When swimming in a creek a few weeks ago with friends we noticed something subtle yet fascinating. The surface water felt cool and fresh, yet when we dipped our hands deeper, the water became warmer & slightly salty, as if we had crossed an invisible boundary within the same body of water.
Read More“Of course, you can’t force your mind to be silent. That would be like trying to smooth ripples in water with a flatiron. Water becomes clear and calm only when left alone.” - Alan Watts
There is something deeply comforting in this image, because so much of modern life trains us to manage, improve, and optimise every aspect of our experience, including the movements of the mind. We subtly approach meditation with the same habit, assuming that calm will arrive through effort, discipline, or control. Yet the metaphor of water reminds us that clarity is revealed through allowing.
Read MoreVedic Meditation is a simple but significant act. We are allowing the nervous system to settle back toward its own natural order, rather than continually driving it with effort or urgency. This state is not something distant or special, and it is not created by the practice. It is already present beneath the activity of the mind and the momentum of reactivity. Meditation simply allows us to return to it.
Read MoreNature Does Not Force Calm, It Allows Motion
Working with boys as an OT has taught me something about the intelligence of nature and the way it restores balance when we give it the space to do so.
There is a belief that emotional maturity comes from stillness, from sitting quietly, from holding it together and thinking harder. But boys are not built to regulate through stillness first.
Read MoreDaily Global Vedic Meditation Sessions
The below is from Thom Knoles’ email to Vedic Meditators 16/10/23 following recent escalation in terror attacks and violence in the Middle East.
Thom's wish is that we do our part as Vedic Meditators to help settle the collective into a less-excited state and create greater worldwide coherence. Meditating together as a global family encourages orderliness and can aid in the cooling effect. As such, we can make no greater contribution to peace in the collective consciousness than to come together as a community to coordinate the timing of our meditation sittings.
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