Category: A Mind of Ease

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A Mind of Ease Energy Meditation Inner vision Integral Awareness Integral Meditation Life-fullness meditation and creativity Meditation and Psychology Mindful Resilience Mindful Self-Leadership Presence and being present Stress Transformation

Anxiety & depression or excitement & calm? Playing with high & low energy states

“If you can make friends with your high and low-energy states, both become places that you can enjoy and draw strength from as you go through your daily life-journey!”

Dear Integral Meditators,

This week’s article invites you to take a more nuanced, playful approach to times when you feel energised, and times when you feel tired, and how you can be creative with both!

This week’s Wednesday & Saturday meditation classes are on the subject of the article ‘Playing with high & low energy states’. We will be looking specifically at how to transform our stress using this angle in meditation.

In the spirit of highs & lows,

Toby

Anxiety & depression or excitement & calm? Playing with high & low energy states

October 10th is world mental health day, so this whole week for me is busy with giving talks and meditation sessions to companies and organizations, focused on building sustainable inner wellbeing. Over the duration of the week, I will be experiencing both:

  • High-energy states, coming from the anticipation and then the execution of the session’s facilitation
  • Low-energy states following on from the energy expenditure, the fatigue, after executing the trainings. This is on both a daily level, as well as cumulatively over the week

The question for me to be curious about is; how can I navigate these ups and downs in an enjoyable, life-affirming manner, as opposed to a dis-orienting, energy-sapping high-low rollercoaster?

This article explores our experience of both high and low energy states, and how we can find ways to experience the balanced, positive expression of both, rather than being stuck in imbalanced high-low variations.

The mindful flow principle – not too high, not too low

If you think of 10 as absolute high-energy effort, and 0 as absolute exhaustion, in terms of our everyday ‘mindful-flow’, we can aim to be spending most of our time around a 4-6, feeling relaxed, and somewhat focused in  a pleasant, sustainable manner.

Two sides of the low-energy state

If you then think about low-energy states as when your energy level drops, you feel tired, a ‘3-0’ range. There are two ways this can go:

  • Low-energy in the sense of feeling depressed, overwhelmed, helpless, lacking in not just energy but also self-esteem and personal value
  • Low-energy in the sense of being at peace, regenerative, tired-but-satisfied, restful, calm

Playing with low energy states

When you are in a low-energy state, if you can combine it with mindful awareness, you can actually steer the state towards an enjoyable one, rather than getting unconsciously caught in a ‘negative’ low energy state.

Two sides of the high-energy state

Like low-energy states, we can mindfully play with high energy states, the ‘7-10’ range:

  • If you find yourself feeling angry, you can practice directing that high-energy state toward doing something constructive and useful, ‘riding’ your anger toward that destination. The anger becomes determination
  • If you are anxious about an uncertain outcome, or before having to do something in public, you can practice moving the anxiety toward excitement, optimism, anticipation or a combination of any of these

Accepting your state

The ‘first position’ with this type of state training is to notice, become aware the state you are in at any given time. From this awareness you can then accept that state, whether high or low. With acceptance you can then notice whether this energy state is in it’s balanced or imbalanced expression. In a playful manner, you can then start to move your low-energy states toward peacefulness and calm, and move your high-energy states from anxiety toward excitement (for example).

If you can make friends with your high and low-energy states, both become places that you can enjoy and draw strength from as you go through your daily life-journey!

Related articles: Using mindful flow to train in strengths-building

Moving From Anxiety to Excitement

© Toby Ouvry 2026, 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 

Follow Toby on: LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram

Integral Meditation Asia

Live workshops & online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

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A Mind of Ease creative imagery Enlightened Flow Inner vision Integral Awareness Integral Meditation Meditating on the Self Meditation techniques Mindfulness Presence and being present

Four tree’s rooted under the sky – six dimensions of presence

“To practise meditative presence is to practise being present to our world, to be ‘where we are’, rather than lost somewhere else”

Dear Integral Meditators, 

This week’s article describes basic meditative presence in a six-dimensional manner, done well it provides a stable basis for all other forms of meditation, and will enable greater presence in all areas of your life!
 
Up until Monday October 5th I have a special offer of 15% off my Life-fullness life coaching and Mindful Self-Knowledge Programs.
 
This week’s Wednesday & Saturday meditation classes are on the subject of developing playfulness, and learning to work with the ‘inner sea snakes of your mind'(!)
 
In the spirit of presence,

Toby

Four tree’s rooted under the sky – six dimensions of presence
 
The two dimensions of meditative presence
 
I have spoken in other articles about basic meditative presence being like sitting between two trees. To sit in meditation means to have an object of awareness anchoring us to the present moment, such as the body and breathing. If you then imagine you are sat between two trees, one on the left, one on the right:

  • If you go beyond the left tree, that is like you being ‘lost in thought’, loosing track of the present moment by being distracted by thoughts
  • If you go beyond the right tree, that is like falling asleep

So, your basic aim in meditation is to hold this position between the two trees; anchored to the present moment by your object of meditation, not lost in thought, not falling asleep.
Notice that:

  • You can be aware of thoughts without being lost in them
  • You can be feeling sleepy without actually falling asleep

You can relax in the present moment, feeling it to be a relatively broad, forgiving space to center in!

From two to four – the present moment in time

Now imagine you have two more trees, one in front of you, and one behind you. As before, anchoring your presence in the present moment around body and breathing, you hold your position behind the front & back trees.

  • If you go beyond the tree behind you, that is like living in the past
  • If you go past the tree in front of you, that is like getting lost in the future

This then gives you the present moment in time, and a way to keep oriented there. Again, notice that:

  • You can have thoughts about the past & future without being lost in them
  • It’s only when they completely draw your attention away from the present moment that you lose your meditative presence

From four to six – not lost in materialism, not lost in spirit

So, you now have four trees around you, four basic aspects of meditative presence. From here we can add two further dimensions.

As you sit between your four trees, be aware of Mother Earth beneath you, and the sky and stars above you (you can put the sun of the moon in there too if you like!). Feel yourself to be balanced between your nature as a material, physical being, and a spiritual being.

  • If you sink too far into the earth, this is like being ‘lost in materialism’
  • If you start floating too far up into the sky, this is like being ‘lost in the abstraction or etherial-ism of spirit


As you sit with your body and breathing, you do so with balanced presence, poised between the earth & sky.
 
Inhabiting your mandala fully
 
This image then gives you your six basic dimensions of meditative presence. Actually, these six directions around you, with you present in the center, give you your basic mandala, world, or ‘Universe’. Each of us inhabits a space with ourself at the center, with a direction above, a direction below, a left and right, an in front and a behind. Practising meditative presence is practising being present to our world, to be ‘where we are’, rather than lost somewhere else.
 
Any other meditation can fit in this space
 
You can use the simple description and exercise above to build your basic meditative presence. Once you are familiar with it, you can use any object of awareness to stay present in the six directions. For example, you can use it to do visualization, mantra recitation, therapeutic work, any type of meditative activity.
Also, and possible most importantly, you can use it as a way of orienting yourself to be more present in your daily activities, to be present to your life, not missing it by spending most of your time distracted and ‘somewhere else.’
 
Related reading: The foundational pillars or ‘goal-posts’ of meditative presence
Your basic mandala of presence – The four trees

© Toby Ouvry 2026, 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 

Follow Toby on: LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram

Integral Meditation Asia

Live workshops & online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

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A Mind of Ease Concentration Integral Awareness Integral Meditation Life-fullness Meditation and Psychology mind body connection Mindful Resilience Mindfulness Stress Transformation

Does meditation always make things better?

“Meditative presence & mindful-flow are what you might call perineal life pre-skills. The better you are at them the more ways you find to be effective & content amidst a wide range of circumstances”

Dear Integral Meditators, 

This week’s article explores meditation as a life-skill, as opposed to a formal practice. It articulates why, if you understand this, the danger of your meditation becoming imbalanced in any way reduces substantially.

This week sees the start on Saturday of the  Meditations for transforming negativity and stress into energy, positivity & empowerment deep-dive sessions. All welcome, particpation can be doen in person, on line or via recording.

In the spirit of flowing presence,

Toby


Article: Does meditation always make things better?
 
I recently received an article from a college entitled Meditation can help and it can harm. This is what happens when it goes wrong. It legitimately points out that not everyone who tries meditation benefits from it, and that sometimes meditation can ‘make things worse’ in the sense of creating imbalances, or increasing things like anxiety. What I want to do in this article is:

  • Offer some pointers around what meditation and mindfulness are in the broadest sense
  • Propose that, done in balance, these three fundamental aspects of meditation will be helpful to anyone
  • And give an example from my own experience 

Meditation is:
 
So then, speaking in broad, overarching definitions, the basic meditation state is:
 
“Not being lost in thought, not falling asleep, present to an object of awareness in the moment, and aware that you are aware of it”
 
This definition is basically a fancy way of saying that meditation is practising being present! When you are meditating you grow capacity high quality presence. Broadly speaking, the greater your capacity for presence and being present is, the more effective you will be in life. The reason for this is that good quality presence releases what I would call your natural intelligence in that moment. This facilitates better self-regulation, awareness, decision-making and so forth.
 
Mindfulness is:
 
Broadly speaking (again) mindfulness is attention training. In order to be present, you need to be able to pay attention well. Good quality mindful attention has two aspects, focus and flow.
 
There are essentially two extremes that you can go to with mindful attention:

  • You can try and focus too hard which means the mind can’t settle
  • You can relax too much, and forget what you are trying to pay attention to

Like meditation presence, building mindful flow, i.e. balanced, good quality, sustainable attention will generally only help you in your life. It will help you with being present, with basic reality orientation, with sustainable effort and so on…the better you are at it, the more capable and resilient you will be in the face of life challenges.
 
Another definition of meditation:
 
“Meditation means to focus our attention on an object that, when we contemplate it, causes our mind to become positive, calm and/or happy, in a balanced way”
 
This is a definition that I was taught in my Tibetan Buddhist days, back in the 90’s. In this sense, meditation is simply the art of remaining oriented in a positive manner as life happens to you. Like the first two definitions, the better you are at the ‘positive mindfulness game’ of meditation, the better things will get.
 
A personal reflection:
 
When I left my life as a monk in 2001, I was in many ways under a lot of stress:

  • I had left an old familiar life
  • I was in a foreign country with no job, so a lot of uncertainty
  • I was quite isolated
  • There was a lot of emotional trauma I was working thru
  • I had a high learning curve from starting my own business

 
I was also quite burned out from having overtrained in formal meditation (over quite a long period of time), so doing a lot of formal, sitting meditation was not that helpful for me. However, the fundamental meditation/mindfulness skills of:

  • Being present in a relaxed, focused manner
  • Orienting and centering around positive objects of awareness

 
Was always fundamentally helpful to me during that time. The fundamentals of meditation and mindfulness are what you might call perineal life pre-skills. The better you are at them the more effective you are, and the more ways you find to be content amidst a wide range of circumstances.
 
One final point, understood in the above manner, we can start to understand that meditation is a creative activity, not a narrow, rigid set of parameters. Without wanting to fall into a cliché, it’s a way of life!
 
Listen to Toby’s meditations on Presence & flow, as well as mindful positivity.
 
Related reading: The foundational pillars or goal-poste of meditative presence
Your basic mindful flow state
Meditation – Life as a positive mindfulness game

© Toby Ouvry 2026, 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 

Follow Toby on: LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram

Integral Meditation Asia

Live workshops & online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

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A Mind of Ease Beginners mind, resilient body Energy Meditation Inner vision Integral Meditation Life-fullness Meditation and Psychology Meditation Recordings Meditation techniques mind body connection Mindful Confidence Mindful Resilience Mindful Self-Leadership Presence and being present Stress Transformation

Four stress-transformation ‘flips’ – article & guided meditation recording

“A confident relationship to our stress sets us up for a lifetime of curiosity, wonder, excitement & adventure. An adverse relationship to it sets us up for a path of anxiety, oppression, limitation and fear”

Dear Integral Meditators, 

This week’s newsletter is on four stress-transformation ‘flips’. If you are wondering what stress-transformation looks like as a meditation you can also listen to  a 15minute guided meditation on these four aspects of stress-transformation. 

The 15minutes a week Stress-Transformation online program features a wide, creative range of meditations like this 15minute recording. As well as it’s buy-alone price, it is available at a 50% discouont if you get it with either the Wednesday class, Saturday Deep-dive or workshop versions of the stress-transfromation programs (which can be done live, online or via recording). 

In the spirit of confidence in transformation,

Toby

Article: Four stress-transformation ‘flips’
 
There are many, many ways of transforming difficult, debilitating stress into positive or growth stress. Over the years I’ve developed lots of fun, creative techniques for doing so that I continue to teach in my meditation classes, and coach around in my coaching sessions. What I am going to do here is to outline four essential ‘stages’ or ‘flips’ that are foundational to all stress transformation practices. They work as individual units of practice, but I find that when they are put together and practiced sequentially in this order, they become exponentially more effective. In this context ‘flipping’ simply means flipping from debilitating stress to growth, or positive stress.
 
Witnessing – from fighting it to being curious about it
 
The first position then is witnessing. It means to step back from your stress and, rather than being caught up in, identified with or fighting it, to observe and be curious about it. Watch it and get to know it with your observational awareness, try to take it incrementally less seriously, give yourself room to play.
 
Flowing – from resisting emotion to feeling and releasing them
 
The second position is to notice your experience of emotions around the stress, if possible, naming them. Having done this, then rather than trying to get rid of them, or indulging them, or repressing them, set up a pattern of breathing whereby as you inhale you are feeling/experiencing some of that emotion, and exhaling you are relaxing into it/releasing it. An emotion is a type of feeling; feelings want to be felt. By consciously allowing yourself to feel and then release stressful emotions, they become much more workable.
 
Framing – from being lost in the inner conversation to creating it
Here we take position one, witnessing, and apply it specifically to noticing our inner conversation around the stress. Simply watching and dis-identifying from the self-talk can be really useful in itself. But here was are also then concerned amount making creative alterations to the narrative that ‘spin’ the conversation in a more useful direction. “I can’t do it and so I’ll never be able to do it” is a completely different conversation from “I can’t do it yet, but by trying and failing I will learn how before too long”.
 
Appreciating – from feeling unlucky and hard done-by to appreciating the opportunity
In all situations with stress, there is an opportunity to grow, something to be learned, something that we can put to use. Appreciating what the stress we are under can do for us gives us a way to value it, to get excited about it rather than feeling anxious or oppressed by it. It also gives us a purpose and direction to move our stress towards, something we can do with it. Rather than being in the way of our path, it can become the path itself!
 
Stress is so much a part of our life that our relationship to it is literally ‘life-defining’! A positive relationship with our stress sets us up for a lifetime of curiosity, wonder, excitement and adventure. An adverse relationship to it sets us up for a path of anxiety, oppression, limitation and fear . These four ‘flips’ give us a chance to make even our most difficult stress workable, and to make us confident in the face of it.
 
Listen to the four stress-transformation flips guided meditation by Toby

© Toby Ouvry 2026, 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 
 

Follow Toby on: LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram

Integral Meditation Asia

Live workshops & online courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

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A Mind of Ease Awareness and insight Inner vision Insight Meditation Integral Awareness Life-fullness Meditation techniques Mindfulness Presence and being present Stress Transformation

The Way to be ok, always – liberation and the Witness-Self

“Skilful witnessing creates an increasing sense of ever-present calm even when under multiple forms of stress. We find ourself increasingly “always ok”, nothing we can’t handle”

Dear Integral Meditators,

 
This week’s article looks at the relationship between witnessing practice & your fundamental sense of freedom. It’s a slighly edited verson of something I wrote in 2013, witnessing practice is something that just gets deeper & better over time. It was working well for me in 2013, but the experience I have now 14 years later is undoubtedly richer & better!

This week’s chakras & non-duality meditation sessions: Wednesday @ 7.30pm SG time,  at 5.30pm, Saturday afternoon, & noon at Space2B. The subject will be ‘Third chakra – Confidence, power, union with mind’.

Heads up for the new series’ for September are out, The weekday & Saturday ‘ Meditations for transforming negativity & stress into energy, positivity & empowerment sessions. 

In the spirit of liberation, 

Toby


The Way to be ok, always – liberation and the Witness-Self
 
Cultivating the experience of the witness-self means cultivating your experience of self as a detached observer of your mind, body and life experiences, as opposed to having your sense of self totally caught up in them.
 
The witness or observer self has three main qualities:

  1. It witnesses our life with detached awareness
  2. It has no physical or mental form, it is merely formless awareness
  3. It is the ultimate subject of our awareness, the irreducible ‘I’

 
The path to liberation from pain and suffering has an enormous amount to do with the cultivation of the witness self.
 
To the extent that we are able to detach (not dissociate) ourself from our pain we can control it. If we can detach ourself from our pleasure we can engage it without clinging to it and thus avoid the experience of pain that happens when we are separated from that pleasure.
 
In meditation we cultivate and strengthen the witness self, but it is important to understand that the witness self is present with and available to us right now, whatever stage of development we are at. Hee are two short stories that illustrate this in a slightly funny way:
 
As a fifteen year old at school I had a friend the same age (let’s call him Tony) who went out with a seventeen year old girl. She left Tony for an older boy who was a mutual friend. Tony subsequently told me the story of how he had confronted the older boy, shouting and screaming at him in an emotional outburst. He then told me, looking slightly sheepish about how he had felt that there was a part of him watching the whole episode (including himself screaming and shouting) that was not upset at all, but felt detached and calm. That “watcher” that he had experienced amidst his emotional outburst was his witness self.
Later I had a female friend at collage who similarly discovered that her boyfriend had been having an affair with another woman whilst away at university. Again with a similar sense of sheepish confusion she described to me how she had shouted and screamed at her boyfriend whilst simultaneously feeling that a part of her was observing the situation with total calm and detachment. Like my friend Tony, my female friend had found herself aware of her witness self at the same time as she experienced, and was identified with, her emotional turmoil.
 
So, with meditation we cultivate awareness of this witness self, making it increasingly “front and center” of our daily experience, finding an increasing sense of ever-present calm even when under multiple forms of stress. We find ourself increasingly “always ok”, nothing we can’t handle.
 
Reading this some people may think that cultivating the witness self may make us cold, uncaring, emotionally mono-syllabic and so on. The reality is however that when practised in an integrated, balanced way, centring our awareness in the witness increases our capacity to enjoy deeper and more positively a wider range of emotion, pleasure, happiness and wellbeing. You could say that it liberates us to a whole new level of the human experience. We leap in and out of our roles with playful freedom.
 
A final point; being centred in the witness self also liberates us substantially from the fear of making mistakes, looking foolish, taking an appropriate chance. So, whilst finding an experience of liberation through the detachment of the witness, we concurrently find a new way of engaging in our world and human experience more freely and dynamically.
 
Related reading: Witnessing – Being That Which is Not


© Toby Ouvry 2026, 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

Follow Toby on: LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram

Integral Meditation Asia

Live workshops & online Courses * 1:1 Coaching * Books * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology

Categories
A Mind of Ease Beginners mind, resilient body Energy Meditation Inner vision Life-fullness Meditation and Psychology mind body connection Mindful Resilience Presence and being present Stress Transformation

Slowing down to speed up – Staying productive & creative when you are low-energy

“Acknowledging & accepting low-energy, gives us a choice to work with it rather than against it. From a position of acceptance, we can then make choices that move us toward energy & creativity”

Dear Integral Meditators, 


This week’s article looks at how to work with low-energy states skillfully, rather than just fighting them and getting even more tired!

A few chances to bolster your energy through mindfulness & meditation this week: 

In the spirit of wise fast & slow, 

Toby


Slowing down to speed up – Staying productive & creative when you are low-energy
 
As we reach the mid-year mark, I’ve been having to manage my energy level fairly mindfully as it comes under stress from various different directions. When there is a lot going on it can be difficult to realize how low on energy you are getting until it is a too late. Below are a few mindful methods I’ve been using to navigate the run into the summer break without breaking apart!
 
Mindful of the possible vicious cycle with low-energy
 
When we are in a low-energy state, we are also in a reduced willpower state. This means that it is very easy to try and start a task, but then simply getting distracted by something. For example, I have an intention to get a few emails done, but I get sidetracked by youtube instead. This now means that I am low-energy and my energy has been further depleted-dissipated by distraction. This then means that I am even more tired, but I have not gotten the task done. This might then mean that I stay up later in the evening to get things done (also in a distracted manner), which then means I get to bed too late, which then means I wake up feeling low-energy, and so-on in a vicious cycle. Sometimes going to bed too late also means I am ‘to tired’ to fall asleep, or I sleep in a non-relaxed or stressed manner.
With a cycle like this, low energy breeds distraction, which breeds self-judgment and stress, which makes us even less able to stay productive, which leads to feelings of overwhelm, which leads to lower energy and so on…
 
Going slower to go faster
 
If I am in a low-energy state, I find the faster I can recognize it the better. From this awareness, normally my next position is acknowledgment and acceptance of the state of tiredness, and a choice to work with it rather than against it. From this position of acceptance, I then make choices like:

  • Reducing my ambition for the rest of the day, achieving less, but in a way where I feel good about what I have done and get to bedtime on time, ready to recharge for tomorrow.
  • If I’m feeling too tired to do anything, I normally take a few minutes to do nothing. Doing nothing helps my energy to gather, and for me to get clear on the next task that I want to do engage in.
  • Look at my inner narrative, and ‘spin’ it in a positive manner. A simple example of this is I focus on what I have achieved (today/this week/this month) already, and how I can feel good about that, rather than all the things that I haven’t done yet/should have done by now. This helps me to feel happy where I am presently, which takes the edge off any feelings of stress or tiredness.

‘More haste less hurry’ as the saying goes, or, if you like, ‘Less haste, more hurry’!
 
Observing outside influences (or perceived ones), and setting your own pace
 
A final point here, when we are tired, it can be quite easy to be pushed out of balance by environmental influences. A stressed-out colleague or boss, the opinion of our partner, the anxiety of our children, an uncomfortable commute home in the evening. These can all push us out of balance, adding dis-orientation, dissipation and confusion to our already low-energy state. The more you can be aware of this, the less likely it is to influence you unconsciously, and the more likely you are to be able to find and keep your center in the eye of the storm.
 
Related reading: Tired of being tired – Relaxing into, not fighting with your fatigue
You already have what you seek – Getting resilience from resilience


© Toby Ouvry 2026, 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

Upcoming classes & workshops

Ongoing on Wednesday’s (live & online), 7.30-8.30pm – Weekly integral meditation classes

Ongoing on Saturdays, 5.30-6.45pm SG time – Saturday Integral meditation deep-dive sessions with Toby

12noon on Saturday – Meditation Masterclass Series at Space2B

Sat 20th, 5.30pm & Weds 24th June, 7.30pm – Summer solstice balancing & renewing meditation

Sunday 28th July, 9am-12noon – Mindful Resilience workshop – Practices for sustaining effectiveness, happiness & clarity under pressure

Follow Toby on: LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram

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 Awareness and insight Enlightened Flow Inner vision Insight Meditation Integral Meditation Meditation and Psychology Meditation techniques Mindful Resilience Presence and being present Primal Spirituality Zen Meditation

You already have what you seek – Meditating from wholeness 

“You are whole, a lot of the things you seek, you have already. Proceed from there”

Dear Integral Meditators, 


This week’s article looks at approaching meditation, & life from a perspective of wholeness, & noticing how much easier it can make things!

Head’s up for the Mindful Resilience workshop – Practices for sustaining effectiveness, happiness & clarity under pressure that I’ll be doing on the 28th June, I also talk about an approach to improving resilience in the article…

In the spirit of the effortless, 

Toby


You already have what you seek – Meditating from wholeness
 
Meditating to express your awakened nature
 
One of my favourite expressions from Zen meditation is ‘You don’t meditate to attain awakening, you meditate to express it.’ What this means is that, you already have an awakened, whole and complete essential nature, so you don’t need to achieve it, you need to recognize it! Initially it can be difficult for us to relate to ourselves as whole right from the start of our practice, but this is what Zen and other forms of meditation invite us to do. It means inverting the usual ‘doing something to achieve something’ mentality, and relate to your wholeness, in the sense of having awakened nature right now.
There are also ways in which we can meditate in a wise way, where instead of trying to achieve something, we simply recognize that it is already there. Here are three examples that I have bee working with over this weekend with coachees and students.
 
The presence of stillness and silence
 
‘I wish my mind could be more still, but it’s so hard!’ Really? Reflect upon the environment you are in right now; the sounds and activity are all contained by the stillness and space that enables your environment. There is loads of physical space and stillness. Inwardly, yes you may have many thoughts, but they are arising in the open space of your awareness, which Is pervaded by stillness and silence. With a bit of skilful attention, we start to see that we are swimming in stillness and silence, like a fish in water!
 
The feeling of being alive, now
 
Why are you trying to achieve things? So that at upon achieving that thing, you can then really have the feeling of being fully alive. But wait, you are also alive right now, perhaps if you can open more fully to the simple feeling of being alive in the moment, you can experience the fulfilment and joy of it today, now, without waiting until you achieve your goals.
 
How much happiness can you accept?
 
We all have our problems, and those problems can make us unhappy at times, no doubt. But there are also many things in your life great and small that can be causes of happiness. If you can relate to those things now, and accept the happiness that is on offer. This way you can have genuine happiness now, right away. This happiness will then help you deal with your challenges and problems more effectively.
 
Getting resilience from your resilience
 

  • Relating to yourself and life from a position of wholeness
  • Realizing that you already have what you are looking for in many ways

These are the two essential principles here. I use them in many ways, both in my own life, and in my teachings. For example, in the mindful resilience workshop that I teach, the first practice is to:
 
“Understanding the different levels of mindful resilience and tapping into the inner resilience that you already have (but may not be leveraging effectively upon)”
 
So right off the bat, I encourage participants to relate to their resilience as something that they already have, rather than something they lack and need to ‘achieve’. All of this is to say that it is an approach that is ergonomic and flowing, sailing with life rather than struggling against it.
 
You are whole, a lot of the things you seek, you have already. Proceed from there.

© Toby Ouvry 2026, 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

Follow Toby on: LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram

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Why non-dual meditation should be your go-to practice

“Non-duality is a view of our experience that invites effortlessness and flow. Integrating it into your practice invites this experience of effortlessness into your life, now.”

Dear Integral Meditators, 
This week’s article looks at non-dual meditation, why it is great to make as a central part of your meditation, and how to get started with a simple non-dual breathing practice. 

If you are looking for a rich way to integrate non-dual meditation into your life, this week sees the start of the Wednesday evening & Saturday afternoon chakra’s & non-duality meditation programs, they will also be the subject of the Saturday noon meditation masterclass series at Space2B that I run. 

In the spirit of the effortless, 

Toby

Why non-dual meditation should be your go-to practice
 
What is non-dual meditation?
 
Non-dual meditation is a type of meditation that emerged in the 6th-8th centuries, explicitly within the eastern Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu (eg Vedanta) traditions, but also implicitly within the western esoteric traditions of the time. Essentially it focuses on the collapse of the subject-object divide within our consciousness into a ‘Just This’ experience. Before that time, the vast majority of meditation was dualistic in nature; there was a subject of consciousness, the ‘I’, meditating on an object of consciousness, this object could be:

  • Something obvious, like the breathing, “I am focusing mindfully on my breathing”
  • Something more subtle, like my mind, “I am aware of my thoughts”
  • Something really subtle, for example “I am aware of my formless timeless consciousness”

Whatever you meditated on, there was a subject and an object of consciousness.

Why it’s a great practice to make your go-to practice

Non-dual meditation is a great practice to make front and centre of your daily meditation because:

  1. It offers access to an effortless level of stress transformation – Non-duality is a view of our experience that invites effortlessness and flow. Integrating into your practice invites this experience of effortlessness into your life, now.
  2. It is the final destination of all meditations. In all of the different great meditation traditions of the world, non-dual reality is the ‘highest’ attainment, the final destination. Since it is that, you may as well bring it in today!
  3. You can practice it on the level you are at – Non-dual meditation is deep but simple. You can practice it on the level you are at today, and have some degree of success. You don’t need to wait until you get ‘better’.
  4. You can integrate your other meditations into your non-dual practice. You can MAKE your current meditation into a non-dual meditation, simply by changing your perspective on it. Non-duality is a VIEW of reality, if you integrate it into your current meditation, it becomes a non-dual practice. For example, in the Chakra meditation series I am about to teach this week, it integrates Chakra meditation with non-duality, which is a great, and very do-able combination!
  5. You being the result into the path – Non-dual meditation focuses on the recognition that awakening is not something you achieve, it is something that you ARE. This is a wonderful understanding to integrate into your daily life; you are already whole and complete as you are, right now!
  6. It is fantastic for living in the world – Non-dual meditation enables us to transform everyday activities into our spiritual practice in ways that would be difficult otherwise. It’s a type of technology that really helps you be ‘in the world but not of the world’.

 
A simple example
 
Non-dual breathing meditation – Settle into a rhythm focusing on your breathing, just like a normal mindful breathing meditation. Notice that in the meditation there is a sense of an ‘I’ or self that is focusing on the breathing. Once you have a certain degree of focus and relaxation, gently ‘drop’ the I, so that it is just the breathing doing itself. There is no subject or object of consciousness, just the breathing. Put another way, the ‘self’ is experienced as nothing more than the breathing. To quote Shunryu Suzuki:
 
“The inner world is limitless, and the outer world is also limitless. We say “inner world” and outer world,” but in reality, there is just one whole world, our throat is like a swinging door. The air comes in and goes out like someone passing through a swinging door. If you think “I breathe,” the I is extra.”
 
So, one really simple example there, we’ll be looking at seven simple examples in the chakra meditation & non-duality course, which, I promise will be a whole lot of fun!
 
Related reading: The swinging door – when the breathing does itself
Non-Dual meditation & Organismic reality
Practical dimensions of chakra meditation


© Toby Ouvry 2026, 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

Watch Toby’s video on  chakra meditation & non-duality: 

Upcoming classes & workshops

Ongoing on Tuesday’s & Wednesday’s (live & online), 7.30-8.30pm – Weekly integral meditation classes

Ongoing on Saturdays, 5.30-6.45pm SG time – Saturday Integral meditation deep-dive sessions with Toby

12noon on Saturday – Meditation Masterclass Series at Space2B

Starts on Wednesday June 10th, 7.30-8.30pm – Chakra meditation as a gateway to non-duality, energy & the integrated self -an 8-week course

Starts Saturday June 13th, 5.30-6.45pm – Chakra meditation as a gateway to non-duality, energy & the integrated self – an 8-session deep-dive practice series

Sat 20th, 5.30pm & Weds 24th June, 7.30pm – Summer solstice balancing & renewing meditation
 

Follow Toby on: LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram

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3 levels of chakra meditation video, & article on varying your intensity level

Dear Integral Meditators, 

A video & article for you today!

The video is a short introducton to the three different levels of the chakras, & how to work with them in meditation. It’s partly for those who may be interested in the Wednesday evening & Saturday afternoon chakra meditation & non-duality summer courses. But it should be interesting & of value to those who are simply curious!

The article on ‘Yin & yang levels of intensity in meditation’ asks the question: “What level of intensity do I want to bring to my practice, & my life today? Which level will work best in the circumstances?”

In the spirit of creation & adaptation, 

Toby

Watch Toby’s video on the three aspects or levels of chakra meditation: 

Yang & yin levels of meditation intensity
 
In the same way that there are different levels of exercise, there are different levels of intensity regarding your meditation. If you have an exercise routine, you will likely have:

  • Some days that are high intensity days, where you are looking to push your body’s capacity by exercising intensely and close to the limit of your capacity
  • Other days you may exercise at a low level of intensity with the aim to help your body recover its energy
  • Other days it may be an intermediate level of intensity, somewhere between a 4-6 out of 10 (with 10 as max effort)

Similarly, when you sit down to do a meditation, it can be useful to distinguish whether you are going to meditate:

  • At a relatively high ‘yang’ intensity level, emphasizing clarity and capacity growth. This may take some energy to do, but if you feel your energy levels are quite good already, then you can invest some of that energy in improving your meditation ‘level’
  • At a lower, easy ‘yin’ regenerative level. Here you are not going to worry too much about ‘performance’, rather you are creating a space for your meditation that is aimed at recovery and rest. This type of meditation you may well come out with more energy, feeling refreshed and renewed, almost like you had a bit of a sleep

 
Of course, you can also choose a level in between, at an intermediate or balanced level of intensity, that ‘4-6’ level that I mentioned above!
The point here is that, if you make a conscious decision about the level of intensity before you start your meditation then that can set you up for a better meditation experience as you actually engage in the meditation.
You can create a formal program if you like where you have set days each week that are designated ‘yin meditation’ others ‘yang’ and one or two intermediate days. What I generally like to do is simply decide on the day, according to how I feel.
 
A daily example
 
On the way to work on the train this morning, I did a 15minute meditation. Before I started, my body felt really quite tired, so I decided to do it at a low intensity, ‘yin’ recovery level of intensity. So, I began with this ‘soft focus’ type approach, not worrying too much about precision, brightness or energy. As the meditation went on however, I did feel my state moving from a low energy toward a higher energy level as I progressed. In the second half of the meditation, I picked up the intensity and finished feeling both refreshed and quite ‘on point’ around my energy level. It turned into a ‘bit of both’ type meditation!
 
A final point, you can use the above principles to vary the level on intensity that you bring to your life appropriately. Some days can be high intensity days, others recovery, ‘yin’ days. Yin days can involve work, yang days can involve recovery or leisure. It’s more about the mindful modulation of your effort, rather than the activities themselves.
 
Related article: Zen ergonomics – Sailing with, rather than rowing against life

© Toby Ouvry 2026, 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

Upcoming classes & workshops

Ongoing on Tuesday’s & Wednesday’s (live & online), 7.30-8.30pm – Weekly integral meditation classes

Ongoing on Saturdays, 5.30-6.45pm SG time – Saturday Integral meditation deep-dive sessions with Toby

Starts on Wednesday June 10th, 7.30-8.30pm – Chakra meditation as a gateway to non-duality, energy & the integrated self -an 8-week course

Starts Saturday June 13th, 5.30-6.45pm – Chakra meditation as a gateway to non-duality, energy & the integrated self – an 8-session deep-dive practice series

Sat 20th, 5.30pm & Weds 24th June, 7.30pm – Summer solstice balancing & renewing meditation
 

Follow Toby on: LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram

Integral Meditation Asia

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Mindfulness for Traders: Flow State, Emotional Control & Life Mastery

Dear Integral Meditators, 

Last week I was interviewed by Simon Ree from the Tao Of Trading to give a talk to his community on ‘Mindfulness for Traders: Flow State, Emotional Control & Life Mastery.’

It was a pleasure to be on the show, I’ve done a lot of coaching with traders over the years, & this video captures some major aspects of the sort of mindful processes I go through with them in the sessions.
 
Watch Mindfulness for Traders: Flow State, Emotional Control & Life Mastery

Even if you are not particularly interested in trading, there are a lot of mindful life-themes that you might enjoy. The section beneath the video gives you the option to just click on the segments you are interested in!
 
Here is a summary of the key subjects of the talk, with added links to related articles of mine.
 
Key principles covered include:

The McLaren Problem: why reaching your financial goals doesn’t automatically mean peace of mind, and the psychological work most successful traders never anticipated.
Related article: Wanting what you like, or liking what happens?

The 4 Trees Exercise: a 3-minute practice to anchor yourself in the present moment before you trade. The simplest pre-trade ritual I’ve seen.
Related article: Sitting between the four trees – your basic mandala of presence

The Repression Fallacy: why willpower alone cannot eliminate fear and greed. Suppressed emotions don’t disappear. They re-emerge during your worst trades. His words, not mine.
Related article: Mindfulness, emotions & your MRVA’s (Mass rapid value assessments)

Wu Wei (Non-Doing): when you’re in a hole, stop digging. When you stop forcing, you start noticing what actually opens up.
Related article: Effortless effort – Making everything workable

Optimistic Stoicism: face the worst-case scenario. Inhabit it. Discover you can endure it. Then open the door to genuine optimism.
Related article: Optimistic stoicism

“Could be good, could be bad”: the equanimity of the Chinese horse farmer. Probabilities, not certainties. Managing risk without catastrophising about outcomes.

Upcoming classes & workshops

Ongoing on Tuesday’s & Wednesday’s (live & online), 7.30-8.30pm – Weekly integral meditation classes

Ongoing on Saturdays, 5.30-6.45pm SG time – Saturday Integral meditation deep-dive sessions with Toby

Ongoing on Wednesdays – The inner smile – Meditations for inner regeneration & connecting to the Earth – An 8-week course

Ongoing on Saturdays – The inner smile & Earth healing deep-dive – An 8 session practice series
 

Follow Toby on: LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram

Integral Meditation Asia

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