🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter

👑 As you wish — what we can learn from the Princess Bride

Love can sometimes feel unmistakable, whether in the presence of a child, a partner, a dear friend or an animal. At other times, it may feel distant, obscured by hurt, fear, grief or exhaustion.

Learning from The Princess Bride, we can explore a larger possibility: that love may be more than a passing feeling. It may be a capacity within us, one we do not need to force, but turn towards and nurture.

"Unconditional love really exists in each of us. It is part of our deep inner being. It is not so much an active emotion as a state of being. It’s not "I love you" for this or that reason, not "I love you if you love me." It's love for no reason, love without an object."
— Ram Dass

Dear Reader

In the magnificent book and film The Princess Bride, the hero, Westley, falls in love with Buttercup. As a farm worker, whenever Buttercup asks him to do something, he replies, “As you wish.”

We soon discover that when Westley says, “As you wish,” what he really means is, “I love you.”

The phrase signifies a surrender to devotional love. Westley realises he is powerless to resist the force of this love. More than that, whatever it asks of him, he is happy to do. Everything he does becomes an expression of his love for Buttercup.

At times in our lives, we may experience something similar, whether for a romantic partner, a child, another family member, a dear friend or a beloved pet. We may know the feeling of wanting to serve, to care and to be there in every possible way for the object of our love.

For some of us, this experience may be vivid and familiar. For others, it may feel distant, fleeting or difficult to access. Our capacity to feel love can become obscured by hurt, grief, fear, exhaustion or the simple demands of life. Yet even brief moments of tenderness, care or connection can offer us a glimpse of it.

This feeling extends beyond infatuation, romance, biology, hormones or sexual attraction. It can have an immense and timeless, even mystical, quality.

In The Princess Bride, this is called “true love”. In contemplative traditions, this unconditional and surrendered love, which the ancient Greeks called agape, is not limited to one special person. It may be experienced in relation to other people, to life itself, to the essence of our being, to ourselves and even to love itself: love falling in love with love.

This is not simply fanciful speculation, dogma, wishful thinking or philosophical musing. It describes a real and authentic human experience that has appeared across cultures and throughout time.

However, this does not mean that we should always feel loving, or that love is available to us on demand. There may be times when we feel numb, closed, disconnected or unable to reach it. This does not mean that we have failed, or that the capacity for love is absent. It may simply be covered over for now.

When this love is present, it brings a deep sense of wellbeing. It can soften the divisions within us and between ourselves and the world. Pain becomes more bearable. Problems are more readily seen as challenges. Difficulties in our lives, and in the wider world, can be accepted as part of the way things are, rather than as barriers preventing us from experiencing ourselves, others and life in a loving way.

We may feel more optimistic, energised, open and connected. There can be a profound shift in perspective, in which the love we experience within ourselves is reflected in the love we recognise around us.

Although it has traditionally been described in beautiful and mystical language, this love is also practical, simple and as natural to us as the beating of our hearts or the movement of our breath.

We do not have to force it, and it is not a goal we need to achieve.

Sometimes the expression of this love arises naturally when we pause, become still and pay attention to this moment, particularly to what we are experiencing within the body. At other times, all we may notice is tension, sadness, resistance or emptiness. These experiences, too, can be met with patience and care.

Most of us have felt some expression of love at some point, even if only briefly, perhaps through another person, an animal, a place, a moment of beauty or an unexpected act of kindness. From a mindfulness and meditation perspective, we can learn to trust this capacity without demanding that it appear in any particular form.

We can make room for love when it arises, and gently attend to whatever may be obscuring it when it does not. We can allow it to deepen, grow and express itself as an end in its own right.

As we do, we may find that it begins to flow more freely through our lives.
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Moment by moment, we are invited to respond to the force of our own unique life, and to what we are here to bring into the world through our presence and expression.
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We respond with a big yes — “as you wish.”

This week’s newsletter is sponsored by Ground News. By supporting our sponsors, you also help support Mindfulness Works.
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💗 BEING LOVE – Half-day online meditation retreat. Sunday, 9 August
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You were born whole and worthy of love...

This half-day retreat is devoted to the direct experience of unconditional love, radical self-acceptance and our inherent wholeness.

Rather than treating self-love as something else we need to accomplish, we will explore what happens when we stop striving and allow ourselves to be exactly as we are.

Our approach will be gentle, spacious and grounded in meditation. The emphasis will be on allowance and acceptance, letting go and letting be.
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We will trust our own experience and create the conditions in which love, tenderness and inner wisdom can naturally emerge.
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​Benefits of Attending This Retreat

• A deeper understanding of what it means to offer yourself unconditional love
• A renewed sense of being whole, complete and worthy of love
• Greater freedom from the belief that you need to fix, improve or prove yourself
• The relaxation and nervous system regulation that arises when we pause and practise meditation
• Greater trust in your own inner teacher and lived experience.

"I enjoyed the quiet, not having to introduce ourselves, just being spacious. It was a restful morning and I felt rejuvenated afterwards." — Erica Marshall

Teacher: Karl Baker
​Location: Online (live option only—not recorded)
​Date: Sunday, 9 August. (1.00pm–4.00pm AEST)
​Price: $49

💗 Awakening to Self-Love
6-Day Silent Meditation Retreat, ​Healesville ​Victoria. ​3 October – 8 October, 2026​
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Only 13 places left.

The essence of your self-love is woven into the fabric of the universe.

It is integral to you. It just requires the right environment to emerge.

The Awakening to Self-Love, Silent Meditation Retreat provides that environment.

“It was like a balm for the soul.” — Carmel Brock

“I loved the silence, the meditative rhythm of the day and the beautiful food. A perfect environment to go deeply within and touch the universal energy of love while doing important inner work.” — Dr Lisa Shortridge

“I loved the retreat, the silence was great… Stephen and Karl are very down to earth, knowledgeable and surprisingly funny. 😊 I found the whole experience very humbling, calming, restful, informative and soul fulfilling.” — Belinda Dubojski

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​Teachers: Karl Baker and Stephen Archer
​Location: Maitripa Retreat Centre, Healesville
​Dates: Saturday, 3 October – Thursday, 8 October 2026
​Price: $1,950 all inclusive. Book now with a $500 deposit (non-refundable)

​Get one on one, private Mindfulness Coaching​

One on one work with a certified mindfulness teacher can assist with anxiety reduction, improving sleep, reducing over-thinking, improving relationships and making mindfulness a habit in your life.

​Find a certified mindfulness teacher to work with now.

🧘‍♀️ Mini Mindfulness Exercise: A Small Opening to Love

Suggested duration: 4 minutes

1. Settle — 30 seconds​
Allow your body to rest as it is. Feel the support of the chair or ground beneath you.

2. Notice what is present — 1 minute​
Bring attention to your body. You may notice warmth, tension, sadness, ease or very little at all. Nothing needs to change.

3. Remember a moment of care — 1 minute​
Recall one small moment when you gave or received care. It might involve a person, an animal, nature or an unexpected act of kindness.

4. Feel the response — 1 minute​
Notice whether remembering this affects your body. There may be warmth, softness, resistance or no noticeable response. Allow whatever is present.

5. Offer a simple intention — 30 seconds​
Silently say:

Why this exercise helps

This practice removes the pressure to manufacture a particular feeling. Instead, it helps us recognise small and accessible expressions of love while meeting numbness, resistance or sadness with the same care.

Mindfulness Reflection Reminder Card

🏢 Workplace Mindfulness Training

Nationwide in-person or online mindfulness training for workplaces.
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– Build team mental and emotional resilience.
– Improve mental fitness.
– Reduce burnout with practical strategies.
– Enhance team communication and connection.

​Get a customised program and free quote.
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🤔 Mindful Check-In. Vote to See Results.

Why noticing this helps

Love does not always arrive as an overwhelming emotion. It may appear as tenderness, patience, protectiveness, appreciation or a simple wish for someone to be well. Noticing where love already appears helps us recognise that it may be more present in our lives than we realise

📝 Mindful Meme of The Week

Poem by Sara Teasdale (1884–1933)

📩 Ideas? Comments? Complaints?

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