We Couldn’t Tell

(written for friends in retreat by Grant Rix)

We couldn’t tell,

Where we were,

Motion sick from a life,

Which just kept spinning.

We couldn’t see the fine gap,

Which marked the point,

Where the circle returns.

But we slowed ourselves,

We insisted on silence,

With the help of pine trees, cicada, mossy rocks, bellbird and bumble bee,

And the unnameable,

Sparking, sparkling, insisting,

From through the gap.

Return, return, return,

Bring me your frustrations, your confusions, your desires,

And your long held pains.

Bring me your kind, gentle, strong and broken hearts.

I will hold them all,

I will always remain,

Here when you see me,

Here when you don’t,

Here when you remember,

Here when you forget.

Here, always.

And we heard your call,

When?

We do not know,

It does not matter.

Your quiet persistence,

Your never giving up on us,

Your timeless invitation,

To fall,

With tears softening long-held tensions,

And silent giggles of remembered innocence.

To the centre,

We fell.

To the centre of the circle,

Which keeps circling.

We found our peace in the stillness,

At the centre,

We found our peace growing,

With every embrace of the circling,

The centre grew so wide,

It revealed the space,

In which the circle turns.

Or perhaps,

It was you,

Who found us,

In that place,

Where stillness and movement,

Make their home together.

Grant Rix

Grant Rix has been a dedicated student and teacher of meditation for over two decades. He trained extensively under Tarchin Hearn, completing a three-year study and retreat programme at the Wangapeka Retreat Centre in the mid-2000s. He has also studied with teachers including Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche, Lama Mark Webber, and Sonia Moriceau. More recently, he has received Dzogchen and Longchen Nyingthig transmissions from Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche.

Grant is the creator of Pause Breathe Smile, New Zealand’s own curriculum-aligned and secular mindfulness in schools programme, which has now reached over 550 schools, 10,000 educators, and 170,000 children nationwide. He currently serves as Chair of the Pause Breathe Smile Trust and as its Director of Mindfulness Training and Development.

Grant has a clear understanding of the distinctions between secular and Buddhist approaches to mindfulness. He values both, recognising that each can be beneficial depending on a person’s background, beliefs, and needs. Known for his grounded, open teaching style, Grant creates a welcoming atmosphere free of pressure or expectation. His approach helps people from all walks of life connect with timeless wisdom in ways that feel natural and accessible.

He has presented at conferences nationally and internationally and contributed to multiple research publications on mindfulness in education. Grant is also the resident teacher at the Queenstown Dharma Centre, offering weekly classes.

Interview with Grant Rix (7 min)

Publications

Krägeloh C, Medvedev O, Taylor T, Wrapson W, Rix G, Sumich A, Wang G, Csako R, Anstiss D, Ranta J, Patel N, Siegert R (2018). A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial for a Videoconference-Delivered Mindfulness-Based Group Intervention in a Nonclinical Setting. Springer US.

Devcich D A, Rix G, Bernay R & Graham E (2017). Effectiveness of a mindfulness-based program on school children’s self-reported well-being: A pilot study comparing effects with an emotional literacy program. Journal of Applied School Psychology

Rix, G. (2017). Mindful Aotearoa: Promoting the Benefits of Mindfulness Grounded in Local Context and Understanding in Ditrich, Wiles & Lovegrove (Eds.), Mindfulness and Education: Research and Practice (pp.103-124). Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Bernay R, Esther Graham, Daniel A. Devcich, Grant Rix & Christine M. Rubie-Davies (2016): Pause, breathe, smile: a mixed-methods study of student wellbeing following participation in an eight-week, locally developed mindfulness program in three New Zealand schools, Advances in School Mental Health Promotion, DOI:10.1080/1754730X.2016.1154474.

Rix, Grant, and Ross Bernay. 2014. “A Study of the Effects of Mindfulness in Five Primary Schools in New Zealand.” New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work 11(2): 201-220.

Rix, Grant, Ross Bernay, and Daniel A. Devcich. 2014. “Mindfulness as a core strategy for promoting mental health and increasing positive (flourishing) states of well-being.” Proceedings of the New Zealand Population Health Congress 2014: 228-230.

We Couldn’t Tell

20 Mar 2026 - by Grant Rix