Dear Meditators
During lockdown I started two projects in our garden. The first, adding a new path around the whole garden. The other, making repairs to an old pathway.
The old pathway needed weeding badly. Some weeds ran deep and were extra tough to dig out. The new pathway had to be weeded also before layering it with old newspaper, black weed cloth and tree bark mulch. The old pathway had some really tough weeds with long roots attached, others were easy to pull out. After many hours of weeding and laying mulch I stood back to look at my work. The old pathway still has some weeds growing through, they will take more time to pull out. Some weeds will always have the faint remains of their seeds growing and will grow back again. I love my Garden, it’s a happy place for our Grandchildren and us to run around and explore together.
I likened my garden story to myself. My old life (pre meditation days) of rushing, skipping through life, ignoring the bad habits (my weeds) I picked up along the way. Not paying attention to what was happening to my health, relationships or my work that I loved so much. Happiness escaped me and it felt like my glass was always half empty.
Optimists will usually say the glass is half-full, whereas pessimists will usually point out that it's half-empty. Optimists tend to focus on the good: there is still water available to drink. Pessimists, on the other hand, see the negative: there is water missing from what otherwise could be a full glass.
Slowly, slowly after learning meditation life changed from rushing and anticipating the worst (fear) to discovering my inner Being (charm), my inner light that became my guide and influence, the knower inside. Slowly, slowly the neural pathways have changed the nervous system. It takes time to weed out the old habits, perhaps this lifetime!! There will always be some remnants of the old habits, the old pathways.
How do I grow my internal garden?
*By letting go of old habits and low consciousness thinking - I allow new knowledge and experiences to come in.
*Trust, invite and welcome new desires and ideas knowing that my creative juices and inner aware together will bring me enlightenment and fulfillment.
*Pay attention to my inner voice, my Being and feel the charm or the aversion messages that comes to me.
*As we are now in Spring let’s take time to clear out the Winter Ama – the sticky substances that builds up inside the body and clogs the mind.
*Check in with myself? How do I feel physically, mentally and spiritually?
*I take Being into Action and trust that everything is well and wisely set in place.
*I stop rushing in life, slow down and water my garden. The weeds (old habits and thinking patterns) will start to die off and not come back eventually.
Today I will notice when I am rushing and not paying attention to what is happening around me. I will pay attention to my senses in the present moment- what am I hearing, touching, seeing, tasting and smelling. If I find myself lingering on negative thought’s I will water my beautiful garden and take good care of myself, paying attention to what I need not what I want.
Love to everyone & Jai Guru Deva
Liz
Love, Understanding, Tolerence
“When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh
“If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change”.
Part of understanding a person or situation comes from being a good listener. If we're not listening and only hear parts of the conversation then conflict or confusion arises quickly. It takes practice to say nothing and to listen without interrupting.
When we listen and pay attention in the present moment, then we're giving good care to family and friends, without judgement, blame or negativity, giving them the opportunity to express themselves fully with understanding and love.
When we adapt, we stay focused, have more energy and stay alert. When we are in constant state of anxiety, negativity and feelings of intolerance and frustration our health can begin to suffer. Sleeping becomes difficult, heart rate and blood pressure is affected, the immune system may start to break down and the body prints out all types of health problems.
As Meditators we are more likely to adapt having the ability to stay and play, rather than flighting or fleeing.
Our twice daily meditation corrects the intellect and brings more tolerance and harmony to the nervous system.
Laugher with our partner, family or friends, brings joy and is reflected in the nervous system. Watching a violent movie, the impression of that voilence is recorded in the brain. Whatever we put our attention on become a part of us. Remember how important it is to choose activities that nourish us and support those connections that help maintain a healthy outlook.
More on “Love” from Great Masters -
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi –
"Love opens all doors, no matter how closed they may be, no matter how rusty from lack of use. Your work is to bring unity and harmony, to open all doors which have been closed for a long time. Have patience and tolerance. Open your heart all the time."
“Our attention is like fertilizer – whatever we put it on grows”. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Thom Knoles - Maharishi Vyasananda Saraswati
What is Love?
All love comes from within one's own innermost self and returns to one's own innermost self. It is a journey from here to here. It appears to go "there", but "there", also, is actually nowhere but here.
Yes, funnily enough, the goal of the process of loving is the enriching, rewarding effect that the love phenomenon has within oneself.
To love is to uplift and expand one's own innermost self.
To elaborate, all currents of love, just like all currents in the ocean, are sourced within one's own innermost self, and have their release back into one's own innermost self.
This Love-loop, from within one's own innermost self, via the loved "other", back into one's own innermost self, generates some gracious behaviour on the way.
That love-behaviour is there to be enjoyed by others, as long as one's love continues en route from oneself to oneself, circling round and round, with its pretext, "the loved one" being the theme song for it all.
While one's circular love-current lasts, an auxiliary beneficiary of one's own self-referral love-behaviour may be the other person, this much-lauded "loved one", but, actually, one's love is self-sufficient.
While loving, one would swear that "the loved one", is the source and cause of one's love, but this is a mirage.
The hallucination that, "the one I love is the source and the cause of my love", vanishes instantly the moment that one no longer can enjoy the behaviour of one's love-focus.
Then, suddenly, all of one's currents of love stop, and all one wants is solitude, or someone more readily enjoyable, in order that the enriching, rewarding Love-loop, from oneself to oneself, can recommence.
When someone becomes stressed, his capacity to adapt successfully to changes of expectation becomes retarded; resulting in a very narrow range within which he can enjoy the behaviour of his love-focus, his "loved one".
At the slightest challenge to his expectations, the stressed one falls out of love easily and seeks solitude or someone less challenging, more enjoyable. But his stress will keep his enjoyment range very narrow and his intolerance will make him fall into and out of love repeatedly.
Perhaps he will become extremely cynical about the whole "love thing", even though, in fact, he falls into love, and instantly out of love, continuously and secretly. His love-behaviours will be accordingly sporadic.
He cannot keep the Love-loop, and its concomitant love-behaviours, going.
Just as he attributed mistakenly his self-referral love-phenomenon to his loved one, invariably he will attribute mistakenly his falling out of love to some new, or newly discovered, "intolerable" behaviour of his (now former) loved one.
When people learn to meditate, their adaptation capacity expands. Their tolerance for change expands. Their recognition expands that they are, in themselves, the source and the cause of their own experience.
Meditators progressively let go of the conviction that, "someone else caused my
experience".
With meditation, one can keep the Love-loop going longer.
This is what our world needs desperately.
Jai Guru Deva
STORY TELLING
AUG 15 AT 8 AM AEST – AUG 15 AT 9 AM UTC+10
Livestream Group Meditation
Free · Online Event
https://www.youtube.com/c/Awaremeditation
Dear Meditators
Going live with my Colleague and friend Paula Jane Newman from Aware Meditation Cosmic Chats on You Tube, please join us and give your support.
Aware Meditation is a not-for-profit Fund-Raising organisation. The fund raising enables Vedic Meditation Teachers to teach people who are on low incomes, the homeless, people in jail and those living in rural and remote areas. The project gives people the opportunity to learn the practice for free with a Vedic Meditation Teacher. Teachers from around the world have joined Paula to make this available to everyone. People learn face to face and take the 4-day course in groups and privately. If you know someone who would benefit from this project, please let us know.
On Sunday 15th August at 8am join Paula and I for a chat about my journey both as a Meditator and Teacher. How I came to learn Vedic Meditation, how it has affected my life and why I became a Vedic Meditation Teacher in my late 50’s. There will also be a Group Meditation together.
Paula has put together the book below- Vedic Meditation Stories by Meditators and Initiators. You can purchase the book for free on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. It’s a great read with interesting stories. None of the stories have been edited so they come straight from the Heart of each person.
The Pandemic has bought about huge global changes. Nature is calling on us to pay attention to what is most important in our lives. She is our greatest Teacher and we need to listen.
These times are challenging -physically, mentally and spiritually. My challenge is not seeing my Grandchildren and Family members. However, the benefits have been many. Catching up on reading, listening to lovely music on Spotify, zooming in with family and friends so my technology skills have improved. There is less contact with people and more contact with Nature and that has been wonderful. We have the bush at our front door and there are many animals who come to visit -foxes, wallabies, big and little spiders, snakes, bush rats and mice, possums and blue tongue lizards to name a few.
Thinking about meditation - I want to spend some time talking about the challenges and the benefits of our twice daily Meditation practice. It’s not an easy time for many, but making meditation a priority each day is so important. In fact, it’s the single most important thing you will do in your day. If your’e not meditating twice per day then make arrangements at the beginning of each day when that will happen. Because if you don’t do the second meditation your getting less than half the benefits. Give yourself permission and make a commitment to give yourself this gift each day. At first there may be more stress released, however this will settle down and after a while you will begin to notice the days flow more smoothly, decision making becomes easier, you’ll feel happier, healthier and lighter with every meditation.
Love to everyone & Jai Guru Deva
Liz
Listen with your Heart and the silent inner voice
“When you listen attentively to the silent voice in your heart and follow the direction she offers .... the great mystery starts to reveal herself to you. There is an awareness of Love that naturally starts to arise in you. It is this Love that you have been seeking. Listen…… ANAND MEHROTRA, SATTVA YOGA.
Listening to the whispers of the inner voice we find ourselves moving in the direction of charm and the purpose and meaning of our life.
The whispers can feel like a "call to action". Can feel like excitement, ambition, a new cognition or a challenge. Emotions of the Heart can feel like a love swell or bliss bubbling up from inside.
Nature speaks through incidences, coincidences or synchronicity, through communication and relationships. The feel-good hormone is downloaded called "Charm." Everything feels right and we trust.
There is also the opposite to Charm -Aversion. The inner voice tells us when something is wrong. Aversion can feel like anxiety, pain, suffering, fear, the fight or flight reaction or a negative feeling. This depends on our state of consciousness at the time. If we ignore the signs and feelings of aversion and proceed, then the situation may not work out. Life becomes rough. If we continue to ignore the signs and messages, the problems get bigger. If we still continue down this path the problems become a disaster and can end in a big mess.
Listen with your Heart to your inner voice, "Being." Get to know the difference between charm and aversion and the direction that Nature is showing you.
Our Meditation is one of the most effective ways of coming to silence. The mind transcends to the subtlest realms of silence coming to the place of stillness where everything lies. Experience the silence during meditation then take that state of consciousness into activity.
How do we find silence outside of meditation?
Be in Nature, go for a walk, be alone with your thoughts, sit by the ocean, practise Yoga and Pranayama (breath in the energy of life - Prana), sit quietly after meditation, let your thought be your guide and see what happens.
My teacher Thom Knoles says “Rest is the basis of dynamic action – you draw back the bow string and then you release it into activity straight to the target.”
Today I will take time to be quiet and listen to my inner voice. I will appreciate that life is precious and that everything is well and wisely set in place for me.
Love & Jai Guru Deva
Liz
"You have control over action alone, never over its fruits" Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Dear Meditators
“You have control over action alone,
never over its fruits. Live not for
the fruits of action, nor attach
yourself to inaction.”
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita Chpt. 2 Verse 47
Being completely absorbed in actions is the only thing I have control over. "When I am concerned with nothing but action and completely absorbed then I become oblivious of everything else, even to the outcome or “the fruits.” This does not mean I don’t care about the results but rather I'm unattached to the outcome.
An example from the Bhagavad Gita pg.134 – “If a student thinks the whole time about passing an examination, the progress of his study will be hampered, and this will jeopardize the result. It is to ensure the greater success of an action that the doer is asked not to concern themselves with the results during the course of action. But this does not imply that he should be indifferent to results. If he becomes consciously indifferent to results, the process of action will certainly become weak, and this will also weaken the results.”
Another perspective on Maharishi's quote - Whilst I remain absorbed and focused I may discovered a different way of handling a situation and change the actions and outcomes. Over a lifetime we change our actions and the results many times in order to reach fulfillment. This is our ultimate goal and our ultimate action.
So for us as daily meditators we have the familiar experience of Transcendence, pure Being and pure Contendedness. The goal of our Transcending meditation is to live life with the backdrop of feeling our inner quiet space inside - Being, continuously. The flow of life becomes less stressful as we keep practising meditation, until one day comes when we don't think about it any longer and Being becomes permanently established in all our actions. Being - Thinking - Action.
An aside to share with you - today I randomly opened the Bhagavad- Gita for some inspiration. I opened the page to the quote above. As I was thinking and writing - I remembered Thom’s podcast on “The Process is the Outcome," which is about the same subject. As I was writing it came to me that I had not only been inspired by Maharishi and Thom's words, I was going through the process myself that I was writing about.
Listen to The Process Is The Outcome
What other people think about you is none of your business
Dear Meditators
Whether we like it or not we have NO control of what other people think about us or say about us, worrying about it is a waste of time and energy.
From childhood we are taught how to behave, to dress in a certain way, seeking approval or disapproval from our parents, families or friends. When we believe what other people think about us is correct, the ego mind gets involved and releases patterns of thinking i.e. self-doubt, low self-worth, negative thoughts can be the result of giving the power and control of ourselves over to others.
People will talk about us and judge us whether we like it or not, we have no control over that and we don't want to know about it.
When we no longer seek approval it brings freedom, unlocking the power within. The opinions and thoughts of other people are not about us it’s a reflection of themselves and of their own state of consciousness at that time.
So what can you do?
* Be true to yourself, what are your beliefs and perceptions of the world?
* Stop worrying about what other people think about you
* Be confident and love yourself in every +way
* Let go of the things that people project onto you it doesn’t belong to you it's
about themselves
* Don’t let others determine your happiness
* Meditate daily and practice Yoga, live a healthy lifestyle, eat and sleeping well, be in Nature and
spend time doing the things that you enjoy
* Step beyond the ego thinking mind into the source of all thoughts, BEING
* With freedom comes love, contentment and acceptance
Remember what other people think about you is none of your business.
Until next time
Liz
My Garden
Dear Meditators
The picture above is of our garden. It is a peaceful place and at the moment there are many big and small size spiders. The webs they are weaving are beautiful especially when it rains and they glisten in the Sun light. The bigger spiders are catching their food in the webs and the smaller spiders are avoiding them. So interesting to watch what is happening each day in the garden. It’s a game of who’s the quickest and smartest - either be eaten or stay alive for another day.
I look at my garden with the different eyes these days, I look at the colours and different plants with a different perspective on Nature. We can learn a lot from the way nature behaves. The flowers, plants, trees and animals are all living harmoniously together, they are feeding and taking good care of one another and they probably talk to one another too.
If we look back over the past year we can feel and see that nature has been busy reconstructing herself in many ways. The world as we knew it has changed dramatically but nature continues to create and evolve as she always does. It is always Nature’s intention to uphold evolution for us - she does not need us to survive we need her.
We meditate to see what's inside our own special Garden - that’s what Nature loves us to do. Meditation takes us to that consciousness state of experiencing the quiet and peace of our inner Being and with eyes open after meditation we can experience clarity, see more clearly and enjoy what nature is offering us.
Today I will take the time to stop and be present, to look at nature at least once today whether I am busy or not. I will be present so I can hear and see what nature’s intentions are for me.
Until next time enjoy your inner and outer Gardens.
Jai Guru Deva
Liz
You Deserve the Best
Hello and Happy New Year Dear Meditators
Let’s make this year a year of growth, shared happiness and inspiration.
A great New Year saying for you ... "Go for what you want, not for what you know you can get.”
Challenges are opportunities that come along all the time. Don’t ignore them but rather go for what you want to happen and desire. Instead of running away, embrace them. Ride the wave of the unknown and take a leap into the unknown. It may change your life forever. You know you can do it! Be Fearless because Nature will direct and support you, especially when you meditate twice daily.
Keep reminding yourself - “You deserve the best. Never feel unworthy or not justified in having the best. I tell you, this is your heritage, but, you have to accept it; you have to expect it; you have to claim it. To do so is not demanding too much.”— SRI GURU DEVA
So, what is everyone up to for 2021? What inspires you? What plans to do you have for 2021? What would you like Beyond Thinking to offer you this year? Let me know by sending an email to liz@beyondthinkingmeditation.com or Join our Vedic Community Facebook page - Beyond Thinking Vedic Meditation. Request to join (Vedic Meditators only) @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/1558958827722511/member-requests. Let us know what is of interest to you. Share your thoughts with us.
There are many great Podcasts, Videos, Books you have read, Courses of interest to Meditators. The world is our oyster, let’s expand and grow together. Be the change that we want to see in the world and in our lives.
Below are a few Podcast suggestions -
What’s on offer with Thom Knoles - Listen to the Vedic World View with world- renowned Master.
Thom’s website - www.thomknoles.com
Meditators Membership
Free Master Class Library
Free Podcasts
Light Watkins @ www.lightwatkins
https://www.lightwatkins.com/at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/category/podcast+episodes
Author of Bliss More & The Inner Gym
Dylan Smith @ www.vitalveda.com.au
Podcasts https://vitalveda.com.au/learn/podcasts/
2021 is well underway. We’re off to a great start having run the first of the Exploring the Veda course over the weekend. It’s a great course and great experience being together with meditators as we listened to Thom Knoles recordings. Diving deep into the Vedic wisdom and knowledge is always a joy. Thanks to those who are coming along for the ride. If you’re interested give me a call. Meditators who have taken the Veda installments already you can repeat one or more of them free (small charge to cover facilitators costs.) Please contact me to join us in April for ETV 2.
Covid distancing restrictions are still in place and we’re not at the Centre for Group Meditation. Our Group Meditation will be on Zoom as usual on Monday nights at 7pm. Contact Liz for zoom link on liz@beyondthinkingmeditation.com. For Vedic Meditators only.
Jai Guru Deva
Liz
How do I cover up Emotional Pain?
How do I cover up emotional pain?
First a few questions -
How does emotional pain trigger my escape patterns? Do I look for someone or somethings to blame? Is it too painful to recognise why I am suffering? Do I push away the emotions and feelings……? Do I escape into the past bringing up negative memories? And does this lead to relationship issues, health problems, depression, sadness and anger? Or do I project into the future creating anxiety and fear? What if this happens or what if that happens etc.
When I go down these pathways the stress hormones of cortisol and adrenaline are released and I could end up in the fight or flight mode where my thinking is clouded, feelings of overwhelmability, I may feel teary but not know why, I may want to escape from the world wishing the insessant thinking would stop. All of these thought patterns brings us to a lower consciousness state.
The pain and suffering might dissipate for a short time. We may try to mask our true feelings by escaping into self abuse of some kind to cover up the reality. But, one thing is guaranteed - the experience of these emotions and feeling will return again until we stop ignoring and resisting them.
How can I help myself at these times?
A wonderful saying by the Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh – “Stay in the Present Moment and confront the pain Tenderly.”
In the present moment I can feel the discomfort and embrace the suffering. In the present moment I have the ability to listen to my internal self-talk. As a Meditator I start to let go and come to my inner quiet place, the source of Creative Intelligence, my Being. Where all knowledge, thoughts and Pure Consciousness lies.
Staying present allows me to learn compassion and understanding of myself and the people around me. The vibration of the nervous system changes, the Neural Pathways change from the old patterns into new ways of thinking and behaviours. The nervous system fires off new electrons to the brain. The mistaken intellect is corrected -the truth of what or why the emotional suffering happens is intellectualised. Pain and suffering turn into knowledge, understanding and compassion.
The goal of our Meditation is to release the adrenaline and cortisol hormone- STRESS from the mind and body, to bring the Nervous System back to Homeostasis. Falling into old emotional patterns starts to change because the reality and truth of what is really happening rises into our thinking, that is what comes to the surface. It's like swimming in the ocean of peace and restfulness during meditation then coming to the surface of reality. Old patterns start to fade into the background with less importance and intensity.
This is why our twice daily Meditation practice is so important. It keeps us balanced and in a higher state of consciousness. We see the reality of life's journey as it truly is. We don’t ignore the truth but rather embrace it. We can say “Hello my friend I know you well.” Embrace the challenges and reap the benefits.
Five Lessons to Live By - Wayne Dyer
Dr. Wayne Dyer on - 5 Lessons to live by. I think this is one of his best.
https://youtu.be/dOkNkcZ_THA
Wayne Dyer died in 2015.
First Principle – “When we change the way we look at things the things we look at change.”
Second Principle - There are no justified resentments.
Third Principle – What you think is what you become.
Fourth Principle – Be open to everything and attached to nothing.
Five Principle – Don’t die with your music still in you.
On the fifth principle -
The intuitive inner voice that Wayne Dyer speaks of comes directly from inside us. Our Inner Being, Pure Consciousness, he calls it "our Soul." Having a direct line to that inner voice in Meditation brings us closer to knowing the truth about ourselves -of what we need to know and how to live a life filled with happiness and Love.
A few questions to get us thinking -
What burning desires do I have in my Soul right now?
Do I believe that Anything is possible? Or is there something or someone holding me back? Am I willing to surrender and leap forward fearlessly or do I have doubts due to past experiences?
Write a list of your desires and choose one. Trusting that Nature/God will show me the next step - my part is to know that anything is possible. Trust the process and expect the best to happen. Let go of needing to know the outcome, we let go of needing control, of holding on. Let go, Let go, Let go.
Do I have regrets?
Having regrets means I may be holding onto resentments or I may have negative thoughts about a myself or a particular person or thing. I may be thinking "I wish I had done ……” or "I feel anger towards someone or something that happened many years ago."
If I change the way I think about another person or about past experiences that have caused anger and resentment then I'm on my way to having less suffering and an opportunity to take responsibility for myself and my reactions. The way I see myself and others is from my own perspective, my own world view. If I don’t change my thinking, I run the risk of shutting down my emotions and stopping my personal growth.
Nature offers many opportunities.... Remember what we put our attention on grows. Can I put my attention on becoming fearless? Having no regrets, no anger, resentments or negativity? Can I choose self-love over self-destruction?
Today I will place my attention on loving myself first then loving everything and loving everybody.
