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About Peter Fernando

Peter trained as a Buddhist monk for seven years, and lived in a monastic practice environment for most of his twenties. Upon returning to lay life he was invited to teach in Wellington by New Zealand meditation teacher Stephen Archer, and was one of the founders of Original Nature Meditation Centre in 2009, and created an ongoing online course, A Month of Mindfulness, in 2011.

Treading water on the void – an interview with Zoë Wild

July 2, 2012 by Peter Fernando 1 Comment

Zoe Wild

by guest author Peter Fernando, A Month of Mindfulness This interview is part of a one hour conversation I had with Zoë, a former Buddhist nun, in April 2012. You can the rest of her insightful and heartfelt reflections on the Month of Mindfulness blog, here. Peter: You seem to have a fluidity in terms of your relationship to spiritual forms. Looking at your path so far, there seems to be a real sense of an understanding of the transparency of forms, as well as a great respect for them. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Teacher Interviews Tagged With: awakening, Buddhism, faith, freedom, interview, meditation, mindfulness, paths, spiritual, Sufi, The Heart, tradition, wisdom

How to Meditate in Four Easy Steps

May 8, 2012 by Peter Fernando Leave a Comment

by Peter Fernando, Meditation and Mindfulness I like to consider what 'meditation' is, from the perspective of a beginner, or someone who's never heard of it. Sometimes the more I think I know about something, the further away I get from really knowing the heart of it! So, having reflected on it, from an experiential place, I reckon this thing called 'meditation' actually just consists of four qualities, or skills in the mind: 1) Focus Take an object, such as the feeling of the breath in the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Meditation Practices, Practices Tagged With: awareness, easy, feeling, focus, four, kindness, meditation, simple, steps

What’s Love Got to Do with Meditation?

March 10, 2012 by Peter Fernando 4 Comments

Living with an open heart

by guest author Peter Fernando, Meditation and Mindfulness In many traditions, the practice of kindness and love is an integral part of the meditative journey. You may wonder, 'why?' Sometimes the way that the concept of  'mindfulness' is presented can make it seem like a utilitarian technique to become more efficient, or more functional in the world. This is certainly a part of it, of course. But then there's the love thing. You can't go too far into any authentic contemplative tradition … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Meditation Practices, Practices Tagged With: depression, happiness, kindness, loving-kindness, meditation, metta, mindfulness, The Heart, well-being

The joy hidden within chaos

February 7, 2012 by Peter Fernando Leave a Comment

by guest author Peter Fernando, Meditation and Mindfulness On the surface of things, spirituality can seem to be about control, right? 'Mind Control' perhaps. Or 'Body Control'? On the far end of the spectrum you even get teachings suggesting that the point of life is to have ultimate control over the universe. Sounds good, doesn't it? But is that what 'spirituality', or more accurately, freedom is about? I personally wonder if it is. What could be more gratifying to our ego than … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Meditation Practices, Practices Tagged With: chaos, control, joy, letting go, meditation, mindfulness, peace, suffering, surrender

Why ‘Letting Go’ and ‘Detachment’ Can be Pitfalls on the Spiritual Path

January 12, 2012 by Peter Fernando 3 Comments

by guest author Peter Fernando, Meditation and Mindfulness I received this honest and moving question a few weeks back: If you have never bonded with your mother and so have never experienced secure attachment in a primary relationship, how can you work with non-attachment? And letting go? When you have never really experienced having anything to hold onto? The first thing I should say is this: I am no expert in this field, so please don't take my word as gospel. I can only reflect from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Meditation Practices, Practices Tagged With: attachment, awakening, heart-pain, letting go, meditation, mindfulness, psychology, self, The Heart, vulnerability

Starting a Home Meditation Practice

November 18, 2011 by Peter Fernando 4 Comments

by guest author Peter Fernando, Meditation and Mindfulness Are you wanting to start your own home meditation practice? The number one piece of advice I have for you is: Just do it! Having said that, a recent question that came in asked for more details, so in response to that reader, here's... Six Useful Home Meditation Tips 1) Don't meditate in front of the TV (even when it's off), or in front of the computer. If you take some time to create a meditation-only space in your home, it's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Meditation Practices, Practices Tagged With: awareness, beginning meditation, breath, breathing, buddha, calm, home practice, insight, intention, meditation, peace, relaxation

Why Do I Meditate?

October 14, 2011 by Peter Fernando Leave a Comment

by guest author Peter Fernando, Meditation and Mindfulness I've got to be honest with you. The desire to be a well adjusted person wasn't really what motivated me to commit to meditation practice. I remember once, when I was about thirteen, riding my bike home from school down the main street of Whanganui. It was a normal day, nothing spectacular going on. The usual concerns going around in my mind; 'I wonder if such-and-such a girl likes me...' 'Maybe I will become a rock star … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Meditation Practices, Practices Tagged With: buddha, Buddhism, buddhist

Establishing a daily mindfulness practice is easier than you think

January 19, 2011 by Peter Fernando 5 Comments

by guest author Peter Fernando, Meditation and Mindfulness Establishing a daily meditation practice can be an opportunity for creativity and a fresh perspective on how we live in the world. It doesn't have to seem like just another thing we should be doing, but aren't... One of the most frequent struggles I hear shared by those of us living in urban environments is around maintaining a continuity of mindfulness – both in terms of times alone, sitting in silence, and also in our encounters … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Meditation Practices Tagged With: online courses, peter fernando

What it means to embody presence in all that you do

March 19, 2009 by Peter Fernando 1 Comment

Taisuke Tanimura embodying presence on the December Yoga Lunchbox photo shoot

  by guest author Peter Fernando, A Month of Mindfulness One of the first times in my life I remember feeling fully present in the body was when I was in my early twenties. It was a time when I was in quite a lot of mental distress. My life at the time was all doing – doing this, achieving that; fixing this, making that. It was all about activity. To be honest I was a bit compulsive – I felt I had to constantly be doing something to prove my worth to others. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Events Archive, Meditation Practices Tagged With: samadhi

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