Have you experienced times of deep hardship and suffering? It's in those moments that peace can often feel elusive, leaving us asking: can peace and suffering coexist?

Through the practice of meditation, you develop what is known as “witnessing awareness” which allows you to observe your thoughts, feelings and stories with greater objectivity and distance, rather than getting pulled into the drama and emotional reactivity. Over time, you will begin to notice that some space has been created around difficult emotional states. You will start to see that there is more to who you are than your moods or thoughts, and you may also observe that the sensation associated with the negative feelings dissolve altogether. I like to say that you begin to develop a sense of responding as opposed to reacting.

When we make a habit of meditation, we are then able to reconnect to an awareness of our innermost selves, diminishing stress and anxiety, and finally stepping off the hamster wheel of pain and suffering.