The Vedic Conversation - Episode 9 Charm
The Vedic Conversation - Episode 9 Charm: Tuning in to your internal compass
Welcome to this week's episode of The Vedic Conversation, hosted by Vedic Meditation teachers Rory Kinsella, Derrick Yanford and Anthony Thompson.
In this episode we talk about Charm and how when we de-excite ourselves through meditation we can tune into our internal compass or GPS.
Stick around to the end for the takeaway, practical advice you can integrate into your life.
Here’s my story about following Charm
Over the years I've sailed lots of small boats which are highly manoeuvrable and adaptable.
There's this very visceral feeling - you’re out there on the water holding the sail via a rope in one hand and the rudder in the other hand you’re constantly assessing the situation - you're reading the sky, and observing the clouds for the wind direction and wind speed. You’re feeling the wind on your skin, you're looking at the water to check currents and see if there's a swell or big waves are coming along.
You're constantly having to make adjustments to ensure you’re moving forward in the direction you would like with as much ease as possible.
When I set out I sometimes have a particular destination in mind, or perhaps I'm just going to sail about and catch the strongest wind so that I can go as fast as possible in any direction.
Sometimes I'm charmed by a particular plan before I've even got into the boat, and on other occasions something might appeal after I've got out onto the ocean and got a better idea of what's going on.
Following charm is sometimes seen as capricious, erratic or impulsive
As a long term meditator I've found I no longer spend a great deal of time working out what to do, pondering for ages over all the pros and cons - overthinking.
In life, as with sailing, as we move forward we have to make adjustments, because everything is in a state of change - nothing is constant.
Sometimes these adjustments are microscopic and on other occasions they are much bigger. We might have to change direction or perhaps abandon our intention because everything is in a state of flux.
Occasionally we're stumped and don't know if we should engage with what is charming us.
Sometimes we have a stronger opposite feeling – one of aversion and this can help us too.
It's when we recognise and acknowledge what we don't want to engage with that we can turn in the opposite direction where it's more likely we'll find the answer.
When we resist change, when we resist moving forward, things can get a little bit bumpy and uncomfortable.
It’s only when we turn our face towards the oncoming wind that we find we have some energy and some motion, which we can harness. Things then become smoother and we move forward with grace and without difficulty.
We're constantly assaulted by charm coming at us from every direction and in multiple forms such as people, ways to spend our time or money, social media ... and we often engage with these things without really assessing their merit - without asking if this is helpful and nourishing or is it just a kind of temporary form of amusement or gratification.
I’m in Hyde Park in London and behind me you can see a large sculpture by the artist George Frederick Watts from 1902, entitled Physical Energy - which he described as a homage to ‘that restless physical impulse to seek the still unachieved in the domain of material things'.- a homage perhaps, acquisition, to consumerism and avarice.
It's ironic that such a sculpture, representing the material world should be placed in Nature, in the middle of the park at the intersection of four avenues of trees - people can see it at the end of these long vistas and are charmed, and drawn towards it.
Even here in this beautiful place we are reminded of the shopping mall!
When we meditate we have a better understanding of the context of where these things lie.
We can be charmed by a new friendship or job, or a new pair of trainers or slice of delicious cake, to do this or to do that.
We all like a bit of pay-and-display from time to time but so often what charmed us is short lived, temporary and unfulfilling.
Through our daily meditation practice we find that we're able to assess charm more accurately. There is less deliberation and delay - we take spontaneous right action, trusting our intuition which is finally tuned through our practice.
The more connected we are with our inner nature the greater our satisfaction and fulfilment.
When we are charmed our clear sightedness, together with perspective and acuity, help us make the right decisions at the right time.
If you’re happy to share your stories, we’d love to have you join the conversation. Please send them through to us at stories@thevedicconversation.com or post them on social media using the hashtag #thevedicconversation and we’ll share some in future episodes.
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