Our lives have become busier than ever before. Stress and anxiety are on the increase, but we can learn to take control of our own wellbeing. With the right tools and understanding, we can improve our creativity, relationships and resilience. It’s a balancing act that is surprisingly simple and delivers a reliable return on our investment for years to come. Discover a unique blend of modern science and ancient contemplative approaches to resilience and flourishing.

Have you thought that meditation might help you, but not sure where to start? Have you learned to meditate and struggled to keep it up? Join us for this series and learn to bring presence and a sense of relaxation to everything you do. Learn through guided meditations, supported by discussion to understand how we can expect the practices benefit our daily lives. This course is open to all walks of life – beginners, experienced meditators and skeptics alike.

Creativity is at the heart of change and innovation, but it can be hard to break free of old
habits. Whether in art, business or our personal lives, repeating the past can lead to fatigue, frustration and failure. Mindfulness training can help us be more aware of new ideas and possibilities that might otherwise go unnoticed.

In this series, Corey draws on his experience as a professional musician and creativity tutor at the National Institute for Dramatic Arts (NIDA). Discover this unique approach to creating change and innovation in our personal and professional lives.

We’ve all spent time imagining the perfect comeback to a past argument. But replaying scenarios and wishing we’d reacted differently doesn’t often help us in the present or the future.

While reflecting on past mistakes can be an effective way of learning, it can easily tip over into dwelling on what we can’t change, leaving us exhausted and miserable. While it can be challenging to let go and move on, particularly when strong emotions are involved it doesn’t have to be this way! Modern psychology and ancient traditions have a lot to say about preventing rumination from taking control of our lives – Including techniques to remove it altogether.

Modern science and medicine have improved our quality of life in ways not thought possible a generation ago. Even so, depression, anxiety and other mental health issues have skyrocketed and are still on the rise.

The good news is that we can take control of our lives with mindfulness-based practices and psychological understanding. This series will present a modern understanding of mood disorders combined with ancient Buddhist wisdom to overcome their root causes. We will learn attitudes and techniques for dealing with adversity and how to get our emotions working for us.

We live in an age of acceleration. Modern technology is impacting almost every aspect of our lives, and yet we are still working with the same emotion and nervous system we had as hunter gatherers. No wonder mental illness effects one in five Australians every year.

Thankfully, we can embrace the positive changes technology brings without being enslaved by every notification. This three-part series shares research on how technology sneakily targets our attention and emotional triggers as well as the steps we can take to make sure we stay in control. We’ll learn how to avoid regrettable episodes and techniques to harness technology to work for us.

With one in four adults experiencing loneliness, Australia is currently in the grip of a loneliness epidemic. It can happen to anyone, even when surrounded by others and socially connected. If you ever feel this way, you’re not alone.

Quality relationships are an important part of wellbeing, but we also need to be comfortable alone with ourselves. Drawing on modern research in the fields of emotion and attention this course will give practical tools and understanding to avoid loneliness. Learn how mastering our attention can help us to connect with ourselves and those around us in a more meaningful way.

Potentially one of the most destructive of emotions, anger is always a hot topic. It’s the emotion people most often want to control, but if suppressing it, simply accepting it or ‘getting it out’ don’t work then how do we best deal with anger? In this one day workshop, our Cultivating Emotional Balance trainer Corey Jackson will explain how we can reduce strong anger reactions and even have it work for us over time. Going beyond simple ‘anger management’ courses, this day challenges the notion of ‘negative emotions’ giving the tools and understanding to transform our relationship with anger and improve our quality of life.

Modern technology has improved our quality of life in ways not thought possible even a generation ago. Nonetheless, issues related to sadness such as depression, loneliness and addiction have significantly increased in that time. The negative influence sadness can have on our lives is something that can be brought under control with a little understanding and practice.

Recognising sadness and stopping the downward spiral it can draw us into are the main themes of this workshop. Our CEB trainer Corey Jackson will present techniques from the training combined with some current theories about sadness. The day will present attitudes to dealing with adversity and having our emotions work for us.

Fear and Anxiety are on the rise with a growing number of people reporting anxiety is effecting their daily lives. So how can we understand these paralysing emotions and find a way to move forward? In this one day workshop, our Cultivating Emotional Balance trainer Corey Jackson will explain how we can work with our fears and anxiety to be able to live the life we want. This day challenges the notion of ‘negative emotions’ giving the tools and understanding to transform our relationship with fear and anxiety and improve our quality of life.

“In the long history of humankind, those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” Charles Darwin

We’re all born with an innate drive to interact and collaborate, yet our relationships can be the root of frustration and unhappiness. In this course you’ll learn to cultivate constructive, harmonious relationships that can enhance your quality of life personally and professionally. We will share ancient techniques to enhance mindfulness, empathy and compassion supported by the psychology of what makes relationships rewarding (or not).

Do you ever feel off balance, as if your emotions are controlling your life? Replaying conversations and wishing you’d acted differently? Have you ever tried bottling them up only to find they resurface at another time? 

Everyone experiences overwhelming emotional reactions from time to time. Mostly we catch ourselves in time, but sometimes not. These reactions can lead to what emotions expert Dr. Paul Ekman calls regrettable emotional episodes. Even just a few of them can have a long-term and devastating impact on key areas of our mental health if we don’t learn how to overcome them. 

With a little effort, we can take control of our own wellbeing. By cultivating a few simple skills we can improve our relationships and resiliency which are at the core of our mental and emotional health. 

Starting with the core mindfulness practices, this five-day retreat will move organically through the insight, empathy and compassion practices that bring about emotional balance and mental health. With a light sprinkling of theory and discussion, participants will return to their lives able to choose which practices are best for their own changing circumstances. This is a powerful opportunity to reboot our emotional lives by stepping outside our normal routine and focusing undistractedly on developing high levels of mental health and wellbeing. 

Join us for an informal discussion about mental health and find out how a little understanding and some simple techniques can help us take control of our own wellbeing. Learn how a blend of modern psychology and traditional practices can take us beyond managing symptoms to high levels of mental health. 

Join us for an informal discussion about mental health and find out how a little understanding and some simple techniques can help us take control of our own wellbeing. Learn how a blend of modern psychology and traditional practices can take us beyond managing symptoms to high levels of mental health. 

More than 2500 years ago, a wandering Indian yogi achieved the pinnacle of mental health – full enlightenment. Yet in the modern world our mental health is at an all-time low and slipping from one year to the next. Does a Buddhist search for enlightenment lead to better mental health? How could it be relevant in the modern world? Do I need to shave my head to be happy?

Patience is the Buddhist antidote to anger. It is the state of mind that allows us to remain calm and focused on the long-term goal when it feels like we may never get there. It’s also the force that stops us lashing out when we don’t get what we want or when we get something we were trying to avoid. Corey will share practical tools and inspiring examples to help you work with anger in a way that is positive and empowering. This course is suitable for all students.

“If we examine ourselves every day with mindfulness … a possibility for change and self-improvement can open within us.” HH Dalai Lama.

Cultivating mindfulness sets the stage for improving our lives. It is the basic ingredient of all other practices and creates the stability needed to make a radical transformation. There are many different techniques suitable for all types of people and this retreat will introduce a wide range of approaches allowing people to choose the ones they find most effective.

Drawing heavily on his connection with Alan Wallace, Corey will combine clear discussion with both silent and guided meditation. Learn to relax in the face of stress, understand its causes and develop habits that lead to happiness. Take a weekend to unplug, unwind and learn Buddhist tools for transforming our lives.