Welcome back, Jack here.
This is Modern Monastery: your guide to contemplative practice. We connect you to trusted traditions and create spaces to practice together.

Read time: 1 min 43 sec

Last week I ran my first event!

It was a mindful hike in Bulleen (30 mins from Melbourne CBD).

I was excited when I launched it, nervous when preparing for it.

But by the end, I was stoked. It was awesome.

Special thanks to my Dad for coming with me on two day hikes to find the final location.

After scrolling through different trails, I ended up stumbling on this place called Bolin Bolin Billabong in Bulleen.

Turns out it was a sacred meeting spot for the Wurundjeri people. Hundreds would gather here every February during eel season for ceremonies and celebrations. It sounded like one huge party, an ancient festival.

If true mindfulness is ‘seeing things clearly’, understanding the land we were about to walk on felt important.

I kicked things off with a quick intro to mindful walking, and some history behind the practice.

And then, we started walking.

We saw a deer, wallabies hopped next to us and Kookaburras had a full on conversation by the water.

So good!

After finishing the loop, we closed the walk with a sharing circle. I talked about this practice in my Nepal Hike newsletter.

We shared a bit about our experiences, it was epic. The conversations continued as we grabbed lunch at A1 Bakery.

Amanthi made a great point in the car to me: it’s not often you get to have a DNM at 1pm on a Saturday.

We also hit up a cafe in Brunswick which had the coolest rug I have ever seen.

I really wasn’t sure if this practice would feel the same as it felt in the monastery.

But in the end, it was magical!

I felt more open and happy for the rest of the weekend. Like that feeling you get after a really good first date 😂.

So… I’m excited to do more.

The next one will be on Monday 16th February.

Would love to see you there!

Here is the link to sign up.

We used Whatsapp to coordinate the last hike, and I will be using it going forward for event announcements. So if you are interested in our events, please join below!

Join here or scan the QR code below.

I will only be posting 1-2 messages per week, so it won’t be spammy.

Walking Meditation in Melbourne (16 Feb)

3 Day Silent Retreat (TBC)

If you got this far, I love you.

See you next week!

Jack