Category: Inner vision

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creative imagery Energy Meditation Greenworld Meditation Inner vision Integral Awareness Integral Meditation Life-fullness meditation and creativity Meditation Recordings Meditation techniques mind body connection Primal Spirituality Qi gong

On mindful visualization & envisioning (And tree meditation recording)

Dear Integral Mediators,

This week’s newsletter features an 8 minute Tree visualization & envisioning form you can just click the link to listen!

The article below is on the importance of visualizing and envisioning well and how to get started.

In the spirit of mindful envisioning,

Toby

On mindful visualization & envisioning (And tree visualization & envisioning form)

Visualization is the capacity to create and build clear images in your mind. It’s an important aspect of many meditation practices. For some people it is a more visual process, but for others it can be more about feeling, hearing or even smelling the object that is being visualized.
Envisioning is the capacity to use visualized images in the mind in order to connect to existing subtle energies and forces on the emotional, mental or spiritual level. For example, if you visualize the moon, and imagine it connecting to the energy of the actual moon, then the image will act as a ‘conduit’ or conductor of the lunar energy to you. You can basically use images to connect energetically to anything that you want in the world!

You are doing both all the time
If you look at your mind during the day, you will quickly start to notice that it is actually visualizing and envisioning things all the time. Your imaginative process can produce heaven or hell, it can create a good mood within you or it can make you deeply unhappy.
Conscious use of your imagination (that is to say your process of visualization and envisioning) is a super-power. By choosing to take control of the images that your mind produces, you can learn to influence your health, psychological wellbeing, your future, your relationships. You can use images to connect to energies within ourself and our environment that support, empower and invigorate us.

Combining visualization & envisioning an example: Tree envisioning form

Stage 1: Take a tree that you know, perhaps that is nearby your house or apartment. If you can, take a bit of time to study it physically by going to see it, even take a picture of it for reference.
Stage 2, visualization: Then, sit down and try to picture that tree clearly in your minds eye. By seeing it, sensing it, smelling it, try and build a clear image of it in your mind, and hold that image using gentle focus. Spend a few minutes jut focusing on building your visualization skill.
Stage 3, envisioning: Be aware of the sky and stars above the tree, and the living earth beneath it. Imagine the tree drawing down light and energy from the sky and stars above, and up from the earth below. See this energy as a light rising and descending into the tree, filling it with power, health and energy. Next, imagine yourself AS the tree, with the sky and earth above and below you. Feel the drawing down and rising of the energy through your branches and roots, rising up into your trunk. Notice any energy flow that you experience in your actual physical body as you are sitting, up through your feet, and down from above. Allow it to gently balance, harmonize and energise your body, mind and heart. Conclude when you are ready.

Listen to the recording of this here: 8 minute Tree visualization & envisioning form

Closing thoughts
This is an exercise that you can use to practice your visualization skills, the image of the tree. It then combines it with your envisioning skills, using the image of the tree to connect to the living energy of sky, stars and earth, as well as the tree itself. It’s a visualization form that I have practised versions of in my Qi gong meditations over the years, as well as in various western traditions I have been involved with (Druidic, Tree of Life etc…).
If you understand the basic principles of visualization and envisioning, you can use them to create your own meditations to connect you to qualities and energies that you want to build in your life!

Article & content © Toby Ouvry 2020, 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

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

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 session

Re-starts Sunday 10th May – 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.

Saturday 16th May, 4-6pm – Mindful Envisioning – A meditation, visualization & imagining masterclass

A picture speaks a thousand words! Learn how to build powerful meditation states through your imagination and visualization that can be put to many practical uses…
Read more about the workshop

Saturday 31st May, 2-5.30pm  – Wabi-Sabi mindfulness – The art of creative leadership and self-leadership, A Livestream workshop

In a sentence: Learn how to work creatively with uncertainty, imperfection and life’s inherent messiness to realize your leadership and self-leadership potential.  Manage stress and anxiety better using mindfulness in combination with the practical philosophy of Wabi-Sabi.
Full details of the workshop

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)

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

Tues 5th & Weds May 6th, 7.30-8.30pm – Online Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session

Thursday 7th May, 6.30-7.30pm – Online Wesak Meditation on Compassion

Saturday 16th May, 4-6pm – Mindful Envisioning – A meditation, visualization & imagining masterclass

Saturday 16th May 10.30am-12noon – ONLINE Get your meditation practice started now – The shortest & most time effective meditation course ever

Sat 23rd 6-7pm, Tues 26th 7.30-8.30pm, Weds 27th 7.30-8.3pm May  – Monthly new moon, new beginnings visualization and envisioning sessions

Saturday 31st May, 2-5.30pm  – Wabi-Sabi mindfulness – The art of creative leadership and self-leadership, A Livestream workshop

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 Inner vision Life-fullness Meditation and Psychology Meditation techniques Mindful Self-Leadership Mindfulness Motivation and scope Presence and being present

Controlling the future

W

“On a practical level I find that if I am being effective in the moment, then what I do tends to set up ‘waves’ of energy where a good, successful and/or unexpectedly pleasurable future emerges alive and well from the here and now”

Dear Integral Meditators,

The unpredictability of the future is a big thing right now, in the article below I outline a few mindful positions will help you set up a way of working with the future that is both sustainable, enjoyable and effective!

The Men’s Group starts again on the 27th April, online of course, as is this Saturdays Livestream Beginners meditation workshop.

In the spirit if the present dancing into the future,

Toby

Controlling the future

Mindfulness is not just about being ‘in the present moment’, it’s also about developing a conscious relationship to how we approach and think about the past and future.
If you look at the source if much of your anxiety and fear, much will be about the future. Because the future is by definition uncertain, a certain degree of anxiety and concern is natural. However, if we respond to this anxiety by obsessively trying to control and predict the future, then that won’t help us too much. Reasons for this include:

  • We aren’t very good about trying to predict the future. What actually happens in the future often defies and contradicts our best predictions
  • Trying to hard to control the future leads to mental rigidity, where we close ourself off to options arising in the present moment that could give rise to a better future than the one we are trying so hard to create through control

Having said this, General Eisenhower also said:
“No battle was ever won according to plan, but no battle was ever won without one…plans are useless but planning is indispensable”

For me this captures very well the dilemma about how to approach the future. You have to think ahead and plan, but you also have to let go and meet the future as it arises in this moment, and be prepared to dance and improvise!
With this in mind, here is a simple mindful pattern or process that you can establish in order to work effectively with the future:

  1. For a short period of time in your day, bring your attention to your future. With all your mindful wisdom and intelligence, plan, strategize and set up tasks for the next 24 hours or so that you think gives you the best chance of getting you to your best future.
  2. Then, stop dwelling on the future! Focus on relaxing into the present moment, keeping your attention on what you are doing. Avoid rumination, unnecessary anxiety, and trying to predict or trying control the future.
  3. Set aside a ‘next time’ when you are going to think about the future. Before that time, if you notice yourself dwelling anxiously on uncertainty, or trying to predict or control, let go of it and come back to the present moment, Just stop! Focus on relaxing, and on the execution of your chosen tasks.

This practice enables you to set up a positive polarity between:

  • Effective, conscious thinking regarding the future, and
  • Enjoyment of the present moment, and the effective execution of your activities in that moment

The funny thing is, on a practical level I find that if I am being effective in the moment, then what I do tends to set up ‘waves’ of energy where a good, successful and/or unexpectedly pleasurable future emerges alive and well from the here and now.
Enjoy dancing from the present into the future!

Article content © Toby Ouvry & Integral Meditation Asia 2019.

Starts April 27th 7-8.15pm – The Men’s Group Online – The path of conscious manhood

How can you move from coping to thriving in your life as a man?

Much is asked of men in their traditional roles as fathers and sons, partners and husbands, students and teachers, employees and employers….read full details

Get Your Meditation Practice Started Now Online – The Shortest and Most Time Effective Meditation Workshop Ever

This practical and super short (90min) workshop teaches you:

  • What meditation is and how it works
  • How to start your own effective daily meditation practice with just a five minute a day commitment
  • Provides you not only with the workshop but also with support materials; MP3 meditation recordings (1×15 minute and 3x 5 minute), short articles and diagrams to help you keep meditating after the workshop.

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

Online Class schedule:

Sunday evening, 6-.45pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/675470535

Monday lunchtime, 12.30-1.15pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/590663680

Tuesday lunchtime, 12.30-1.15pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/321314189

Tuesday Evening: 7.30-8.30pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/555319558

Wednesday Evening: 7.30-8.30pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/609271461

Thursday evening, 18.30-19.15 – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/757015034

All classes in Singapore time. Not in Singapore? Check the time for your country HERE.

How to sign up: Simply message info@tobyouvry.com or +6596750279 with the time of the class that you wish to attend. The link to attend each class is next to the class. Then make payment using the methods detailed below.

Cost: SGD$30 per class, or set of 4 classes for $100

Payment can be made in Singapore using PayNow on +6596750279, Or you can use the PayPal Link HERE to pay from anywhere in the world.

To pay for a set of 4 classes on PayPal, click HERE.

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)

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

Starts April 27th 7-8.15pm – The Men’s Group Online – The path of conscious manhood

Friday, Sat, Sunday 17,18,19th April Online – The Qi Gong Foundation Program & Program for coaches and trainers 

Tues 5th & Weds May 6th – Online Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session

Ongoing  – The Integral Mindfulness & Meditation Online Program, January-July 2020

Integral Meditation Asia

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

Categories
A Mind of Ease creative imagery Energy Meditation Greenworld Meditation Inner vision Integral Awareness Integral Meditation Life-fullness meditation and creativity Meditation Recordings mind body connection Mindful Resilience Presence and being present

Guided meditation for emotional wellbeing

Dear Integral Meditators,

Here is an eight minute guided meditation that is designed to help you cultivate your emotional wellbeing, strength and harmony:

8minute power meditation on emotional wellbeing

It explores two positions essentially:

  1. Becoming aware of and acknowledging emotions that are present in order to process them more fully
  2. Connecting to energies within landscape that strengthen and uplift your emotional self

If you enjoy it, then you can listen to a longer meditation from last weeks newsletter: Traveling while staying indoors

The Men’s Group starts again on the 27th April, online of course!

In the spirit if harmony,

Toby

PS: Another related article: Mindful of your moods, emotions and dispositions

Starts April 27th 7-8.15pm – The Men’s Group Online – The path of conscious manhood

How can you move from coping to thriving in your life as a man?

Much is asked of men in their traditional roles as fathers and sons, partners and husbands, students and teachers, employees and employers….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

Online Class schedule:

Sunday evening, 6-.45pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/675470535

Monday lunchtime, 12.30-1.15pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/590663680

Tuesday lunchtime, 12.30-1.15pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/321314189

Tuesday Evening: 7.30-8.30pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/555319558

Wednesday Evening: 7.30-8.30pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/609271461

Thursday evening, 18.30-19.15 – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/757015034

All classes in Singapore time. Not in Singapore? Check the time for your country HERE.

How to sign up: Simply message info@tobyouvry.com or +6596750279 with the time of the class that you wish to attend. The link to attend each class is next to the class. Then make payment using the methods detailed below.

Cost: SGD$30 per class, or set of 4 classes for $100

Payment can be made in Singapore using PayNow on +6596750279, Or you can use the PayPal Link HERE to pay from anywhere in the world.

To pay for a set of 4 classes on PayPal, click HERE.

 

April 17th-19th – The Way of Energy: Qi gong foundation course & Program for coaches and trainers

THIS WORKSHOP IS ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE AS A LIVE-STREAM SESSION!

This is s a practical introduction to Qi gong for those who want to understand the principles and develop their own practice. It also offers a series of simple practices for coaches, trainers and therapists that they can use with their clients to help them to build energy and wellbeing…. read more about the course

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)

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

Starts April 27th 7-8.15pm – The Men’s Group Online – The path of conscious manhood

Friday, Sat, Sunday 17,18,19th April Online – The Qi Gong Foundation Program & Program for coaches and trainers 

Tues 5th & Weds May 6th – Online Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session

Ongoing  – The Integral Mindfulness & Meditation Online Program, January-July 2020

Integral Meditation Asia

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

Categories
Awareness and insight Energy Meditation Enlightened Flow Greenworld Meditation Inner vision Life-fullness meditation and creativity Meditation Recordings Meditation techniques Presence and being present Primal Spirituality Videos

Traveling while staying indoors: How to meditate with landscape

Dear Integral Meditators,

How can you travel while staying indoors? This is a good question to ask! I’ve been meditating on landscape for decades now. Its a simple way to enjoy meditation time, and often a surprisingly quick path to deep meditation states. Here’s a 25minute guided meditation on how to meditate on landscape from the comfort of your chair/cushion:

Guide meditation on how to meditate with landscape

Its one way to enjoy the long Easter weekend while in quarantine!

This weeks online meditation classes will be on different ways of meditating on landscape as well, so do tune in!

In the spirit of inner travelling and of Easter,

Toby

 

Article: Using Landscape to Connect to Our Primally Enlightened Nature 

By recalling our own direct interactions with nature and landscape we can perhaps learn more about meditation than from years of studying books and techniques (although I recommend that to!)
Please note these are just suggestions, once you have a feel for it you can connect to any aspects of the weather, landscape and nature that work for you!…read full article

 

Online Integral Meditation & Mindfulness classes

Topic of the week: How to meditate on & with landscape

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

Online Class schedule:

Sunday evening, 6-.45pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/675470535

Monday lunchtime, 12.30-1.15pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/590663680

Tuesday lunchtime, 12.30-1.15pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/321314189

Tuesday Evening: 7.30-8.30pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/555319558

Wednesday Evening: 7.30-8.30pm – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/609271461

Thursday evening, 18.30-19.15 – Class link: https://zoom.us/j/757015034

All classes in Singapore time. Not in Singapore? Check the time for your country HERE.

How to sign up: Simply message info@tobyouvry.com or +6596750279 with the time of the class that you wish to attend. The link to attend each class is next to the class. Then make payment using the methods detailed below.

Cost: SGD$30 per class, or set of 4 classes for $100

Payment can be made in Singapore using PayNow on +6596750279, Or you can use the PayPal Link HERE to pay from anywhere in the world.

To pay for a set of 4 classes on PayPal, click HERE.

 

April 17th-19th – The Way of Energy: Qi gong foundation course & Program for coaches and trainers

THIS WORKSHOP IS ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE AS A LIVE-STREAM SESSION!

This is s a practical introduction to Qi gong for those who want to understand the principles and develop their own practice. It also offers a series of simple practices for coaches, trainers and therapists that they can use with their clients to help them to build energy and wellbeing…. read more about the course

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 12.30-1.30 – Integral Meditation classes at Space2B on Stanley Street

Friday, Sat, Sunday 17,18,19th April – The Qi Gong Foundation Program & Program for coaches and trainers 

Ongoing  – The Integral Mindfulness & Meditation Online Program, January-July 2020

Integral Meditation Asia

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

Categories
A Mind of Ease Inner vision Integral Meditation Life-fullness meditation and creativity Meditation and Psychology Mindful Confidence Mindful Resilience Mindful Self-Leadership Mindfulness Motivation and scope Presence and being present Stress Transformation

Mindfully getting outside of your comfort zone

W
“Often, discovering the best that is possible for us in life involves deliberately, soulfully and mindfully getting out of our comfort zone! What can you start with today?”
 W
Dear Integral Meditators,

This weeks article explores the relationship between comfort and discomfort, and how to create a complementary relationship between the two. You can also watch my video on the subject: Getting mindfully comfortable in order to get out of your comfort zone.In the spirit of getting comfortable with the uncomfortable,

Toby

Mindfully getting outside of your comfort zone

The ‘improvements’ of contemporary life
If you look at the way in which our life has gotten better as a result of technology, a lot of it has to do with comfort. You can get your favourite restaurant food ordered to your door, you can find information about whatever you want on Google, you can communicate with everyone thru your phone without having to leave your chair. The thing to notice about this is that comfort is not the same thing as greater fulfillment, happiness or well-being. Indeed, many forms of fulfillment and reward in life require and initial risk, or getting out of our comfort zone in order to receive the genuine reward of improved quality of life.
If we don’t watch out, we can get trapped in a subtle addiction to pursuing comfort in the false expectation that it can give us fulfillment on a deeper level, which of course it can’t.

So then, one really useful mindful question to ask ourselves is: “What can I do today to get out of my comfort zone and move towards deeper fulfillment?”
The purpose of this question is to ensure that we don’t get trapped in our comfort zone in a way that denies us the possibility a truly fulfilling, exciting and dynamic life.

Getting physically out of your comfort zone
An obvious and basic place to start is the physical level. Getting out of your comfort zone physically enables us to get fit, build physical skills and abilities, and avoid the consequences of an overly sedentary life.

Getting out of your emotional, mental and relational comfort zone
For many people getting out of their psychological and social comfort zone represents a bigger risk than just getting out of their physical one. Expanding your emotional range, spending time with people that are outside of your normal social circle all requires effort and discomfort. However, the consequent reward, fulfilment, and expansion of possibilities for us often rewards the effort many times over.

Combining genuine comfort and ease with engaging discomfort
Of course this isn’t saying that we shouldn’t  Have good quality periods of ease and restorative comfort in our life. Indeed, I’m writing this on my way back from a deeply enjoyable and ease inducing holiday! The practice here is to dance each day between healthy comfort and healthy discomfort, the goal in mind being to act In a way that brings us as much genuine fulfillment as possible.
Often, discovering the best that is possible for us in life involves deliberately, soulfully and mindfully getting out of our comfort zone! What can you start with today?

Watch Toby’s video on getting mindfully out of your comfort zone here: 

Article content © Toby Ouvry & Integral Meditation Asia 2020.

The Life-fullness Life Coaching Program with Toby

Life-fullness coaching is a unique integration of mindfulness and life-coaching that is designed to help you lead a progressively more awakened life. The essence of the Life-fullness approach is to integrate the different parts of who we are into complementary strengths so that we can really experience ourselves living our life to its fullest…

Watch Toby talking about the  Life-fullness Program:

All upcoming classes and workshops for January 2020

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation Classes at Basic Essence with Toby

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation Classes at One Heart with Toby (East coast)

Tuesday 12.30-1.30 – Integral Meditation classes at Space2B on Stanley Street

Starts Monday January 13th, 6.30-8pm – The Men’s group, the path of conscious manhood

The Integral Mindfulness & Meditation Online Program, January-July 2020

Integral Meditation Asia

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

Categories
Awareness and insight creative imagery Inner vision Integral Awareness Integral Meditation Life-fullness Meditating on the Self Meditation and Art meditation and creativity Meditation techniques Mindful Resilience Mindful Self-Leadership Presence and being present

Mindful of your inner artist (Being solar not lunar) article & video

“The ‘mindful artist’ first of all notices that their thoughts, actions and interactions are creative, fundamentally. The next position they take is to choose to direct that creativity in a deliberate way so that s/he ‘creating’ the best things that they can in your life”

Dear Integral Meditators,

What does it mean to become the ‘artist of your life?’ In the article below I offer a few thoughts on this!New year is also a good time to think about new personal directions and growth, I’ve created a new video for my Life-fullness Life coaching program, that you can view below the article.

In the spirit of mindful creativity,

Toby

Mindful of your inner artist (Being solar not lunar)

‘Everyone is an artist’
Yesterday I watched the new Joseph Beuys documentary “Beuys on Beuys”. Beuys was one of the biggest influences on me when I was at art school. His idea that ‘Everyone is an artist’ was one that decisively transitioned me from being an outer artist, or object maker to being an ‘inner artist’ or a meditator. By a meditator here I mean working primarily with mind, thoughts, attention and states of being as a way of influencing, contributing to and changing the world.
Beuys’s essential point was that since we all think, act and interact in the world, we are all creative beings, beings who affect change. By becoming conscious, deliberate and mindful about this, we can direct our creative energy deliberately toward our life and society in order to effect positive, creative change.

Mindful of your inner artist
So the object of mindfulness here is to first of all notice that your thoughts, actions and interactions are creative, fundamentally. The next position to take is to choose to direct your creativity in a deliberate way so that you are ‘creating’ the best things that you can in your life. For example:

  • If you come back tired from work in the evening, rather than just being passive and reactive with your family/friends you are thinking ‘How can I create an enjoyable atmosphere here?’ This is even (and especially) if you are a bit tense or moody
  • As you are hanging out the laundry you are aware of what you are thinking, and gently directing your attention and awareness toward beautiful and constructive patterns of thinking and feeling. You are looking to use your imagination and attention in active generative ways.
  • When you are having a meeting, you are actively looking to create connection, empathy and meaning with the people that you are with. You are looking to inspire good energy in a way that will help the group become a force of the good in some way.

Becoming Solar, rather than Lunar
One way in which I often explain becoming a mindful artist is that you are becoming solar rather than lunar in nature. The moon relies upon the reflected light of the sun for its light, it has no light of its own. This is like many people, they are reactive, they rely on the power of others for their own power. For example, they have power because of the position they hold in a company, but if you separate them from that position or label, they have very little sense of their own power. Their power is reflected, lunar. A mindful artist however is a source of power and energy. S/he is a generative person. You can rely on such a person to create goodwill, inspiration, direction. If there is a situation where there is a challenge, they can be relied upon to be actively working something out.
If you meet a person who is solar in nature, who is a mindful artist, this tends to be felt and experienced by their presence. It is something that they embody, it is in their physical and somatic being, not just their mind and intellect.
What can you start with today in order to become the mindful artist that you are, and express your solar nature?

Watch Toby on Becoming the artist of your life:

Integral Meditation Asia

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

Categories
Awareness and insight Inner vision Integral Awareness Life-fullness Meditating on the Self meditation and creativity Meditation and Psychology Meditation techniques Mindful Resilience Mindful Self-Leadership Motivation and scope Presence and being present

Combining your Beginners Mind & your Wise Mind

W

“There is an art to combining your beginners and experienced mind that will enable you to be successful in your chosen endeavors, as well as derive more pleasure and enjoyment from them”

 W

Dear Integral Meditators,

As we sit in between the Western new year and the Chinese Lunar year, it can be an interesting time to cultivate our beginners mind, in balance with our experienced mind. The article below offers a few practical ways to start!
The Wednesday classes this week will be on the subject of the article, and the next Beginners Meditation Workshop is on Saturday the 18th.

In the spirit of the journey,

Toby

Songs of Innocence and Experience – Combining your beginners mind with your wise mind

Your beginners mind (BM) is your ability to come to a task or experience with curiosity, as if for the first time.  It may be an experience that you have had many times before, or you may literally be doing it for the first time. Either way your beginners mind is a learning mindset. It watches closely, absorbing as much information as it can. Think of a child intensely interested and involved in trying to ride a bike for the first time, and you get the idea. Your BM is happy to try and fail, try and fail, try and fail, until it succeeds.
Your beginners mind helps you to keep on learning as you get older, keep your enthusiasm for life, keep you positively humble. Your BM helps you learn new things faster, and prevents you taking familiar good things in your life for granted. Mentally it keeps you young, flexible and joyful.
The beginners mind should not be confused with simply being naïve, childish, or getting bored easily and so giving up on tasks before they are done or mastered!

Your experienced mind (EM) is the sum total of all your life experience up to this point. It knows a lot of things that are very useful in helping you navigate all the situations and choices that you have to go through each day. You might think of it as the wise old man or woman within you that compares what is happening in the moment to the past in order to see if there are any patterns, experiences or learning’s that you already have that can help you with what you are facing right now.
Your EM helps you to leverage on what you know already in order to prevent you making mistakes. It saves you time, helps avoid pain, and enjoy greater success with regard to  what you are experiencing in the moment. It recognizes that in many situations we are not complete beginners, and that that is a very good thing!
Your experienced mind should not be confused with that part of you that becomes cynical, jaded, or that thinks it ‘knows it all’. It is intelligent, helpful and alert.

Integrating your beginners and your experienced mindsets
From an integral mindfulness point of view, we try to combine the best of our beginner’s mind and experienced mind together, so they are helping each other, and us to meet our life challenges more successfully. One simple way to start doing this is to ask two questions regarding any challenge you have, and want to extract practical learning from:

  1. If I view this situation as if for the first time, what do I see and observe?
  2. What is my past experience and learning telling me about this situation?

Sit with each question for a short while, and see what perspectives and insights come from both. You can then combine them into a wise approach to your experience that combines your ability to learn in the moment (beginners mind) with your ability to use past experience effectively (experienced mind).

A simple example
Forty minutes ago I sat down to write this article. I felt a bit nervous and unsure about the content, but my experienced mind (EM) told me that if I just started mapping it out and writing, I would find the idea translated into an article.  I then set aside my EM and brought my BM to the task, seeing the content ‘as if for the first time, paying attention to the present, being curious and enthusiastic. Now here I am, at the end of my article, my work complete. It’s a simple example. How could you combine your beginners and experienced mind today in order to be successful in your chosen endeavor?

Click here to listen to a 20 minute beginners mind meditation that I recently recorded.

Related article: Appreciating the past to liberate the present

Integral Meditation Asia

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Allowing & Participating – Rethinking ‘being in control’

W
“By mindfully combining allowing and participating we can control things better, without feeling the need to be so ‘in control”
M 

Dear Integral Meditators,

This weeks article offers a couple of practical thoughts on how to re-frame our idea of being in control in a way that means less stress and more effectiveness. This weeks Wednesday meditation class will be focusing on how to work with these ideas!

In the spirit of participation,

Toby

Allowing & Participating – Rethinking ‘being in control’

I’ve recently been experiencing a time in my life where there are so many factors undergoing change that inevitably anxiety keeps coming up. When change occurs, especially deep and radical change, the part of us that wants to feel ´in control’ inevitably feels stressed because the situation feels ´out of control’.
I did a session with a client about the same topic. She was fighting with a similar feeling of trying to be ‘in control’ whilst feeling so many factors ‘out of control’. One of the ways in which we reframed our situation was to use the polarity of ‘accepting and participating’ rather than ‘in control or out of control’.
In control and out of control is a win-lose game; to control is to win, to be out of control is to loose. With allowing and participating:

  • We allow things to be uncertain, unfixed, to an extent beyond our control. By accepting we relax more comfortably into the situation we find ourself without unnecessary struggle
  • By participating, we look for ways to dance with and influence the situation in creative and constructive ways. Without trying to fix everything at once, we enjoy engaging and participating with our life each day through action that is as intelligent and playful as we are able.

When we practice allowing and participating, we can create a win-win experience: We can relax with things we can’t totally control, while staying active and engaged.
By mindfully combining allowing and participating we can control things better, without feeling the need to be so ‘in control’.

Article content © Toby Ouvry & Integral Meditation Asia 2019.

Upcoming classes and workshops

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm (Restarts 21st August) – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings (Restarts 13th August), 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Tuesday 12.30-1.30 – Integral Meditation classes at Space2B on Stanley Street

Tues  10th & Weds 11th December – Monthly Full Moon Meditation & Manifestation Session

Saturday 14th & 15th December, 2-5.30pm – The Mindful Heart Meditation Workshop

Tuesday and Wednesday 17,18 December – Winter solstice balancing & renewing meditation

Integral Meditation Asia

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Finding ledges on the steep climb

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“During the day I practice ‘returning to a ledge’ several times, creating a safe, appreciative space where I can look after myself and also feel that the steep climb of my life is do-able, and that it is all worth it!”
S
Dear Toby,
This weeks article describes an image that I have been using for a while to enjoy and appreciate my life, even when it feels like ‘the pressure is on’! I sometimes offer it as a pratice to my coaching clients when they are going through times of stress. I hope you enjoy it.This weekend has the beginners meditation workshop on Saturday morning for those interested.In the spirit of ledges,

Toby

Finding ledges on the steep climb

I sometimes think about my life as a climb up a cliff face. Particularly when times are stressful, seemingly relentless and demanding I imagine myself climbing a steep cliff, with the destination a long way above and out of site. For most of the climb it is simply about looking around and reaching up for the next hand of foot hold, one after the next. Without a break, this would seem intimidating, so I imagine that on this climb there are small ledges that are just big enough for me to climb on and sit down. Here I can relax, regenerate and take temporary refuge. In my minds eye during the day I imagine I have reached one of these ledges. I sit and:

  • Look down of the most recent part of my climb and appreciate myself for having made the progress.
  • I imagine there is a light breeze and perhaps some sunlight. I look at the view of the landscape I have around me
  • Perhaps there are one or two rock flowers on the ledge, that help me to connect to the beauty in my life, and to know that my life is good, even amidst the pressure.
  • I breathe and take in the fresh air, I allow myself to pause and feel safe for this moment in my journey
  • I gather my strength and heart, and when I am ready I turn around and set of up the next section of my climb, renewed and more clear headed

During the day I practice ‘returning to a ledge’ several times, creating a safe, appreciative space where I can look after myself and also feel that the steep climb of my life is do-able, and that it is all worth it!

Article content © Toby Ouvry & Integral Meditation Asia 2019.

Upcoming classes and workshops

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm (Restarts 21st August) – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings (Restarts 13th August), 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Tuesday 12.30-1.30 – Integral Meditation classes at Space2B on Stanley Street

Saturday November 16th, 11.30am-1pm – Get your meditation pratice started now – The shortest and most time effective meditation workshop ever

Saturday November 23rd, 10am-1pm – Qi Gong for Improving your Health and Energy Levels and for Self-Healing

Starts Sunday November 3rd – A six week mindfulness course for adults with ADHD

Re-Starts Monday November 4th, 6-7.30pm – The Men’s Group – The path of conscious manhood

Integral Meditation Asia

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Taking the big picture view

W
“One big source of stress and dis-ease in our life is that we often get caught in the small picture, the details of what we are doing or participating in. We lose our sense of the big picture, and the objectivity and balance that it gives us”
 W

Dear Integral Meditators,

One ‘mindful position’ that delivers a lot of value to almost all my coaching clients is practising the discipline of holding what I call the ‘big picture view’. This weeks article has a look at what this means, and how to start!

 In the spirit of the big picture,

Toby

 

 

Upcoming classes and courses:

This weeks Wednesday evening classes will be focused on how to rest at ease in meditation and in life by overcoming our Top-dog/Underdog complex. Its a lot of fun to do, and it opens up a whole new world of loving self and loving others!

Also, I just wanted to give the heads up for two new courses starting at the beginning of November, both unique!:
Starts Sunday November 3rd – A six week mindfulness course for adults with ADHD
Re-Starts Monday November 4th, 6-7.30pm – The Men’s Group – The path of conscious manhood

Taking the big picture view

One ‘mindful position’ that delivers a lot of value to almost all my coaching clients is practising the discipline of holding what I call the ‘big picture view’. One big source of stress and dis-ease in our life is that we often get caught in the small picture, the details of what we are doing or participating in. As a result, we lose our sense of the big picture, and the relative objectivity and balance that comes from this position. The following exercise is a visual and imaginative form that we can use to reconnect to the big picture, and release our often-compulsive obsession with the details.

Step 1: Imagine your current fixation with the ‘small picture’ is like being caught up in the swirl of a busy city, with people milling all around you, all sorts of noise and activity pulling you her and there. Its difficult to stay in balance! Now imagine a place that you know, for example at the top of a hill or mountain, where when you are standing there you have a large, ‘big picture view’ of the landscape around you. You can see the valleys and plains below, perhaps in the distance a town or city. There is a big sky above and around you. The clouds pass, the sun shines, you feel the bigger rhythms of nature. You can feel yourself reconnecting with your objectivity, your big picture, and as a result you feel your body, mind and heart relaxing. As you sit, simply breathe and relax as you look over your landscape. Explore what it feels like to be centred in the ‘big picture view’, not just mentally, but emotionally, and as a feeling in your body. Stay here as long as you like, let yourself ‘soak’ in the experience.

Step 2: Shortly before you finish the meditation, bring to mind some of the things that you have gotten caught up in in your life, where you have lost the big picture view. Practise seeing them with this new ‘big picture view’ as if viewing them like a landscape from a high position.

Step 3: When back in your daily life, occasionally come back to your experience of the ‘big picture view’. Notice whether you are still in touch with it or not. If necessary, spend a few moments re-connecting to your objectivity, and relaxing as you regain your perspective.

Related articles: The conscious self in the landscape of the mind
Letting your inner landscape come alive
Article content © Toby Ouvry & Integral Meditation Asia 2019.

Upcoming classes and workshops

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm (Restarts 21st August) – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings (Restarts 13th August), 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Wednesday 12.30-1.30 – Integral Meditation classes at Space2B on Stanley Street

Saturday mornings 9-10.15am, June 15th, 29th – Qi Gong workout and meditation class

Saturday October 19th, 4-5.30pm – Get your meditation pratice started now – The shortest and most time effective meditation workshop ever

Weds 30th Oct & Friday 1st Nov, 7.30-8.30pm – Samhain Meditation – Acknowledging the gifts and wounds of our ancestors

Starts Sunday November 3rd – A six week mindfulness course for adults with ADHD

Re-Starts Monday November 4th, 6-7.30pm – 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