Meditation
Understanding meditation
Meditation is a way of coming into a different relationship with our experience.
Rather than trying to fix, change, or push things away, we begin by noticing what is here — in the body, the mind, and the heart — with a quality of gentle attention.
In this space of awareness, something begins to shift. We see more clearly how experience moves and changes, and how much of our suffering comes from holding on or pushing away.
Over time, this practice supports a deepening sense of steadiness, clarity, and care — both for ourselves and for others.
It’s not about becoming someone different, but about learning how to meet life as it is, with greater presence and understanding.
Path of practice
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Mindfulness begins with noticing what is here. The body breathing, sensations moving, thoughts coming and going — just as they are. Rather than trying to change experience, we learn to stay with it gently. Over time, this creates space, and the possibility to respond rather than react.
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As we pay attention, we begin to see more clearly. Experience is always changing, and holding on often brings tension. With time, this seeing softens reactivity and brings a quieter, more grounded way of being. Insight arises naturally as the practice deepens.
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As insight deepens, compassion arises. Rather than judgment, endless worry or self-doubt, there can be a growing sense of kindness, especially toward what feels difficult. This can be deeply healing. Compassion allows us to open to suffering, both our own and that of others.
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Gradually, insight and compassion ripple into everyday life, shaping how we speak, relate, and live. We become more able to meet life with equanimity and respond with care for ourselves, each other and the world around us.
My path
Meditation has been a companion for many years.
It began as a quiet sense — even as a child — that there was something more than this. A kind of curiosity, or longing, that didn’t yet have words.
Over time, that longing became a steady commitment to practice.
Different traditions and approaches have shaped the path — Zen, body-based psychotherapy, and, more recently, a deepening in the Insight tradition. Through mindfulness, compassion, and the Dharma, I’ve been learning how to meet experience more directly.
Practice has meant turning toward suffering, rather than away from it. Staying with what is here — loss, grief, change — and discovering something more fluid beneath it. Less fixed than I once believed. More like a river than something solid.
I’m grateful now to be entering a new phase of this path — to share the Dharma in a way that feels grounded, embodied, and accessible, while staying true to the Buddha’s teachings.
Weekly community sit
Come and practise with us each Wednesday evening at the St Kilda EcoCentre, 7:30-8:45pm.
Hosted by Melbourne Insight Meditation, the evening includes guided and silent meditation, with sessions facilitated by experienced volunteers and visiting Insight Meditation teachers.
Everyone is welcome.
Learn more at Melbourne Insight Meditation
Words from my teacher
These words were offered to me by my teacher and mentor, Subhana Barzaghi, during a time of great difficulty. They continue to guide my practice and teaching.