Category: Primal Spirituality

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A Mind of Ease Energy Meditation Inner vision Life-fullness Meditation techniques mind body connection Mindful Resilience Primal Spirituality Qi gong

Energizing stillness – Regenerating within your energy body

“You could consider your energy body as being essentially the biological life-force that flows through and radiates from your physical body, but then includes the emotional, mental and consciousness dimensions within you”

Dear Integral Meditators, 

This weeks article looks at how to use meditation as a way of regenerating your energy pro-actively, with minimal effort! It part of an ongoing train of exploration in my own practice around how to build energy in meditation ergonomically and effectively. 

My monthly Monthly Qi Gong & Taoist Breathwork Clinic & Mini-retreat on 25th February is now full, waiting list only. I have added an extra session on Sunday the 26th for those who may want to participate.

In the spirit of regeneration, 
 
Toby 

Energizing stillness – Regenerating within your energy body
 
The below meditation is a way to regenerate your energy more powerfully when you are feeling tired or low energy. It is designed to be low-intensity and relaxing, as well as ‘plugging you in’ to sources of energy that can start to percolate through your body and energy system as you relax. It’s based around principles of Qi gong (eastern) and Tree of Life (western) meditation practices that I have done for many years, but you don’t need to know anything about these practices the meditation. Once you are familiar with it, you can set it up at the beginning of your meditation session, and then go onto do your main meditation, whatever that is. If you do this then the energy flow will continue in the background as you do your meditation. The exercise can be done standing, sitting or lying down.
 
What is your energy body?
For the purposes of this meditation, consider your energy body as being essentially the biological life-force that flows through and radiates from your physical body, but then includes the emotional, mental and consciousness dimensions within you. It can be imagined simply as a body of light, same shape and size as your physical body, and occupying the same space. You can also imagine it as having an energy field around your body, like an egg or sphere of light. Beginning the meditation includes simply relaxing and gently sensing into your energy body, getting a feeling for it as you breathe.
 
Connecting your energy body to the Earth’s field
After centring in your basic light body, in your minds eye look down through the surface of the earth beneath you all the way down to the solar core of the planet.
Visualize beneath your body a ball of light about a meter in diameter. At the bottom of the ball see a line of light like a rope dropping down all the way into the centre of the planet.
From that line, energy from the Planetary being flows up and into the ball, filling it with Earth-light. Now imagine your body sinks down 3-5cms into the ball beneath you, so that the energy from the Earth starts to flow into your energy body from below. Just feel and allow that to happen without any special effort, this is a gentle, yin energy body exercise.
 
Connecting it to sky and stars
Imagine there is a ball of light about the size of a golf-ball, half way in, half way out of the crown of your head. Imagine it to be a little bit like an antenna. Be aware of the huge dome of sky and stars above and around you. Feel a gentle flow of subtle energy from the sky and stars descending and connecting to the crown of your head, from there gently flowing down into your energy body.
 
Practicing non-striving
Once you have set up the circuit then simply practice relaxing your body-mind as deeply as you can into a state of non-striving, do as little as possible and allow the energy from above and below to start to circulate gently through your energy body, organically and without forcing anything. Stay with this for as long as you have decided to meditate.
 
Everyday awareness
Once you are familiar with this meditation you can do it walking around or in the bus. You can even do it lying in bed at night whilst you wait to go to sleep. Without forcing anything, this practice connects you to the meta-energies of the Planetary being beneath and the sky and stars above, letting the flow of their energies enter, balance and exchange in a regenerative way with our own energy body.

 © Toby Ouvry 2023, you are welcome to use or share this article, but please cite Toby as the source and include reference to his website www.tobyouvry.com


All upcoming classes and workshops at IMA:

Ongoing – Weekly Tuesday, Wednesday Online class schedule

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Ongoing – Introduction to Integral Meditation & Mindfulness Practice – An eight-week course

Saturday & Sunday February 25/26th, 9.30-11.30am – Monthly Qi Gong & Taoist Breathwork Clinic & Mini-retreat

Tues 21st & Weds 22nd March, 7.30-8.30pm – Spring Equinox balancing and renewing meditation

Sat & Sunday 1st, 2nd April – Two day integral meditation retreat
 

Integral Meditation Asia

Online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Live Workshops * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

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A Mind of Ease creative imagery Inner vision Integral Meditation Integrating Ego, Soul and Spirit Life-fullness meditation and creativity Meditation techniques Mindful Resilience Mindfulness Presence and being present Primal Spirituality Zen Meditation

The cave & the market place (Being in but not of the world)

“The cave & marketplace are two images to play with to get the feeling of how to really be in the inner world and really in the outer world, and to be able to do both properly. This way we can be in the world but not of the world, participating but not entangled”

Dear Integral Meditators,

This weeks article explores the movement into the ‘cave of our heart’ and then out again into the world. There are some distinctions in how to do this that are really important both for our peace of mind and for our high functioning in the world.
If you enjoy the article then  do consider joining us live or online for the first of  The Wisdom of Awakening Series: Meditations for bringing integration, depth & vividness to your life , on Tuesday or Wednesday.
A final reminder for next Saturday’s Monthly Qi Gong & Taoist Breathwork Clinic & Mini-retreat.

In the spirit of the cave & the marketplace,

Toby

The cave & the market place (Being in but not of the world)

During the day many people are caught in the middle ground between being either:

  • Fully deep within themselves and at peace
  • Fully in the world and committing to being present there

By the ‘middle ground between’ I basically mean being stuck in our heads, too anxious to be committing full bloodedly to the world of experience, but at the same time not fully detaching and relaxing into the silence within…we are neither in the world or out of the world, but rather stuck in the echo chamber of our own mind, talking to ourselves!

One of the things we are trying to do in integral meditation practice is to master the movement fully into the cave of our heart, and also the movement to fully out and into the world. We are trying to commit fully to a wholehearted interior experience of silence, and a full exterior experience of the world. We are not lost in between, in the fuzzy clouds of our mental miasma and abstract nervous thoughts.
This quote from Anthony De Mello captures it quite well:

DEPTH
Said the Master to the businessman; “As the fish perishes on dry land, so you perish
when you get entangled in the world. The fish must return to the water — you must
return to solitude.”
The businessman was aghast. “Must I give up my business and go into a monastery?”
“No. no. Hold on to your business and go into your heart.”

Two images for meditation:

1. The cave of your heart
Centre yourself within your physical heart-space. Imagine in there is a mountain, perhaps one you know. In the side of the mountain there is a cave, just right for sitting and meditating. See yourself sitting in this cave, going deep into your heart and sitting in silence. You can cultivate stillness and silence by:
Stilling time – Letting go of past and future
Stilling space – Withdrawing your awareness from your immediate physical environment
Stilling movement – Stilling your body except for your breathing
Commit to going deep inside and contacting the peace that lies there.

2. The marketplace of your life
Imagine in a valley beneath your cave is a town and a marketplace. See yourself emerging from your cave and waling down the mountain. Enjoy entering fully into the sights, sounds smells and activity of the marketplace; commit to being fully present in the world. When you are in the market place, really be there, be with the people, be with the ups and downs, be curious, courageous and caring. Imagine the market place transforms into your daily life circumstances now. Be fully there with whatever you are having to deal with. Don’t hide away in the abstraction of your mind, let it be vivid and real, don’t miss your life as it happens!
You can use these two images in meditation to play with the feeling of how to really be in the inner world and really in the outer world, and to be able to do both properly. This way we can be in the world but not of the world, participating but not entangled.

Just to finish, here is a quote from Dion Fortune that speaks to this in a different but complementary way. It will be of use once you get to the intermediate and advanced levels:
“No one is capable of the deepest meditation who cannot meditate in a railway station whilst waiting for his train. This involves two things, the power to go so deeply into meditation so as to be completely withdrawn from the physical environment, and the power to keep count of time and return at will.” *

© Toby Ouvry 2022, you are welcome to use or share this article, but please cite Toby as the source and include reference to his website www.tobyouvry.com

 

Starts Tues /Weds 23/24th November – The Wisdom of Awakening Series: Meditations for bringing integration, depth & vividness to your life

Overview: The Wisdom of Awakening series looks at different ways to ‘wake up’ and live your life fully and playfully through meditation. The premise of the sessions is that inner wholeness and wisdom are not something that are far away, rather they are something that we can awaken to ‘instantly’ through certain types of mindful attention…read full details

Saturday November 26th, 9.30-11.30am – Monthly Qi Gong & Taoist Breathwork Clinic & Mini-retreat
In a sentence: Experience unique Qi gong and Taoist breathing techniques to improve your immune system, energy level, psychological wellness and enhance your meditation…read full details

 

 


Life-fullness – The Integral Life-Coaching Program with Toby
 

Are you looking a coach who can help you to:

  • Meet the challenges, stress and changes that you face in a more effective and mindful way
  • Become happier within yourself, in your relationships and at work
  • Be actively accountable for finding a sense of balance/well-being in your life and fulfilling your personal potential?
  • Guide you to find and operate from a deeper sense of meaning, motivation and connectivity in your life?

Read full details…

All upcoming classes and workshops at IMA:

Ongoing – Weekly Tuesday, Wednesday Online class schedule

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Saturday November 12th, 9.30-12noon –  Zen deep-dive mini-retreat

Starts Tues /Weds 23/24th November – The Wisdom of Awakening Series: Meditations for bringing integration, depth & vividness to your life

Saturday November 26th, 9.30-11.30am – Monthly Qi Gong & Taoist Breathwork Clinic & Mini-retreat

 

Integral Meditation Asia

Online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Live Workshops * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

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Concentration creative imagery Inner vision Life-fullness meditation and creativity Mindfulness Presence and being present Primal Spirituality Zen Meditation

What is the point of being more present?

“Imagine you are a tree with deep roots. When wind, rain and storms come, your branches get blown around, but you don’t worry, because the strength of your roots is more than capable of dealing with the stress. You can even enjoy the play of the weather and the extremity of it. Being more present is like that, you can choose to be a bit more like that”

 

Dear Integral Meditators,

 

Why strive to be more present? I hope the article below encourages you to keep persisting!
This week there is a break in the  Tuesday & Wednesday class.  but if you scroll down below you can see all events for May, including the Zen deep dive-mini retreat, and the Qi-gong and Taoist breathwork clinic.

In the spirit of presence,

Toby

What is the point of being more present?

Why is mindfulness a discipline focused on being more present? If I become more present to each moment and my life, what is likely to happen? Here’s a list of six capacities that start to come online when you choose to become more present:

Stability & sanity – Presence implies that you are aware of what is going on in your immediate sensory environment, at least to a degree. This gives a point of grounding and stability for our awareness; not lost in our mind, but present to our senses. From this comes what I would call ‘basic sanity’ or basic reality orientation; our observations and life-strategies start to come more from what is seen and experienced, rather than what our mind is fantasizing about.

Self-awareness and self-regulation – Following on from point one, being present invites a greater awareness of ourself. If we are self-aware in a reasonably balanced manner, then the chances of us doing things to help restore and remain in balance increases. We start to use our natural intelligence effectively.

Creativity – Once we have some stability in the present, this then invites a creative response to the present. We start to recognize each moment as an opportunity for self-expression, innovation and evolution. Life becomes playful, fun and enquiring, rather than automatic, monotone and predictable.

Wonderment – When we start to combine presence with creativity, the world starts to glow, starts to feel more technicolor. The term ‘spiritual’ ceases to become about beliefs and philosophy, and more about the direct perception of our world, which becomes mysterious  (in a good way) and invites adventure,  curiosity and luminosity.

Appreciation & generosity – Presence invites appreciation of what is, and a sense of being rich, very inwardly wealthy. We experience what we have in a new way, where we really know it. More than this we start to sense within us an infinite resource of life-fullness. This in turn invites a sense of generosity, a sense of benevolence “I have so much, I’d love to pass some onto you” type thing!

Thinking well about the future and past
Solidly grounded in the present, we can re-configure the way we reflect on the past and plan for the future, we can choose how we frame them, we can enjoy the opportunities of the future, rather than being weighed down by anxiety around uncertainty. We become better at learning from the past and creating (see point three) our future.

So, I hope this has convinced you to persist with any practices you may have for being more present in your life, most of my articles are implicitly about presence and the capabilities that come from it. To end with, here is a simple picture:
Imagine you are a tree with deep roots. When wind, rain and storms come, your branches get blown around, but you don’t worry, because the strength of your roots is more than capable of dealing with the stress. You can even enjoy the play of the weather and the extremity of it.
Being more present is like that, you can choose to be a bit more like that today if you want, and why wouldn’t you?

Related article: Compassionate presence, awakened action
& Inner strength – gathering your energy into one place

Article & content © Toby Ouvry 2022, you are welcome to use or share this article, but please cite Toby as the source and include reference to his website www.tobyouvry.com

 

Ongoing – The Way of the Mindful Warrior – Meditating with the Warriors creed

In a sentence: Establish the inner strength, skill and courage needed to make you resilient in the face of life’s challenges, and thrive in both times of adversity and times of peace.

Overview: The Warriors Creed is a poem by an unknown Samurai in the 14th century. It outlines a code of conduct and a state of presence based around a series of inner qualities that can be cultivated through mindful contemplation, then applied to our daily life…read full details

 

Saturday 14th April, 9.30am-12noon – Zen meditation deep dive mini-retreat

These 2.5hour Zen ‘mini-retreats’ are a chance to go into much deeper meditation states than you would be able to in your own personal daily practice, or even if you came to a one-hour class. Using sitting meditation methods in combination with breathing techniques and gentle stretching/mobility exercises Toby will guide you into deep meditative flow states that create the experience of a calm, unified, harmonized, resilient body, mind & heart…read full details

Saturday May 28th, 9.30-11.30am – Monthly Qi Gong & Taoist Breathwork Clinic & Mini-retreat

In a sentence: Experience unique Qi gong and Taoist breathing techniques to improve your immune system, energy level, psychological wellness and enhance your meditation…read full details

 

Life-fullness – The Integral Life-Coaching Program with Toby
 

Are you looking a coach who can help you to:

  • Meet the challenges, stress and changes that you face in a more effective and mindful way
  • Become happier within yourself, in your relationships and at work
  • Be actively accountable for finding a sense of balance/well-being in your life and fulfilling your personal potential?
  • Guide you to find and operate from a deeper sense of meaning, motivation and connectivity in your life?
Read full details…

All upcoming classes and workshops at IMA:

Ongoing – Weekly Tuesday, Wednesday Online class schedule

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)
Ongoing – The Way of the Mindful Warrior – Meditating with the Warriors creed

Tues 17th/Weds 18th May: Wesak meditation

Saturday May 28th, 9.30-11.30am – Monthly Qi Gong & Taoist Breathwork Clinic & Mini-retreat

Saturday 14th April, 9.30am-12noon – Zen meditation deep dive mini-retreat

Integral Meditation Asia

Online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Live Workshops * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

Categories
creative imagery Energy Meditation Inner vision Life-fullness Meditating on the Self meditation and creativity Meditation and Psychology Meditation techniques mind body connection Mindful Resilience Mindfulness Presence and being present Primal Spirituality

Meditating with your ancestors

“Our ‘spiritual’ ancestors, those that we feel related to in terms of shared values, experience and interest. Sometimes we can feel as close of not closer to our spiritual ancestors than our blood ancestors.”

Dear Integral Meditators,

Becoming aware of this and working with our ancestors is an important dimension of our spiritual practice that can really enhance the richness of our life. It can also provide important keys to resolving blockages and conflicts, both within ourself and in our relationships. The article below is a reflection on one of my experiences of working with ‘spiritual ancestors’.

If you enjoy the article, this Saturday 15th Jan, I’ll be doing my Meditations for activating the gifts & healing the wounds of our ancestors, which is a consolidated introduction to this field of practice. You are welcome to join live or online!

If you read the article you’ll also see it is related to the upcoming Lunar New Year Meditation 2022: Developing your inner power in the year of the Tiger, which is another fun meditation you might enjoy.

In the spirit of the ancestors,

Toby

Your spiritual ancestors

Two types of ancestors
We live within the energetic field of our ancestors and family, past and present. Becoming aware of this and working with it is an important dimension of our spiritual practice that can really enhance the richness of our life. It can also provide important keys to resolving blockages and conflicts, both within ourself and in our relationships.
There are basically two types of ancestor and ancestral field. One is our blood ancestors, the family, past and present that we are related to biologically. The other group of ancestors you might call our ‘spiritual’ ancestors, those that we feel related to in terms of shared values, experience and interest. Sometimes we can feel as close of not closer to our spiritual ancestors than our blood ancestors. Spiritual ancestors can be people we know in the outer world, past figures from history. Or they can be beings/characters that we meet in dreams or meditation who then subsequently play an important part in our inner life and work. The story below is an example of this later group.

Meeting the Fu Lu Shou & the Earth Store Buddha
One evening around 2008-9 whilst living in Singapore, I was taking a bus home after teaching a meditation class. A short way into the bus ride a clearly drunken older Chinese man walked onto the bus. Looking down the bus he saw me and started walking toward me. I was praying that he wouldn’t sit near me, but sure enough, he plonked down right next to me! It tuned out that he had been the building manger for the first campus of the UWC (an international school in Singapore), so he liked talking to Ang Moh’s (white people). We shared a very pleasant 15 minutes of him storytelling to me about the old days before he got off at his stop and I travelled back home. After this seemingly chance event, for the next month or so in my meditations and before sleep I found myself in the presence of three fierce looking old Chinese men looking at me very intently, as if examining me. I asked who they were and they said they were the Fu Lu Shoh, the Chinese ‘folk gods’ of fortune, prosperity and longevity. I understood that, through my meeting on the bus I had connected with these guardians of the local group soul (Singapore is 70% Chinese, and I was married to a Chinese woman at the time), and that they were welcoming me into a ‘contract’ with them, whereby I could work in some ways on a ‘soul level’ with the local Chinese population, whom they (the Fu Lu Shoh) where the guardians of.
Later in that month I did a Chinese New Year meditation, where I was taken underground (in the meditation) to a cave, where there was a big, fat Buddha, in a coat of many colours, surrounded by gold and other treasure. I understood from our interaction that he was the ‘Earth Store Buddha’, and that, whilst I was in Singapore and Asia, he would provide me with the wealth and resources that I needed to do my work in this part of the world within the local culture and society. After this, I would go down to visit him once a year in mediation over Chinese New Year, just to touch base, affirm ties and commune around what possible projects and inner work lay ahead.
This little sequence of events and happenings is a simple example from my experience of working with spiritual ancestors. In this case it was/is kind of like these inner world beings adopted me, and made me part of their family, even though I was a foreigner, and not related by blood ancestry to them. It was an is a very touching personal interaction that I cherish.

Related article: The gifts and wounds of our ancestors

Article & content © Toby Ouvry 2022, you are welcome to use or share this article, but please cite Toby as the source and include reference to his website www.tobyouvry.com   

Image by Ma Deva Padma. Buddha of Compassion

Zen: The ordinary path to enlightenment – Meditating with the Ten Ox Herding pictures

This series of 10 classes is an introduction to simple, practical Zen and Taoist meditations that can temporarily help us to reduce our stress and thrive joyfully in daily life. They can also, practiced regularly offer us experiential insight into our true nature and help us to answer some of our deepest life-questions and attain a truly stable sense of inner transformation. The sessions can be attended as a complete course in itself, or each class can be taken as a practice in and of itself…read full details

Saturday January 15th, 9.30am-12.30pm – Meditations for activating the gifts & healing the wounds of our ancestors

This workshop explores relevant and living ways in which we can connect to our own ancestral inheritance in a manner that is appropriate for and empowering to our contemporary lives.

In particular the workshop will offer practical meditations to:

  • Engage in a living communion with both our close (recent in time) and ancient (distant in time) ancestors
  • Awaken fully to the gifts and potentials (spiritual, psychological and material) that our ancestral karma has to offer us
  • Heal damaged or imbalanced ancestral karma that we may have inherited

Read full details

Saturday Jan 29th, 9.30-11.30am – Monthly Qi Gong & Taoist Breathwork Clinic & Mini-retreat

In a sentence: Experience unique Qi gong and Taoist breathing techniques to improve your immune system, energy level, psychological wellness and enhance your meditation…read full details

Tues & Weds Feb 1st & 2nd – Lunar New Year Meditation 2022: Developing your inner power in the year of the Tiger

About the class: This is a meditation to welcome in the lunar new year energies, and attune to the astrological animal of the year, the Water Tiger! In particular, we will be mindfully aligning with and developing our inner and outer power as well as other primal characteristics of the Tiger.
Toby will be leading the meditation as a simple and profound way, with plenty of room for our own personal contemplation, inner healing and positivity building! Full details here

 

Life-fullness – The Integral Life-Coaching Program with Toby
 

Are you looking a coach who can help you to:

  • Meet the challenges, stress and changes that you face in a more effective and mindful way
  • Become happier within yourself, in your relationships and at work
  • Be actively accountable for finding a sense of balance/well-being in your life and fulfilling your personal potential?
  • Guide you to find and operate from a deeper sense of meaning, motivation and connectivity in your life?
Read full details…

All upcoming classes and workshops at IMA:

Ongoing – Weekly Tuesday, Wednesday Online class schedule

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Begins Tues 11/Weds 12th January – Zen: The ordinary path to enlightenment – Meditating with the Ten Ox Herding pictures

Saturday January 15th, 9.30am-12.30pm – Meditations for activating the gifts & healing the wounds of our ancestors

Saturday Jan 29th, 9.30-11.30am – Monthly Qi Gong & Taoist Breathwork Clinic & Mini-retreat

Tues & Weds Feb 1st & 2nd – Lunar New Year Meditation 2022: Developing your inner power in the year of the Tiger

Integral Meditation Asia

Online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Live Workshops * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

Categories
Awareness and insight Concentration creative imagery Enlightened Flow Inner vision Meditation techniques mind body connection Mindful Breathing Mindfulness Presence and being present Primal Spirituality Zen Meditation

Zen Mountains, Zen Doorways

Dear Integral Meditators,

This weeks article outlines two simple meditation techniques. ‘Zen mountain’ is a sitting form that I have been using in the recent Zen series as a basic practice.

In the spirit of  mountains and doorways,

Toby

 

 

 

Zen mountains, Zen doorways

This article outlines two simple meditation techniques. ‘Zen mountain’ is a sitting form that I have been using in the recent Zen series as a basic practice. ‘Zen doorways’ is a method to use in daily life to increase your sense of presence, and appreciation for what is available to you in each moment.

Sitting like a mountain
Sink your centre or gravity down into the belly & hips – Sitting comfortably with a straight back, as you breathe in, be aware of any tension in the upper body; head, face, neck, shoulders. As you breathe out, release the tension down into your belly and hips, so that you are lowering the centre of gravity in your torso down into your belly.

Breathe from the bottom of your lungs, focus on your belly – As you begin your inhalation, send the air down into the bottom of the lungs, so that you are filling them from the bottom up. If you do this you will notice the belly moving out a centimeter or two as you inhale, and moving back to resting position as you exhale.

Imagine your body like a mountain, broad at the hips and narrow at the top – Feel your torso to be tremendously stable and solid. If you like you can even imagine your body as a mountain that you know, so that you really get a feeling of it being like a mountain. If you want to take the image a stage further, imagine your belly as a cave in the heart of the mountain as you feel it moving.
Let your mind gradually settle as you focus your attention on your belly-breathing and mountain-like body.

Zen doorways
Each time you walk through a doorway, take breath, and breathe yourself into the present moment, with an appreciation of what the present moment is offering you at that particular time.
Another nice variation on this is, each time you pass through a doorway, imagine that you are in your Zen retreat, say, passing under the branch of a tree, stepping on pine needles, or through the temple doorway. This way every time you go thru a door, you take yourself back to the Spirit of Zen using your creative imagination.

Related article: Body-Mountain, Cloud-Thought, Sky-Mind

Article & content © Toby Ouvry 2021, you are welcome to use or share this article, but please cite Toby as the source and include reference to his website www.tobyouvry.com   

 

 

August 5th, 6th, 7th, 2-4pm – Mindful Life-skills for Teenagers – A three day course

These sessions are specifically designed to help teens develop their real inner skills that help them be:

  • More effective at achieving their chosen goals
  • Build confidence,
  • Build resilience around stress and
  • Increase their capacity for fun and enjoyment as they learn.

Read full details…

The new Mindful Self Knowledge coaching program

This is eight-month coaching program with Toby is designed to facilitate your own personal mindful self-discovery process. It focuses on:

  • Awareness of how your past experience has influenced who and how you are today
  • Confidence in approaching your present experience with playful fullness and enthusiasm
  • Giving you the inner tools to face your choices and your future in an empowered, dynamic, and authentic manner

Read full details

Watch Toby’s video on the Program

Life-fullness – The Integral Life-Coaching Program with Toby

Are you looking a coach who can help you to:

  • Meet the challenges, stress and changes that you face in a more effective and mindful way
  • Become happier within yourself, in your relationships and at work
  • Be actively accountable for finding a sense of balance/well-being in your life and fulfilling your personal potential?
  • Guide you to find and operate from a deeper sense of meaning, motivation and connectivity in your life?
Read full details…

All upcoming classes and workshops at IMA:

Ongoing – Weekly Tuesday, Wednesday Online class schedule

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Starts 6th&7th July – Integral Meditation from the Perspective of Zen – A 10 week series

Saturday 17th, 24th, 31st July, 2-4pm – Mindful Life-skills for Teenagers – A three week course

August details coming soon!

Integral Meditation Asia

Online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Live Workshops * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

Categories
Awareness and insight Integral Awareness Life-fullness Meditating on the Self Meditation and Psychology Meditation techniques mind body connection Mindful Self-Leadership Primal Spirituality

Working mindfully with your subconscious mind

“As the conscious mind you are trying to connect to your subconscious mind with a sense of care and warmth, inviting co-operation and teamwork”

Dear Integral Meditators,

This weeks article looks at how you can start using mindfulness to work with your subconscious mind, enjoy!
Beneath the article is the full line up for classes and workshops for December, there is a lot of variety to choose from!
This  weeks Tuesday and Wednesday meditation 1st & 2nd December are the Monthly full moon manifestation meditations, you are all welcome, live or online.

In the spirit of the subconscious,

Toby

Working mindfully with your subconscious mind

Mindfulness – Strengthening the executive function of the conscious mind
Mindfulness is essentially attention and awareness training. As such it involves primarily strengthening the executive power of your conscious mind to direct your attention to create desired experiences and make better choices. Implicitly, part of mindfulness involves becoming aware of and working with our subconscious mind and its functions. This is where mindfulness backs onto the arena of disciplines like hypnosis, which specializes in working with the subconscious. My shadow meditation method and coaching is also an example of working directly with elements of the subconscious mind. Since our subconscious plays such a powerful part in creating our life experience, its well worth developing our proficiency in working with it.

Horse and rider – Creating a benevolent, co-operative relationship between your conscious and subconscious minds
Your subconscious mind is a repository of your instincts, biology, habits, and past experiences. As such its energy is a lot ‘stronger’ than the conscious mind. If you try and dominate your subconscious by sheer force of will, you are only going to get so far. One simple image is that of a horse and rider. The conscious mind is the rider, the SCM is like the horse. The horse is much stronger than the rider, but if the rider can tame the horse and establish a co-operative relationship, then the power of the horse becomes at the service of the rider.

An attitude of care and warmth – Establishing trust
So if you are going to work with your SCM, it needs to trust you, and your intention toward it (like a horse with someone who wishes to ride it). As the conscious mind then, you are trying to connect to your SCM with a sense of care and warmth, inviting co-operation and teamwork.

Intention, instruction, direction
With this attitude of benevolence and trust established, you can then practice feeding your SCM intentions, auto-suggestions images and directives according to what you want it to do for and with you. There are a larger number of ways to do this, for example:

  • You can create an inner place or landscape where you can sit and invite your SCM to release repressed or unacknowledged emotions for healing
  • You can suggest to it ways of seeing the world that are in alignment with your life goals
  • You can program it to react to certain scenarios in a particular way when it comes up in real time

One point to realize is that you are making suggestions signalling to your subconscious mind all the time anyway. Most of the time this is habitual and unconscious. If we can start doing it consciously and deliberately, then it can change our experience for the better.

A simple example
Right now from around 11.30pm-5am every night, I am in charge of feeding and caring for our baby. That is a clear instruction to my subconscious mind. As a result I am very sensitive to our babies sound and movement. As soon as anything starts to happen, I wake up, get up and attend to her. After 5am its my wife’s turn, and again that is a clear message to my subconscious mind. As a result the baby is crying and making a ruckus, if it is after 5am, generally I sleep right through it, even if she is right on the bed next to me. My SCM has knows it doesn’t need to alert me when the baby cries, so I sleep!
That’s a small example of the power your SCM has to create and define your experience.

What ways can you start mindfully working with your subconscious mind today?

Article content © Toby Ouvry & Integral Meditation Asia 2020. you are welcome to share, but please cite the source, thanks! Contact info@tobyouvry.com

Tuesday & Wednesday 1st & 2nd Dec @ 7.30-8.30pm – Live & Online Monthly Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session

We all live our life within an environment that consists fundamentally/experientially of the Earth, Moon, Sun and Stars. The monthly lunar cycle describes our relationship to the Moon, and the powerful influence that it has on our life. In the physical world we see this influence most obviously in the tides of the sea. In our inner life we experience it as the coming and going of energy, moods and emotions within our psyche. This meditation, done on or around the full moon capitalises on the heightened lunar energies at this time of the month. Read full details

Saturday 12thth December 3-5pm – Mindfulness masterclass: Mindfulness for thriving with anxiety & uncertainty

Anxiety is a natural response to uncertainty and change, but for many of us the experience of anxiety is disturbing, upsetting, draining and stressful. This session focuses on practical ways to change your relationship to anxiety by:

  • Accepting and working with your causes of anxiety
  • Building greater awareness and appreciation of the things that give you stability and security in life
  • Learning to think effectively and wisely around uncertainties and problems that are causing you anxiety

Read full details

Life-fullness – The Integral Life-Coaching Program with Toby

Are you looking a coach who can help you to:

  • Meet the challenges, stress and changes that you face in a more effective and mindful way
  • Become happier within yourself, in your relationships and at work
  • Be actively accountable for finding a sense of balance/well-being in your life and fulfilling your personal potential?
  • Guide you to find and operate from a deeper sense of meaning, motivation and connectivity in your life?

Read full details…

 

All upcoming classes and workshops for at IMA in December:

Ongoing – Weekly Tuesday, Wednesday Online class schedule

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Tuesday & Wednesday 1st & 2nd Dec @ 7.30-8.30pm – Live & Online Monthly Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session

Saturday 12thth December 3-5pm – Mindfulness masterclass: Mindfulness for thriving with anxiety & uncertainty

Tues & Weds 15th, 16th  December, 7.30-8.30pm – New moon health visualization and envisioning sessions

Saturday December 19th, 2.30-5pm – Integral meditation deep dive mini-retreat

Tues 22nd & Weds 23rd Dec, 7.30-8.30pm – Winter solstice balancing & renewing meditation

Tues 29th & Weds 30th Dec, 7.30-8.30pm – 2021 New year releasing and inviting meditation

Ongoing – The Men’s Group – The path of conscious manhood

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creative imagery Energy Meditation Inner vision Integral Meditation Life-fullness meditation and creativity Meditation techniques Mindful Resilience Motivation and scope Primal Spirituality Videos

Black & white meditation (+Samhain +Full moon)

“Where initially we thought there was just a dark, dull space, we discover a bright, clarifying, regenerative inner space that we can go to each day to center and rebuild our inner strength”

Dear Integral Meditators,

My daughter tried out meditation a couple of weeks ago, my article below is a response to some of her initial observations and experiences. The implications are both practical and useful for all of us I believe!
Next weeks  Tuesday and Wednesday (live and online) meditation sessions will be the  Samhain Meditation (Live & Online) – Acknowledging the gifts and wounds of our ancestors, and then if you fancy a Saturday meditation there will be the Live & Online Monthly Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session

You can also click on the link at the end of the article to watch my 1minute black & white meditation video on the same subject!

Toby

Black & White Meditation – From dark to bright
Recently my daughter Sasha decided to take up meditation, not because of me, but because she felt like it! Her initial observation was this “Dad, at first when I closed my eyes it felt dark and confusing. But I waited and then after a while it all went white, and I started to feel clear and refreshed”. Her observation and experience is simple but fundamental, and it explains a lot about why it is worthwhile taking up meditation; where initially we thought there was just a dark, dull space, we discover a bright, clarifying, regenerative inner space that we can go to each day to center and rebuild our inner strength.The quiet space behind/beneath the noise
What Sasha discovered is that, lying just beneath the surface of our ”noisy” everyday mind is a level of consciousness that is naturally relaxing, quiet and bright. Two more images that express it in a slightly different way are:

  • The water beneath the waves – On the surface of the ocean the waves are noisy and active, if you dive beneath them to a few meters down, the atmosphere becomes still, spacious and clear
  • The space in the room – Normally when we walk into a room, our attention is taken by the objects in the room; the people, the furniture, pictures and so on, the room appears active and crowded. If instead we pay attention to the open spaces in the room, we experience the room very differently, as something full of space and calm.

Black & white meditation & enlightenment
In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition that I was originally trained in the deeper level of enlightenment realization was called ‘the mind of clear light’, because it resembles the clear light of dawn before the sun has risen. Preceding the mind of clear light is ‘the mind of black near attainment’ which is essentially like a pitch black night. So, on these deeper  levels of meditation, our experience also goes from ‘black to white’! So my daughters experience is quite a typical beginners experience that mimics an advanced one.
So, if you sit patiently and watch your mind for a few minutes each day, you can start to have this experience too. In the short term it will be relaxing, regenerative and clarifying. In the long term it is the beginning of your path to the the more profound levels of ‘white space’, ‘living emptiness’ or ‘clear light’ that has been enjoyed by advanced meditators for millenia.

Watch my 1minute black & white video on black & white meditation!

Article content © Toby Ouvry & Integral Meditation Asia 2020. you are welcome to share, but please cite the source, thanks! Contact info@tobyouvry.com  

Tuesday 27th & Weds 28th October, 7.30-8.30pm – Samhain Meditation (Live & Online) – Acknowledging the gifts and wounds of our ancestors

This time of year is an ideal time for us to commune with our ancestors in meditation. In this meditation, we shall focus upon:

  • Strengthening the love & appreciation we have for our family & ancestral heritage
  • Acknowledging and releasing the burdens of our ancestors, & of our personal ancestral heritage
  • Connecting to & receiving the gifts from our ancestors & genetic heritage
  • Receiving support & insight for our future hopes and aspirations from our ‘spiritual ancestors’ or soul family.

Read full details

Saturday 31st October @ 7-8pm – Live & Online Monthly Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session

This meditation, done on or around the full moon capitalises on the heightened lunar energies at this time of the month to:

  • Bring energy and health to our physical body
  • Increase benevolent, life affirming emotions such as appreciation, joy and gratitude
  • Release patterns of energy, thinking and feeling that are no longer serving us
  • Focus on clarifying our intentions and manifesting our current life-goals

Read full details

Starts Saturday November 7th – High-Performance Mindfulness Bootcamp – Combining sustainable high-performance with personal wellbeing

In a sentence: Learn how to create sustainable high performance in your work, and increase your personal wellbeing through mindfulness practice:

  • Thrive rather than survive under pressure
  • Develop and sustain higher energy levels
  • Improve your learning mindset as you face the challenges of work and life

Full details

Life-fullness – The Integral Life-Coaching Program with Toby

Are you looking a coach who can help you to:

  • Meet the challenges, stress and changes that you face in a more effective and mindful way
  • Become happier within yourself, in your relationships and at work
  • Be actively accountable for finding a sense of balance/well-being in your life and fulfilling your personal potential?
  • Guide you to find and operate from a deeper sense of meaning, motivation and connectivity in your life?

Read full details…

Online Integral Meditation & Mindfulness classes

Build focus, beat stress, cultivate wellbeing!

Each session involves simple practices that you can apply to make a real difference to your wellbeing and effectiveness in life…full details of classes

 

At a glance: All upcoming classes and workshops for at IMA:

Ongoing – Weekly Tuesday, Wednesday Online class schedule

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Tuesday 27th & Weds 28th October, 7.30-8.30pm – Samhain Meditation (Live & Online) – Acknowledging the gifts and wounds of our ancestors

Saturday 31st October @ 7-8pm – Live & Online Monthly Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session

Starts Saturday November 7th – High-Performance Mindfulness Bootcamp – Combining sustainable high-performance with personal wellbeing

Ongoing – The Men’s Group – The path of conscious manhood

Integral Meditation Asia

Online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Live Workshops * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

Categories
creative imagery Energy Meditation Integral Awareness Life-fullness Meditation and Psychology Meditation techniques mind body connection Mindful Resilience Mindful Self-Leadership Primal Spirituality

Freedom from inner intimidation – Sitting down to tea with your stress

“If you can sit down with your most awkward, uncomfortable, fearful inner experiences, then it is almost like nothing else can really intimidate you. If you tame your inner monsters, the outer monsters change too!”

Dear <<First Name>>,

This weeks article explores how you can start to find freedom from the things on the inside of you that intimidate you, enjoy!

If you enjoy the article then do have a look at the  Meditations for Transforming Negativity and Stress into Energy, Positivity and Enlightenment that I will be doing on Saturday August 15th, 2.30-5.30pm.

I will be doing the coming Sunday and Wednesday online meditations on the subject of this weeks article, on what is sometimes called the beautiful breathing. Click the link to read my article on it!

In the spirit of freedom,

Toby

 

Freedom from inner intimidation – Sitting down to tea with your stress

How do you respond when a difficult, stressful or challenging state of mind or emotion comes up for you? And what are the things that you need to do in order to change your relationship to that experience?

Stress transformation begins with acceptance
The first thing that you need to work on with stress transformation is accepting the stress that you are trying to transform, and get comfortable in its presence. If you are intimidated by the feeling of the stress, are running away from it, or taken over by it, then you can’t transform it.

Acceptance gives you the goal of peace, even without resolution of the stress
You could even think of accepting your stress well as a solution in itself. If you are accepting and comfortable with the stress then, even when it is arising you still have access to a stable degree of peace and calm in that moment. If you can do this then the sense of being intimidated or overwhelmed by the stress goes away. It becomes manageable, even enjoyable. You start to see useful things that you can do with the stress, rather than just wishing that it weren’t there.

Accepting what you can’t accept gives you great confidence and inner strength
Another great side benefit of good quality acceptance is that it gives you tremendous confidence. If you can sit down with your most awkward, uncomfortable, fearful inner experiences, then it is almost like nothing else can really intimidate you. If you tame your inner monsters, the outer monsters change too!

How to do it: Sitting down to tea with your challenge and the feelings around it
So the way to start practicing this type of acceptance is to deliberately sit down and bring to mind a circumstance where you have uncomfortable, stressful emotions. You then basically bring it to mind and practice sitting with it, relaxing into the discomfort for a few minutes each day. You ‘sit down to tea’ with your stress, deliberately exposing yourself to it so that, over time it becomes comfortable and easy. It becomes like you are sitting down with an old friend at  cafe, having some tea and passing the time of day.

An example: holding space for the suffering of another
One thing that I notice at the moment is that I experience stress around the distress of others around me who are going through their own issues. The fact that I can’t ‘fix’ it or control their responses to it makes me uncomfortable and distressed. So when I notice this coming up for me, I am making a point of holding my attention gently upon it; “Hello there, how are you doing” I say. I invite it to sit down, and have a cup of tea. No hurry to get rid of it, it would be welcome to hang around all day if it wanted! Its welcome to be there whenever it wants, and I welcome it with openness and acceptance.

Watch Toby’s video on “Sitting down to tea with your problems”:

 

Related article: Mindful Inoculation

Article content © Toby Ouvry & Integral Meditation Asia 2020. you are welcome to share, but please cite the source, thanks! Contact info@tobyouvry.com  

Saturday August 15th, 2.30-5.30pm – Meditations for Transforming Negativity and Stress into Energy, Positivity and Enlightenment

One sentence summary: Learn how to understand, re-direct and make use of stress, anxiety and difficult emotions through mindfulness and meditation.
what if there was a way in which we could learn to work with these negative and difficult energies in such a way that we could transform and redirect them, making them sources of positive and empowering energy, helping us to accomplish our goals and awaken to a new level of fulfillment
Read full details

Life-fullness – The Integral Life-Coaching Program with Toby

Are you looking a coach who can help you to:

  • Meet the challenges, stress and changes that you face in a more effective and mindful way
  • Become happier within yourself, in your relationships and at work
  • Be actively accountable for finding a sense of balance/well-being in your life and fulfilling your personal potential?
  • Guide you to find and operate from a deeper sense of meaning, motivation and connectivity in your life?

Read full details…

Tues 18th of August & Weds 19th August 7.30-8.30pm – Monthly new moon, new beginnings visualization and envisioning sessions

These are meditation classes done monthly around the turn of the new moon that enable us to open to new beginnings, new possibilities and make a fresh start with regard to:

  • Our health
  • Our inner growth
  • And our life’s purpose and future goals

View full details…

Online Integral Meditation & Mindfulness classes

Build focus, beat stress, cultivate wellbeing!

Each session involves simple practices that you can apply to make a real difference to your wellbeing and effectiveness in life…full details of classes

 

At a glance: All upcoming classes and workshops for at IMA:

Ongoing – Weekly Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday Online class schedule

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Saturday August 15th, 2.30-5.30pm – Meditations for Transforming Negativity and Stress into Energy, Positivity and Enlightenment

Tues 18th of August & Weds 19th August 7.30-8.30pm – Monthly new moon, new beginnings visualization and envisioning sessions

Saturday August 22nd, 3-5.30pm – Integral meditation deep dive mini-retreat

Coming soon – High performance bootcamp: Using mindfulness to operate at your peak without burning out

Integral Meditation Asia

Online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Live Workshops * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

Categories
Biographical Inner vision Insight Meditation Integral Awareness Life-fullness Meditating on the Self Meditation and Psychology Meditation techniques mind body connection Mindful Resilience Presence and being present Primal Spirituality

Messiness, unlabelling, unknowing

“Drop the labels that most affect your peace of mind and effectiveness in life. Learn how you can change your experience in real time around real issues using unlabelling.”

Dear Toby,

This weeks article explores how you can change your experience by becoming aware of and dropping your labels. Enjoy!
I will be doing the Sunday and Wednesday online meditations on the subject of the article, mindfully unlabelling.
Then on Tuesday evening the live and online session at One Heart will be the Online Monthly Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session.

In the spirit of unlabelling,

Toby

PS: you can also watch my short video on mindful unlabeling.

 

Messiness, unlabelling, unknowing

My messy life
Right now my life feels vey messy and dis-organnized. We are two months into the arrival of a new member of the family, and the arrival of the baby has meant a fair amount of scrambling around, trying to get things done and often failing! There are small piles of unfolded laundry in my office, objects strewn over the different tables and surfaces of the house. Workwise I have different threads unfinished, deadlines that I’m having to be flexible about. All of my relationships, family, friends, colleagues are all in flux. Sometimes my mind is just screaming “this is all too messy, I need order!” it feels difficult to live with.

Where does the ‘messiness’ really come from?
On a deeper level, rather than the problem being the messiness, its really more about my relationship to the messiness. Its not that the untidiness of my apartment is inherently unbearable, its that my idea of what messy is and what it means is conflicting and stressful.

Unlabelling
The quickest and most effective way out of my problem with messiness is simply to drop my idea and mental label of things being ‘messy’. As soon as I drop the mental label, then the ‘problem’ of my messy apartment disappears(!) The thing here is not that I have changed my external environment, but that I have stopped projecting my labels upon it. From its own side my apartment isn’t messy or tidy, it just IS exactly what it is. With my apartment and life exactly as it is right now, I have a place of peace and stability I can go to and relax in simply by dropping my labels. This is important because it means I can tolerate difficult, messy situations without it stressing me out.

Unlabelling and primal meditation
In chapter one of Lau Tsu’s Tao Te Ching he says “The unnamable is the eternally real. Naming is the origin of all particular things”* . When you drop your naming and labelling process, you drop into a space of label-less, name-less, though-tless unknowing that puts you directly in touch with our experiential reality. This opens up a whole new way of participating in life, that most people loose at quite an early age.

Sitting with “unlabelled unknowing”
So, as a meditation you can start getting some experience of this practice by doing the following:

  • Sit and notice the way in which your mind is projecting names and labels on everything around you and within you.
  • Practice putting those labels down, and relaxing into a state of experiential ‘unlabelled unknowing’
  • Do it not just momentarily, but for gradually extended periods

Practicing with specific labels and challenges
It’s a good idea to practice this with things that are a real challenge for you, like me and my ‘messiness’. Drop the labels that most affect your peace of mind and effectiveness in life. Learn how you can change your experience in real time around real issues using unlabelling.

Watch Tobys’ short video on mindful unlabeling:

*Stephen Mitchell translation. Alternative translation by Gia-Fu Feng “The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things”.

Article content © Toby Ouvry & Integral Meditation Asia 2020. you are welcome to share, but please cite the source, thanks! Contact info@tobyouvry.com  

Tuesday 4th August, 7.30-8.30pm – Online Monthly Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session

This meditation, done on or around the full moon capitalises on the heightened lunar energies at this time of the month to:

  • Bring energy and health to our physical body
  • Increase benevolent, life affirming emotions such as appreciation, joy and gratitude
  • Release patterns of energy, thinking and feeling that are no longer serving us
  • Focus on clarifying our intentions and manifesting our current life-goal

Read full details

Life-fullness – The Integral Life-Coaching Program with Toby

Are you looking a coach who can help you to:

  • Meet the challenges, stress and changes that you face in a more effective and mindful way
  • Become happier within yourself, in your relationships and at work
  • Be actively accountable for finding a sense of balance/well-being in your life and fulfilling your personal potential?
  • Guide you to find and operate from a deeper sense of meaning, motivation and connectivity in your life?

Read full details…

Stress-transformation coaching with Toby

Stress, anxiety, fear, pressure, anger, attachment – Ordinarily we see these states of mind and emotion as negative; things that get in the way of our happiness and well-being, and prevent us from achieving the goals and quality of life that we would like.

But what if there was a way in which we could learn to work with these negative and difficult energies in such a way that we could transform and redirect them, making them sources of positive and empowering energy, helping us to accomplish our goals and awaken to a new level of fulfillment?

Stress transformation coaching with Toby is exactly that; it shows you how you can transform your stress, anxiety and other difficult emotions into forces for the good in your life…
Read full details

 

Online Integral Meditation & Mindfulness classes

Build focus, beat stress, cultivate wellbeing!

Each session involves simple practices that you can apply to make a real difference to your wellbeing and effectiveness in life…full details of classes

 

At a glance: All upcoming classes and workshops for at IMA:

Ongoing – Weekly Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday Online class schedule

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Tuesday’s at 12.30-1.20 – Ongoing Tuesday Lunchtime meditation class @Space2B

Tuesday 4th August, 7.30-8.30pm – Online Monthly Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session

Coming soon – High performance bootcamp: Using mindfulness to operate at your peak without burning out

Integral Meditation Asia

Online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Live Workshops * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

Categories
creative imagery Energy Meditation Enlightened Flow Essential Spirituality Inner vision Life-fullness meditation and creativity Meditation techniques Presence and being present Primal Spirituality Walking Meditation

Aspects of environmental meditation

“Sitting or walking, expanding your awareness to include the presence of the earth, moon, sun and stars”

Dear Integral meditators,

The article below explores environmental meditation, which is a real core of my own practice these days.
If you enjoy the article, then I will be doing an Environmental meditation masterclass – Working consciously with the forces of nature this Saturday 25th July, 2.30-5.30pm, you are welcome to join me!

And another practice strongly linked to environmental meditation: This Sunday the Qi gong workout and Qi gong energy body meditation sessions will be beginning again, online.

In the spirit of the environment,

Toby

Aspects of environmental meditation

Environmental meditation, simply put, is using the different elements of our environment as objects of meditation in order to effect the transformation of our consciousness, and move us into a state of balanced communion with the Earth. It mostly works directly and experientially with what is immediately present in our surroundings. It is one of the most ancient and primal forms of meditation around, and you can find elements of it in both the eastern and western traditions.
Below are a few ways in which you can start to practice environmental meditation

1. Earth, moon, sun, stars – If you look at the basic elements of our environment, you will notice that basically:

  • We have the curved surface of the earth beneath us extending to the horizon around
  • Above and around us we have the dome of the sky, within which are stars.
  • Moving across the dome at various points is the sun and the moon.

Sitting or walking, expanding our awareness to include the presence of the earth, moon, sun and stars, and communing with them in an organic way is one very simple but deep environmental meditation practice

2. Directional awareness – your environment on a literal level consists of a direction in front of you, behind you, to your left and right, with the sky and stars above, and the earth below. All in all, this makes six directions. You can take as a seventh direction within. Wherever you go, you are always in the centre of your own six directions. Put another way, where you are right now is always the absolute centre of your personal universe. Sitting and centring in your own six directions is another simple and transformative environmental meditation practice.

3. The rising light – The rising light is a term coined by a Scottish meditator, RJ Stewart where we practice linking the elements of our environment; earth, moon, sun, stars to four zones of our body:

  • Feet and legs to the earth and the element earth
  • Loins/Sacral plexus to the moon and the element of water
  • Heart to the sun and element of fire
  • Head to the stars and element of air
  • Crown to the element of space, both in the sense of physical space, and of consciousness itself

This is a practice that can be done sitting, standing or walking, focusing on and breathing in and out of each of the different areas of the body in turn.

4. Landscape meditation – Thru-out your life you have visited and experienced many different landscapes. Each of these landscapes contained different elements which had different effects upon you. Some were healing and calming, some where inspiring, some where powerful. To practice landscape meditation here means simply to sit and imagine yourself in different landscapes that you have known and loved in your life, and enjoy the states of body mind and heart that this imaginal practice has on you. You can listen to my own guided meditation with landscape by clicking the link.

5. Communing with the powers of the directions, seasons and elements – This is a deeper and more systematic combination of meditations 1&2 where we practice communing with the ‘spiritual’ or inner powers that overlight the basic elements of our environment:

  • Land, sky and sea
  • The four directions: North, south, east, west.
  • The four seasons: Spring, summer, autumn, winter
  • The four elements: earth, water, fire, air

So, there you, go, a very simple overview of environmental meditation. You can get stated by listening to my guided meditation for practice 4 above, or you can find a basic meditation for practice 2, directional awareness here.

Article content © Toby Ouvry & Integral Meditation Asia 2020

Saturday 25th July, 2.30-5.30pm – Environmental meditation masterclass – Working consciously with the forces of natureIn a sentence: Learn to work consciously with the forces of nature and your environment as well develop powerful meditation states.

There is much concern and talk today about the state of the environment and the relationship of humankind to nature. This is a workshop that will introduce you to simple, ancient meditation techniques to….

Read full details…

Tues 21st July 7.30-8.30pm, Weds 22nd July  7.30-8.3pm – Monthly new moon, new beginnings visualization and envisioning sessions
These are meditation classes done monthly around the turn of the new moon that enable us to open to new beginnings, new possibilities and make a fresh start with regard to:

  • Our health
  • Our inner growth
  • And our life’s purpose and future goals

See full details…

Life-fullness – The Integral Life-Coaching Program with TobyAre you looking a coach who can help you to:

  • Meet the challenges, stress and changes that you face in a more effective and mindful way
  • Become happier within yourself, in your relationships and at work
  • Be actively accountable for finding a sense of balance/well-being in your life and fulfilling your personal potential?
  • Guide you to find and operate from a deeper sense of meaning, motivation and connectivity in your life?

Read full details…

 


Sunday July 19th & 26th, 5-5.50pm – Online Qi gong workout class

This is a Qi gong session that begins with movement, breathing and energy work to thoroughly energize and refresh your body, nervous system and energy meridians  and regenerate your physical, energetic, mental and spiritual being…read full details

Restarts Sunday 19th July – Qi gong energy body activation meditation

About the sessions: These are Qi gong meditation sessions to activate and enhance the flow of ‘qi’ or subtle energy in your body. We will then be using this flow for:

  • Enhancing physical health and healing
  • Increased emotional wellbeing and mental balance
  • Access to deeper, more dynamic meditation states to transform and regenerate your body, mind and soul

Full details of class…

Online Integral Meditation & Mindfulness classesBuild focus, beat stress, cultivate wellbeing!

Each session involves simple practices that you can apply to make a real difference to your wellbeing and effectiveness in life…full details of classes

 

Coming soon: High performance bootcamp – Using mindfulness to operate at your peak without burning out

Are you a high-potential individual who often feels overworked, stressed, sleep-deprived, or mentally and physically exhausted?  Yet, you are expected to be on your A-game everyday, make clear decisions, problem solve, and be fully focused and present for your employer and teams? Do you wonder if performance in your career and your well-being are a zero-sum game, and see your well-being fall to the sidelines under the ever increasing work commitments.

At a glance: All upcoming classes and workshops for at IMA:

Weekly Online class schedule

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Tuesday’s at 12.30-1.20 – Ongoing Tuesday Lunchtime meditation class @Space2B

Ongoing Sundays 6-6.50pm –  Qi gong energy body activation meditation (Livestream)

Sunday July 19th, 26th – Qi gong workout class

Tues 21st July 7.30-8.30pm, Weds 22nd July  7.30-8.3pm – Monthly new moon, new beginnings visualization and envisioning sessions

Saturday 25th July 10.30am-12noon – ONLINE Get your meditation practice started now – The shortest & most time effective meditation course ever

Saturday 25th July, 2.30-5.30pm – Environmental meditation masterclass – Working consciously with the forces of nature

Coming in July – High performance bootcamp: Using mindfulness to operate at your peak without burning out

Integral Meditation Asia

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