in collaboration with Kelly Phoenix Rose. March has provide the “go” button for Kelly to start offering a guided, 60 minute, complimentary, nature meditation practice...
The Key to Conscious Christmas Gifting

The Key to Conscious Christmas Gifting

Christmas brings joy, festivities, and a sense of togetherness. It is a time to show appreciation and gratitude for the people we love the most and those who have supported us throughout the year.  At Billabong Retreat we support the concept of ‘conscious gifting.’ A...
Health Benefits of Winter Baths

Health Benefits of Winter Baths

Taking a bath in winter can be especially comforting and beneficial for your health. If you don’t have a bath at home why not join us on retreat this winter? All of the Deluxe Cabins feature both indoor and outdoor tubs with complementary epsom salts to improve sleep...
What is a sound bath meditation?

What is a sound bath meditation?

A sound bath is a type of meditative practice that involves immersing yourself in tones and vibrations of instruments like singing bowls, gongs and chimes. The vibrations and frequencies of the sounds can help to induce a deep state of relaxation, reduce stress and...
Time For A Digital Detox

Time For A Digital Detox

We spend so much of our lives fixated on our screens. We work all day on our computers, transit to and from work with our mobile devices and finish the day in front of the TV. There can be some negative effects associated with looking at screens for extended periods...
The Importance of Intention Setting

The Importance of Intention Setting

Do you want to live a more meaningful life? We suggest setting intentions to help you achieve your goals and create the life you want. Define what you want to accomplish and align your thoughts, feelings, and actions with your goals. When you set your intentions, you...
Celebrate Christmas Sustainably

Celebrate Christmas Sustainably

At Billabong Retreat we love to give gifts, celebrate and share. However, we are always trying to be mindful about our impact on the environment. This festive season we are sharing our top 10 tips on how we celebrate Christmas in a sustainable way. Give Gift Vouchers...

What is Good Health

Short podcast by Billabong Retreat founder Paul about what makes good health (part 1) https://billabongretreat.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/pvb-podcast-1b.mp3 Transcript: [00:00:00] Hi, my name is Paul von Bergen, and this is my podcast. So today I’m gonna...
Benefits of Infrared Saunas

Benefits of Infrared Saunas

For thousands of years we have enjoyed the health benefits of saunas, from the traditional Finnish sauna (hot rocks) to the Turkish bathhouse (steam room). In recent years we have seen the introduction of new sauna technology known as ‘Infrared’. Unlike the...
How to Sleep Better

How to Sleep Better

By Billabong Retreat Host, Kimberly Ashton   Kimberly is a 5 Elements Wellness and Energetic Nutrition coach, Hatha and Yin Yoga teacher, sound healer and energy medicine practitioner.  Kimberly hosts the Stress relief weekend retreats once a month at Billabong, and...
Stress Video Poem

Stress Video Poem

Stress stress – its a dangerous thing When that is the only state your body does sing When this way becomes the norm Your mind and thoughts living in storm Always worried about the future and past No idea that this way is not meant to last Thinking all things...
Conscious Manifestation: Joy in Action

Conscious Manifestation: Joy in Action

How do we bring forth our deepest aspirations into a living experience? In this article we’ll be looking at how to distinguish when we manifest from a place of presence and when we let ego run the show. We’ll also explore how we can work with our insecurities and...
Book: The Mind Workout

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...
Mindful Eating

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

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...
Altered Traits Book Review

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...
The Divided Brain

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...
Book: Wherever You Go, There You Are

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...
Instinct vs Impulse by Paul von Bergen

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

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

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’....
Biology of Belief

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...
Free Guided Meditation by Paul von Bergen

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

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

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...