Winter Newsletter 2026
Dear Friends in Meditation,
‘Let-go a little and have a little Peace,
Let-go a lot and have a lot of Peace,
Let-go completely and have complete Peace.’
Venerable Ajahn Chah
(17.06.1918 – 16.01.1992)
Welcome to Winter 2026.
Photo Winter Sunset here at Ratanagiri.
Certainly, here in the Southern Hemisphere, Winter has arrived.
Winter as a cool or cold season can mean different things to different people, particularly based on where we are experiencing Winter.
Winter can be a time of cool weather and soft sunny days, a reprieve from the heat of Spring and Summer.
It can be a time for some of grey days and rainy weather.
For others a time of frost and even snow.
For Nature, Winter is a significant season for resting and renewal.
Winter provides Nature with some ‘down-time’, to rest and recover from the bloom and brightness, the growth and gain of Spring and Summer. While we may not see much happening on the surface with regards to the natural environment, Nature is quietly both resting and growing beneath the surface, readying herself for Spring in a few months’ time.
For us too, Winter can be a time to be more aware and awake to our own inwardly Psycho-Spiritual Growth.
Whilst it can be a good period to slow down and be more grounded, it can provide a time of meaning and motivation to our Mindfulness and Meditation Practice.
To inwardly reflect on our fundamental intentions and motivations in life generally and towards situations and circumstances more specifically.
Here we can ask ourselves – What is the motivation or intention in thinking, saying or doing this particular thing?
Is this a wholesome motivation lead by Generosity, Kindness and Wisdom? Or is this self-centred, motivated by desire, anger or deluded selfishness?
Often it can be the many small moments of Mindfulness that make the greatest difference towards our Psycho-Spiritual Growth and Liberation from stress and suffering.
Here our Calm and Clarity, Peace and Presence is a result of maintaining our ongoing Mental-Mode of Mindful Awareness in all activities, enabled by our daily Meditation Practice, which is enhanced with our weekly Meditation Group sessions and emphasised in our monthly Sunday Meditation Retreat Days.
Whilst Winter certainly is a period of cool and cold dark evenings, please do join us for our Thursday Evening Meditation Group Sessions at Ratanagiri if you live within driving distance. It is always heart-warming to sit meditation with a group of friends, which both enables and supports our Meditation Group – ‘Ratanagiri Meditation Sangha’.
Of our Sunday Meditation Day / Half-Day Retreats, we have already had four of these; in February and June led my myself, one in March led by Ajahn Medhino and one in May led by Ajahn Bhuripanyo
Our last Sunday Meditation – Half Day Retreat led by myself was on Sunday 14th June (see video below), this was a special Meditation Retreat focusing on the Teachings of Ajahn Chah who’s birthday anniversary is the 17th of June.
For the second half of the year, we have the Vassa Retreat period, the three month monastic retreat period from the Full Moon of July to the Full Moon of October. Here we will observe this 3 month period with 4 – monthly Meditation Retreats at Ratanagiri Garden Retreat – Farrants Hill NSW on:
- Sunday 26th July
- Sunday 30th August
- Sunday 27th September
- Sunday 25th October
Our last Sunday Retreat Day for the year of 2026 will be on Sunday 6th December.
As we relax into Winter and release the mind from clinging and grasping, lets feel the freedom that comes from a Peace of Mind at ease in the Present Moment.
I wish you a wonderful Winter with Well-being and Warmth; hoping that you can connect with us at Ratanagiri through Ratanagiri Meditation Sangha.
Metta Regards
John B.
