🔭 The Present Perspective Newsletter

🌳 Touch grass — How to feel more grounded
this week.

How much of our day is spent living in our heads?

This week’s reflection explores the modern phrase 'touch grass' as a surprisingly profound reminder to step out of mental noise and return to what is real, grounded, and here in front of us.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
— Anne Lamott

Dear Reader

Touch Grass: Coming Back to What Is Real

There is a phrase that has been doing the rounds on social media over the past few years: touch grass.

It is often used as a gentle reminder that there is life beyond the screen, and beyond the virtual reality of the mind.

The moment you hear the phrase, you instinctively know what it means. It evokes the reassurance of nature and a sense of groundedness. For many of us, it also carries fond memories of childhood—playing outside, tumbling, running, rolling, and lying on the grass—simpler times, when life felt more immediate and less complicated.

Lost in the Stories of the Mind

The stories we run in our heads are incredibly compelling.

So compelling, in fact, that we do not always recognise them as stories. They can feel like reality itself.

We become bewitched by them, invested in them, perhaps because they make us feel right or offer the illusion of certainty in an uncertain world. Through thought, we create a past, imagine a future, and assign ourselves a place within it. We divide the world into good people and bad people, success and failure, safety and threat, and then assess our position accordingly.

Of course, many of the concerns we think about are very real. Financial pressures, health issues, relationship difficulties, work challenges—these matter. Added to this are events beyond our control: extreme weather, war, economic shocks, and the constant stream of unsettling news that finds its way into our lives.

It makes for a heady mix.

If we are not careful, we can spend hours, days, weeks, months, or even a lifetime lost in our stories, forever moving from one chapter to the next.

Coming to Our Senses

Mindfulness and similar practices offer a simple, practical and accessible way to orient ourselves differently.

They invite us to notice what is actually happening, what is actually real, and what is actually true in this moment.

We feel our feet on the ground.
We notice the sounds around us.
We feel the breath moving in and out.

In a very real sense, we touch grass.

As we do, we begin to wake up from the virtual reality in our heads and encounter the truth of this moment as it is.

There is an older expression that points to the same wisdom: coming to your senses.

Human beings have always known that when we are aware of what we are seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting, we are present. And when we are present, we tend to be clearer, steadier and more grounded.

We are less likely to be lost in the dreamscape of mental activity—worrying about the past or future, fantasising, judging, or at war with ourselves.

How Nature Helps

This can be especially powerful in a natural environment.

The sights, sounds, smells and textures of nature often feel inherently soothing, spacious and alive. Something in us responds.

After all, we are nature.

And when we place ourselves in nature, some part of us seems to recognise this and relax.

We become less caught up in the past and less preoccupied with the future. As a result, we often feel less threatened.

Our responsibility becomes simply this moment—what is right here in front of us.

Even when there are genuine concerns or challenges ahead, grounding ourselves in the present allows us to meet them from a place of solidity and agency. We respond with greater clarity, rather than from the momentum of fear.

A Gentle Invitation

As we navigate life at this particularly unsettled time, give yourself permission to touch grass.

Literally, if you can.

But also as a gentle reminder to come to your senses, to experience yourself here and now, and to breathe a little more easily.

💗 Radical Self-Acceptance Workshop​

Feel not enough? Discover how to stop fixing yourself and experience genuine self-acceptance and inner OK-ness.

Most of us carry a quiet sense that we need to improve, fix or become someone else to feel OK.

But what if that’s the very thing keeping us stuck?

In this upcoming workshop, we explore a different approach. One that doesn’t try to change who you are, but shifts how you relate to yourself. Through a practical and experiential process, you’ll learn how to move out of self-criticism and into a more grounded, accepting and supportive way of being.

This isn’t about positive thinking or becoming a better version of yourself. It’s about discovering a more honest and stable sense of OK-ness that’s already here.

Workshop: Radical Self-Acceptance
​Date and Time: Wednesday, 8 April (6.30pm–7.30pm AEST) (Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane Time)
​Facilitator: Karl Baker
​Price: $9 Standard Ticket. $19 VIP Ticket (includes recording).
​
​Bookings and more information: https://mindfulnessworksaustralia.com.au/learn-mindfulness/mindfulness-plus/​
​

​Queenstown, New Zealand, 6-Day Meditation and Mindfulness Retreat — Small Group Immersion in Mountain Surroundings​
​29 May – 3 June, 2026​

A carefully curated six-day immersion in mindfulness, movement and mountain landscapes—designed for people who value depth, structure and intentional practice.

Limited to 10 participants, this programme blends our grounded, nature‑based style with a refined flow inspired by Queenstown’s majestic mountains and beautiful Lake Wakatipu.

This exclusive retreat, led by two highly-experienced teachers is for those who value nature, simplicity and evidence‑based mindfulness practices, and who appreciate an intentional, well‑paced journey of transformation.

This retreat includes...

• Daily meditation and mindfulness practice
• Guided mountain and lakeside walks
• Gentle movement and breathwork
• Periods of nourishing silence
• Relaxing spa pool available all day and night
• Community connection and shared meals
• Personalised individual interview with one teacher
• Time for rest, reflection and integration
• Incredible stargazing when conditions are right
• Detoxifying sauna

This is an invitation to slow down, breathe and pay attention—not in a forced way but in a way that brings you home to yourself.

The Location: Ora Retreat, Queenstown

Ora Retreat is a boutique mountain home overlooking Lake Wakatipu —peaceful, welcoming and surrounded by forested hills and alpine views. Guests consistently praise its warmth, comfort and the sense of being “at home” in nature.

You’ll stay in cozy, thoughtfully designed rooms, enjoy quiet mornings on the deck, and unwind each evening with mountain air and the glow of the fire. Hiking trails begin right from the property, and Queenstown’s dramatic landscape frames each day.

​Book Your Place Now​

Teachers: Kovido Maddick and Eric Chagnon
​Location: Ora Retreat, 26 Arawata Terrace, Sunshine Bay, Queenstown, New Zealand
​Dates: Friday, 29 May – Wednesday, 3 June, 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
​— 1 place left​
​June Retreat: Friday, 19 June – Wednesday, 24 June, 2026
​— 1 place left​
​

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

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.​

​
Teacher: Karl Baker
​Location: Senses Beach Rd Holiday Homes, Noosa North Shore
​Date: Friday, 29 May – Sunday, 31 May. Only 3 places left.​
​Price: From $895 all inclusive
​

​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: Touching The Grass

Duration: 5 – 10 minutes

Instructions:

This short practice helps us shift from mental activity back into direct experience. It calms the nervous system by anchoring attention in the senses.

Step 1: Pause and arrive (1 minute)​
Stop what you are doing. Stand or sit comfortably. Take one slow breath in and one slow breath out.

Step 2: Feel contact (1 minute)​
Notice the contact points between your body and the world.
Your feet on the floor.
Your hands resting.
Your clothes against your skin.

If possible, step outside and literally place your feet on grass, earth, or even concrete.

Step 3: Use the senses (3 minutes)​
Notice:

• 3 things you can see
• 3 things you can hear
• 3 sensations you can feel in the body

Let this be simple and direct.

Step 4: One conscious breath (1 minute)​
Take a slow breath and silently say:
​“Here” on the in-breath
​“Now” on the out-breath

Purpose:​
This practice interrupts the momentum of thought and returns awareness to immediate experience, where the body and mind often begin to settle naturally.

🏢 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

This question gently builds self-awareness. Before we can return to the present, we first need to notice when we’ve drifted into mental storytelling. It helps readers recognise their own patterns with compassion rather than judgement.

📝 Mindful Meme of The Week

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