This laid the foundation for the transformation that Mindfulness has – and is – bringing about in me.

I ‘stumbled across’ the Now Project retreats as a ‘last resort’ in 2014. I had been experiencing chronic pain for a couple of years by then and had truly had enough. I was taking a concoction of strong medication and didn’t like the way it was affecting me – l felt like l was losing myself and was aware enough to see that l wasn’t fully present in my own life because of the impact of the pain and the drugs. When my consultant told me they had reached the end of the diagnostic road for me and the only ‘solutions’ the medical profession could offer were a full hysterectomy “in case” it made any difference to my pain levels, or long term morphine prescriptions, l became desperate to find another way: that other way was Mindfulness.

I attended my first retreat in June 2014 and l can hand-on-heart say it changed my life.

Within a weekend of teaching and coaching in this safe and nurturing environment, something incredible shifted within me: my body released trapped emotions l wasn’t even aware l was carrying. This was a hugely significant experience for me, marking a fundamental turning point in my journey.

I still experience episodes of pain but l no longer see it as “my pain” – l don’t define myself by it or allow it to get into my head. I am learning to break the ‘pain-anxiety-increased pain- more anxiety’ cycle by accepting the pain as it presents and being with it.

Practicing mindfulness has impacted every aspect of my life from my parenting to my relationships. I am learning that this is a journey of ‘unbecoming’ and that TRYING hinders – rather than helps – the process. As l learn to let go of old habits – which in turn enables old programming to come undone – l become open to whatever presents itself, and my old limiting version of who l am, disintegrates.

Now that l am able to see this alternative to living in a self-made reality fraught with anxiety, stress and suffering, l am humbled by the opportunity to share my experiences and support others in their journeys in whatever way l can.

Volunteering for the Now project is a true privilege – the team are an incredible bunch with a huge range of skills and approaches but with the powerful unifying gift of presence. It really is something which has to be experienced.

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At the Now Project we have been fans of Oli Doyle’s work for a while. My first introduction to his work was watching his video on making a mindful cup of tea (it’s great and a practice daily – see here). When we started the Portal we got in touch with him to see if he’d like to connect with us. His simple, non-waffley approach is very much in line with our own so we felt it’d be a great team up – and he agreed. He’s a great guy and has lots of resources available to help you live mindfully.

Oli is the author of a couple of great books on Mindfulness, including his latest offering Mindfulness For Life; runs a great website  www.peacethroughmindfulness.com.au and he also has a teaching course available on Udemy.

Here’s a little background from him, head over to his site for more info.

In 2003, Oli Doyle sat down in the lounge room of a share house in Bendigo, Australia and tried to meditate. He tried to quiet his mind. He failed miserably. Armed with nothing but stubbornness, ignorance and a long standing refusal to read the manual, Oli blundered along the meditative path until he finally realised: you just have to pay attention to what’s happening now. After smacking himself in the back of the head several times for not grasping this earlier, Oli set to work, training himself to be present. What followed was a transformation that was both ordinary and incredible. Stress mostly vanished, anxiety disappeared and life became steadily more enjoyable. This journey continues today.

Once Oli figured out how to meditate, he was struck by two things: the simplicity of the practice, and the complicated nature of much of the teaching.

Oli started Peace Through Mindfulness in 2009 with a vision is to share the practice of Mindfulness with people from all walks of life in a way that is secular, jargon free and most of all simple.

In everything we do at Peace Through Mindfulness, we aim to reflect this simplicity, and we enjoy every part of our processes, from teaching a class to filling out our tax returns. Our vision is first to live in the moment ourselves, and second to share this practice with you.

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For more about me please see my profile on the Team page (or click here)

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For more about Paul visit his profile in our Team section (click here)

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…”In 1999 someone bought me a book on meditation, I long ago gave the book away and can’t remember it’s title but the introduction has stuck with me. The author listed all the things meditation is good for. Depression, yes I ticked that box, anxiety, yes that one too, addictions, I had loads of those, tick that box. It was quite a long list and I think that I ticked pretty much all of the boxes. But then it said something which at the time seemed quite strange; it said that if you practice meditation and mindfulness with any degree of seriousness it will change you and fundamentally change how you understand yourself and experience the world.  I thought no more about it. I practiced because I needed to find a way out of my suffering, and it worked, quickly I found that my mind was slowing down and I could enjoy some real space from my troubled mind…”

For Adrian’s full profile click here

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When I was around 7 years old I’ve started to experience a lot of unexplained emotional pain. Being around people was a struggle. Verbal communication was very exhausting. There were many negative and self-destructive thoughts living in my head and a deep lack of self-worthiness. Sadness, anxiety, fear, guilt, frustration and anger were back then part of my daily life. For many years my aim was to keep myself alive. I was trying to survive between thoughts and emotions. I was only able to see a very small part of the puzzle and I did not know that when more pieces would be put together the whole picture would completely change. It was a very dark and lonely place. This was a well-kept secret in my life and it could have done a lot of damage if it was completely misunderstood.

I was introduced to Meditation by an amazing woman who was also for many years my beautiful keeper in this path. Through that I realized that to follow guidelines was not working for me and that was the great unseen opportunity to explore things for myself and to do my own experiments. I was drawn into non-verbal communication, intuitive thought and the power of the mind and heart.

A few years ago (end of 2013) everything that was happening in my life started to change again. I was then able to access into a different perspective that was no longer made only by a negative perception but it also included a positive one. I met wonderful people who have changed my life. Synchronicity was everywhere. I was pulled into some profound experiences in the timeless Now, and I was intuitively guided to do some research about Mindfulness. I met the Now Project and I was amazed on the first day as the teachers were real and advanced. There was a deep sense of being around family and some relief for I was not on my own anymore. They have accepted me the way I am and they have inspired and empowered me in many ways. They do so much more for people than what they really show and that it is how beautiful they are.

Every person has the opportunity to experience how magical life can be in the present moment. It is life changing and it is a doorway for you to fully explore your own path and to remember your own mastery. You can return to a balanced state of being and also bring peaceful awareness into your life. You are the only one who can fully experience your own life and there are many other people walking by your side, in parallel roads, who are there to assist you at any time.

This personal life story was written to give you some validation that anything is possible and every single change in your life and the awareness behind it can create a completely new reality.

By the way – if you are looking for a really good inspirational story then I highly recommend you to go outside in the nature for as long as you like. It will tell you the best unlimited story that you ever heard. Enjoy that one.

Marta

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