A Practice of Peace
The intimacy of personal balance
Geoffrey
Most men believe themselves independent because they are busy. Most men fill silence with noise or movement. Few have ever met themselves without an intermediary. Few have ever been at peace in the full sense of the word.
A truly peaceful existence is not found through constant motion but in the harmonious counterpoint between action and quiet.
The paradox of personal balance is that true intimacy with others is only possible when you first have intimacy with yourself.
An Intimate Practice
This personal and intimate practice offers an interval of peace and quiet. It is neither therapy nor religion nor an exercise in self-improvement nor is it coaching.
There are no goals, no instructions. Nothing will be chanted. Nothing will be worn. Traditional practices, from therapy to coaching and goal-setting, are inherently evaluative. They ask: “How am I doing?” or “Am I getting better?”
A Practice of Peace rejects that framework entirely. Here nothing but calm and peacefulness will be achieved.
A Gentle Invitation
Visits—of about two hours—may be arranged individually on Sundays at Geoffrey’s discreet and tranquil Blue Mountains home.
Together, we remove all symbols and layers of role or status: clothing, phone, watch. By shedding the “visual weight” of clothes and accessories, we can shift focus and be in touch with a less inhibited and quieter sense of self.
- Discover that time, when left alone, lengthens.
- Confront the impulse to fill emptiness with activity.
- Recognise that the absence of noise is not a deficit but a form of completeness.
Relax, unwind and spend a set period of restful, unhurried time—in your natural state—free from distractions, free to explore, to talk or to be quiet.
One may, of course, practise this alone at home; yet most do not, or forget or allow the world to intrude. A structure—as this is—simply ensures one begins.
Terms of Engagement
Peace, like any rare commodity, requires a little ceremony to be properly appreciated.
The fee of $600 (payable in advance) for each visit is deliberately substantial: not for enrichment but to mark the seriousness of your undertaking.
This Practice is not advertised elsewhere and accepts fewer than twelve men of any age each year. Enquiries to Geoffrey by email only.
About your host
A Practice of Peace is conducted by Geoffrey, a 60-year-old, male teacher of relaxation, male massage and intimacy who has spent decades exploring the disciplines of attention, silence and the social cost of noise.
Geoffrey has worked with men from a wide range of professions and temperaments, most of whom arrive overextended and leave somewhat less so.
Geoffrey makes no claims of expertise beyond experience and offer no doctrine beyond the usefulness of stillness. There are no levels, no certificates and no promise of transformation. Nor rules, instructions and nothing for you to prove.
By removing all the usual trappings of self-improvement—expert guidance, structured goals, and promised rewards—the practice reveals that the most profound and intimate connection is not achieved, but simply uncovered in the relaxing calm of shared peacefulness.
Geoffrey’s preference, as always, is for quiet work done well and without fuss.
The most valuable and intimate work is often done away from the demanding gaze of the outside world.