🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter

🍃 This too shall pass — freedom in change

Change takes everything eventually. While we often treat this as a problem to solve or resist, it may be the very doorway to a deeper kind of freedom. Explore how meeting change and loss honestly can soften our grip and give us a fuller experience of life.

“Only in growth, reform, and change, paradoxically enough, is true security to be found.” — Anne Morrow Lindbergh

​

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss.”
— Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

​
Dear Reader

One of the most fundamental and obvious aspects of reality is also the one we tend to fight, control, avoid or ignore.

Everything changes.

Nothing is permanent, and everything is always in a state of flux. We can see this in nature all the time, with the weather, the changing of the seasons and day turning into night. We see it very personally in our lives, as we look back at images of when we were younger. We see it in societal changes, the changes in those around us and with the death of pets and of people we know and love.

The Double-Edged Sword of Change

This change is a double-edged sword.

If we have a cold, a setback or a difficult personal circumstance , it will eventually change, and we will get better, have some wins and feel as though we are in better personal circumstances.

This too will pass, we can remind ourselves.

The rub comes, though, in realising that these conditions will also change. We will get sick again, we will have losses and there will be further difficult personal circumstances.

The Futility of Resistance

We can spend a lifetime trying to hold on to the things we want to stay constant, attempting to avoid change: health, financial stability, comfortable personal circumstances and excellent relationships.

Ultimately, though, it is futile. The biggest change of all, our own mortality and death, takes it all away, and there is change again.

A Mindfulness Perspective

As always, from a mindfulness point of view, our freedom and empowerment comes from our relationship to reality—not trying to avoid or control it.

In this way, how else can we relate to change? What are the gifts of change, and what are the benefits of embracing and accepting it?

Accepting Loss and Surrender

Truly acknowledging change means accepting loss. Rather than fighting to hold on to the present or the past, we deeply understand that it is impossible to do so. We acknowledge that what was once is no longer the case—that we can never recover or claim what has been: past successes, relationships, loved ones that have passed, our youth.

It is a humbling surrender. Humbling because we realise we are ultimately not in control of our life; life is in control of us. It is a surrender because we let go of trying to control; we relinquish the grip of trying to cling to the impossible.

The Profound Shift

Although every fibre in our being may resist this, who really wants to feel loss and the hurt it brings? Once we give up the struggle and ease off the resistance, something profound happens.

We get reoriented to the reality of life. Yes, we feel the loss and the hurt of it, but we also feel the sanctity of our own life right now, what is really real. We give up the need to adjust, change, cling, control and fight reality. And in that giving up, there is a special kind of tacit freedom, and even love. The freedom is the freedom from attachment, from holding on to something that cannot be held onto. The love is the love of this freedom. It is inherently open, responsive, soft, receptive and connected. It is fully available because our mental and emotional energy is freed up to be present, not fighting to preserve the past or control the future.

Embracing Change for a Fuller Life

There is no escaping the fact that change and loss are the hallmarks of all of reality, including every aspect of our human life. We have a choice, moment to moment, to realise and embrace this or to resist and fight it. The former leads to freedom, possibility, connection and a rich, deep, full experience of life. The latter leads to constriction, stress and a smaller and smaller experience of life.

The gift of mindfulness is the ability to see, acknowledge and encounter change with curiosity, openness and ultimately acceptance.

​🎭 The Nervous System Unmasked: How Stress & Trauma Hijack Your Body (and how to switch back to healing mode)​

You've been doing everything right.

Meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, maybe therapy. You're committed to feeling better.

Yet the anxiety still creeps in, the exhaustion won't lift, the pain persists and your body still feels like it's working against you, not with you.

Maybe you find yourself overthinking every little decision ... what to cook, what to wear, what to say ... because somehow every decision feels like your life depends on it.

Or your alarm goes off and it feels like you've only just fallen asleep, you need coffee just to get moving, and then you get into bed exhausted but your brain won't switch off.

Here's what most people don't realise: Your nervous system can TRAP YOU in this state.

If this sounds like you, I invite you to join me for this eye-opening journey.

This three-part program is designed to help you finally understand what's been keeping you trapped in anxiety, exhaustion or pain, and give you a taste of what's possible when you work WITH your nervous system and transform your health from the inside out.

Here's what you'll discover:

Part 1: The hidden secret to why your anxiety, exhaustion, pain and health challenges aren't getting better and why your nervous system is actually trying to protect you.

Part 2: How cortisol (your stress hormone) is affecting your sleep, energy, gut health and immune system and how to reset it with a simple 14-day Cortisol Rhythm Reset.

Part 3: How to create calm anytime, anywhere, with simple somatic exercises and vagal toning practices.

By the end of these three sessions, you'll finally:

• understand WHY you feel the way you do, ​
• experience what it feels like when your nervous system actually shifts, and
• have practical tools to start feeling calmer and more in control.

3-Part Program Details: Book Now.

Date: A 2nd course has been added for those who couldn't make the original time

Tuesdays: Starts 3 Feb | 3.30pm Perth | 6.30pm Sydney | 8.30pm Auckland

Thursdays: Starts 5 Feb | 1pm Perth | 4pm Sydney | 6pm Auckland

Time: 6.30pm Sydney time
​
​Facilitator: Nat Mallia

Venue: Live on Zoom. Replay available and yours to keep in the Calm Mind Academy Library

Investment: Normally $147, available now for $97 with code BREATHE97

Book now! If you're ready to transform your health from the inside out, book here now.

​
If you have any questions, email Nat at nat@wellnessnat.com​

​Begin 2026 With a Mindfulness Professional Supporting You​

One on one work with a certified mindfulness teacher can make a lasting impact on your quality of life.
​
It provides a supportive, evidence-based yet intuitive modality that is highly effective for reducing anxiety, improving relationships, increasing self-worth or exploring the deeper aspects of emotional and psychological healing.

​Find a certified mindfulness teacher to work with now.

🧘‍♀️ Mini Mindfulness Exercise: Letting The River Move

Practice:

Step 1: Arrive

Sit or stand comfortably and bring your attention to your natural breathing. There is nothing to change or control. Simply notice the body breathing.

Step 2: Invite Change into Awareness

Gently bring to mind something in your life that has changed, or is currently changing, and cannot be fixed, reversed or controlled.

Step 3: Feel, Rather Than Think

Let go of the story about this change and turn your attention to how it is felt in the body. Notice any sensations of tightness, heaviness, vulnerability, sadness or resistance. Allow whatever is here to be exactly as it is.

Step 4: Allow Movement

Stay with these sensations as they shift, soften or intensify on their own. Imagine them moving through you like water flowing downstream, without needing to be held or stopped.

Step 5: Sense What Remains

Broaden your awareness to include what is still alive and present right now. Notice the steadiness of the breath, the support of the ground, and the simple fact of being here.

Step 6: Close Gently

When you are ready, let go of the reflection and return your attention to the room, carrying any sense of ease, openness or grounding with you.

Why This Helps

This practice supports the nervous system to stay present with change and loss without defaulting to control or avoidance. By meeting change directly in the body, we reduce inner resistance and soften the struggle with reality. Over time, this increases emotional resilience, acceptance, and the feelings of freedom.

🧘‍♀️ Intro to Mindfulness and Meditation Courses

Learn mindfulness and meditation with a certified mindfulness teacher at a public course. Over 40,000 people have attended the Mindfulness Works Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation Course.
​
Reduce anxiety, improve sleep and increase self-acceptance with mindfulness.

Williamstown, starts 3 February 2026. See details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/introduction-to-mindfulness-and-meditation-tickets-1976803649931?aff=oddtdtcreator​

Geelong, starts 4 March 2026. See details and book here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/introduction-to-mindfulness-and-meditation-tickets-1976806112296?aff=oddtdtcreator​

🏡 Coming Home to Yourself — 7-Day Silent Meditation Retreat, Healesville, VIC:
11–17 February, 2026 — Only 7 Places Left​

Step into a world of calm, depth and self-love. Experience an environment of safety, silence, beauty and natural ease.

This retreat provides an exceptional chance for self-love, self-forgiveness and self-acceptance.

​Book your place now.​

Teachers: Karl Baker and Stephen Archer
​Location: Maitripa Retreat Centre, Healesville, Vic
​Dates: Wednesday, 11 February – Tuesday, 17 February, 2026.
​

💗 Awakening to Self-Love — 6-Day Silent Meditation Retreat, Bowral, NSW:
7–12 March, 2026​

Allow the beautiful and serene natural environment and meditation support your wellbeing as you are invited into a simple schedule that includes regular silent sitting and walking mindfulness meditations, instruction periods and check-ins with the teachers.
​
​Book your place now with a $500 deposit.​
​

Teachers: Karl Baker and Stephen Archer
​Location: Hartzer Park Retreat Centre, Bowral, NSW
​Dates: Saturday, 7 March – Thursday, 12 March 2026
​

💗 The Essence of Self-Love, Premium 6-Day Silent Meditation Retreat, Byron Bay, NSW​ — May and June 2026​

The Essence of Self-Love Retreats at Sangsurya, Byron Bay are the premium retreat offerings of 2026.
​
These retreats feature incredible artisan accommodation, a stunning retreat centre setting and an on-site chef, Todd Stream-Cameron providing world-class meals.
​
​Book your place now with a $500 deposit.​
​

Teachers: Karl Baker and Stephen Archer
​Location: Sangsurya Retreat Centre, Byron Bay, NSW
​Dates:
​May Retreat: Friday, 8 May – Wednesday, 13 May 2026 — LIMITED PLACES LEFT​
​June Retreat: Friday, 19 June – Wednesday, 24 June 2026
​

💗 The Ease of Being, Luxury Weekend Retreat, Noosa, 29–31 May​ 2026 *NEW DATES*​

When was the last time you truly stopped, breathed and let yourself simply be?

This premium three-day meditation retreat offers a rare opportunity to step away from the noise and into a world of effortless relaxation, deep presence and quiet luxury.

“The Ease of Being retreat gave me the gift of a weekend filled with peace and calm – time out in a beautiful, natural setting away from the demands of everyday life.” — Christine Donnelly​
​
​Book your place now with a $250 deposit.​
​

Teachers: Karl Baker
​Location: Senses Beach Rd Holiday Homes, Noosa North Shore
​Date: Friday, 29 May – Sunday, 31 May
​Price: From $895 all inclusive
​

🏢 Workplace Mindfulness Training

Nationwide in-person or online mindfulness training for workplaces.
​
– 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.
​

🤔 Mindful Check-In. Vote to See Results

Why this reflection matters

Pausing to notice your first response to change helps bring unconscious habits into awareness. When we see how we typically meet uncertainty, whether with control, fear, grief, relief or openness, we create a little space around that reaction. In that space, we gain choice. We are no longer just being carried by old psychological patterns, but can meet change with greater kindness, clarity and freedom.

📝 Mindful Meme of The Week

📩 Ideas? Comments? Complaints?

​Respond to this email.