Graham Williams
PhD (Adelaide), B Mus,
Grad Dip Ed, Dip Concert (Paris).
Adjunct Lecturer, School of Medicine, Flinders University

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Dr Graham Williams, concert pianist, scholar and meditation teacher, is the Founder and Director of Teaching of the Centre.

He originally trained at Adelaide University in South Australia where he gained his PhD and Graduate Diploma of Education. His doctoral dissertation had required studies in philosophy and psychology and he was fortunate to have access to teachers in both these fields. He then won a scholarship to study for three years at the Paris Conservatoire.

His first meeting with the Buddhist tradition occurred when he met His Holiness the Karmapa and Kalu Rinpoche in Paris. This was in the early 70s when Parisians had become interested in Tibetan culture. He realised that even though he had fulfilled his musical ambitions, it still left unresolved the human conflict he saw in himself and others. Therefore, on meeting the Canadian teacher Namgyal Rinpoche he asked him to teach him, as he knew that no matter how much he respected the Tibetan tradition he needed a teacher who understood the background of a Westerner.

On completing his music studies in Paris he was ordained into the Burmese Theravadin tradition by Namgyal Rinpoche. Rinpoche had done his own training in a Burmese monastery and had then been recognised by the Karmapa as a Rinpoche in the Karma Kargyu lineage. Graham then spent a full year in retreat in Assisi, Italy in 1977 and, on his teacher's recommendation returned to Adelaide to take up a full time position at the University of Adelaide.

Graham was one of the first Australians to be given a full ordination as a Lama into the Karma Kargyu lineage; this took place in 1979 at the Karmapa's monastery in Sikkim. He spent 10 years in formal meditation study and training embracing both the Burmese and Tibetan traditions. As well as studying with his own teacher he received teaching and initiations from HH the 16th Karmapa, Kalu Rinpoche, Gyuto Khensur Rinpoche, Beru Khyentze Rinpoche and Lama Thubten Yeshe. He has continued to study all forms of meditation and yoga while continuing regular intensive retreat practice. He has spent a total of six years in retreat and maintains his practice with three months' retreat every year.

Graham is one of few Western Buddhist teachers listed in Tibetan Lamas website. This site, which was set up with the support of HH the 14th Dalai Lama, provides details of authentic and qualified teachers in the Tibetan traditions. The Lifeflow Meditation Centre was the first meditation centre established in South Australia based on the Tibetan traditions.

He embarked on his meditation teaching path in Adelaide in 1980 at the request of a group of music students at the University, and set out on the course of continuing the work of his teacher in embracing all traditions and of translating them into contemporary language. He also set out to make the Lifeflow Meditation practices simple and directly relevant to everyday life in Australia so that they would be easily accessible. Naturally he, along with many other teachers, has attempted to amalgamate Buddhist philosophy and psychology with our own traditions. However, in working with psychologists, he makes a very clear distinction between meditation practice and psychotherapy as they have very different foundations and aims.

Dr Williams continues to hold both ordinations, and currently gives lectures and Master Classes to advanced piano students. He regularly augments his teaching for The Lifeflow Meditation Centre with public workshops, talks to helping professionals, government and business organisations, university teaching, and a consultancy in meditation training for a number of organisational psychologists. He still occasionally finds time to give public piano recitals.

Graham Williams ... is an excellent musician and an extremely cultured man of great intelligence.
Olivier Messiaen, French Composer.

Graham Williams has the great human qualities of patience, humility, dedication and kindness.
Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, Concert Pianist, Paris.

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John Burston
B.Sc. (Mathematical Sciences).
Adjunct Associate Lecturer, School of Medicine, Flinders University.
Meditation teacher.
General Manager.

As General Manager of The Lifeflow Meditation Centre and Teacher, John Burston's IT career and staff training experience ably support his co-ordination and promotion of our teacher training and public meditation programs. His work in the computing industry and for Lifeflow is sustained bythe increased calm, concentration and confidence he gains from meditation.

John first became interested in developing greater self-understanding during his late teens, recalling inner experiences that he later realised were natural meditative states. A major question that subsequently arose was how to balance the often conflicting interests of being true to one's inner nature vs worldly career expectations. This was resolved through the practice of Lifeflow Meditation. "What I discovered was that Lifeflow Meditation doesn't mean rejecting your place in the world ... instead it gives you the means to skilfully fulfill different aspects of your life", he says.

John's 16 years' meditation practice includes a sojourn in Nepal, teaching meditation to tourists and trekkers, and 9 years' running classes, courses and retreats in Adelaide. He regularly augments his meditation experience with two months of retreat practice each year. Not surprisingly, Asian food is a favourite, along with walking, swimming and classical music.

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Ann Calvert
Meditation teacher.
Membership and Retreat Manager.

Ann joined the teaching body at Lifeflow early in 2000, with 10 years of Lifeflow meditation training as well as 20 years practice in yoga. She discovered yoga in her late teens and it was the calm and vibrant state that she experienced during yoga that led her to question what was happening and seek to develop this further through the meditation discipline.

She blends a management role in employment services with part-time study in adult education. Ann is also involved in the administration of the Centre, in the role of Membership & Retreat Manager, and has participated in the positions of Secretary, President and Treasurer over several years. "Even though I lead a very full life, having a regular Lifeflow meditation practice has enabled me to bring a level of calmness and joy into my everyday actions."

Married with one teenage daughter, her other interests include cycling, swimming and the natural environment.

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Gretta Koch
BA (Hons) (Professional Writing & Communication)

Life Movements editor

Gretta has recently joined the Lifeflow teaching team. She first learned to meditate as a child and her experience with Buddhist communities and meditation practices as a teenager provided a base for pursuing this interest more seriously in later years – she has been with Lifeflow for over 5 years.

She currently combines teaching at UniSA with part-time study for her PhD, and has previously worked as an editor both in-house and freelance. For leisure she loves walking, the beach, travelling and fine food with friends and family.

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Robyn Walden
B.A. (Modern European Languages), Dip. Ed. (Sydney), A.A.L.I.A.

Meditation teacher.
Centre Librarian.

Robyn Walden is our longest serving member, having joined the association in 1981, its foundation year. Her teaching experience stems from 1986, expanding from giving occasional talks and guided meditation sessions to running weekend retreats and courses.

Formerly a Sydney High School teacher, Robyn is now a Senior Librarian at Flinders University working in the areas of Collection Development, Staff Training, foreign language cataloguing and OH&S to which she adds the role of the Centre's Librarian. She enjoys gardening, living by the beach, music, photography and bush walking and occasional visits from son Tim who lives in Sydney. A key interest is Asian studies which have prompted a lot of travel in exotic countries.

For Robyn, meditation practice has meant developing a greater self-understanding and acceptance of life's changes. It has enhanced her sense of joy in everyday things, such as sunsets, wind in trees, birds flying. She says her life now contains greater calm and confidence since adopting this simple meditation method: "When the going gets tough, sit still and watch your breathing".

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Liana Taylor
No photo available.

Liana trained in clinical and health psychology, with a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focus, at Adelaide and Flinders Universities, then later in MBCT/MBSR. She also trained formally in: Couple Therapy at Relationships Australia; Narrative Family Therapy at Dulwich Centre; Group Work at COPE; Neuro-Linguistic Programming with the NLP of SA; Outdoor Recreation Leadership at Regency TAFE; and meditation within Burmese Vipassana and Karma Kagyu Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

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