Accessing Your Vastness Through Meditation with Kevin Hewitt

In this episode, Edward speaks with Kevin Hewitt, founder of Meditation Space, who has been studying, practicing, and teaching meditation for over 40 years, as an invitation to connect with one’s inner wellspring of joy, peace, and delight. Kevin shares beautifully profound and simple wisdom and guidance from a space of personal experience. The style of meditation he offers is gentle and can easily be learned and incorporated into a daily practice.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Temple Podcast. My name is Edward Pike and I'm the founder of the Temple. So we created this online space to really bring people together amongst these changing times so that we can remind ourselves of the true beauty of the human experience. It's also a place where we share wisdom, Resources, And even services that we all need right now to navigate amongst the chaos, To find our authentic purpose, And to really create powerful change together. So in this podcast I have profound conversations with some of the amazing, Inspiring people that I met along the way and that I continue to meet, To collaborate, And to play with. I really believe that every single one of us has an important journey and message to share with the world. And I hope that as you listen to the insights and to the learnings of some of our guests, You'll also be inspired to go on your own journey to stepping into your power and your voice. So if you want to find out more you can go to our website thetemple. Love. And if you want to get in touch you can find us on Instagram thetemple. Love or you can email me directly at edatthetemple. Love. But for now just sit back, Relax, And enjoy the podcast. Hi and welcome back to the Temple Podcast. I'm Edward, Pleasure to have you here again. I'm very inspired to be sharing this next episode with you. And this episode is quite different to what we normally do because it's a lot more experiential. So Kevin Hewitt, Who I've met recently, Is a wonderful meditation teacher based in northern India. And as you'll see throughout this episode, He both shares beautiful wisdom from his own experience of 40 years of meditation. And he also brings and offers a beautiful space for diving into a meditative state and really accessing or allowing the profound joy and profound vastness of what we truly are beneath the surface. And he does that in a way that is very accessible to anyone. And there are tons of, As you know, Misconceptions and ideas that we all hold around meditation. And I really feel like Kevin has a capacity to cut through all of that into the simplicity of what it is. So I really invite you to have this experience with this podcast. About 20 minutes in, Kevin starts to lead us into a bit of a meditative space and then takes us out of it again through some music. So if you are driving right now or doing something where you cannot meditate, Then please don't meditate, Please don't close your eyes. But if anyone else is listening at home or who has the time, 15, 20 minutes to just drop in to that space of inner quiet and listening and watching, Then I really invite you to do so. And please let us know in the comments below the podcast on the temple or in the campfire. Social network. Please let us know how you get on with his guidance. I'm really curious to hear from you. While I'm on that subject, The campfire, Which is a social network for temple members, Is now free. So there are three tiers to choose from. The first tier, The entry tier, Is completely free from now until the end of next year. So this is really an invitation to all of you who are listening to come and join us in the campfire where you can connect with other members, We can connect with co-creators, Connect with us, The team. We share bonus content, We share recordings, We share blog posts and articles there. And we also of course hold regular events and campfire sessions for tiers two and tiers three of which you can get all the information in the campfire itself. So I really invite you to come and to co-create with us in the campfire. You can go to thetemple. Love. Campfire and join us there. But for now, Just sit back, Relax and enjoy the podcast. Okay. Hello Kevin. Hello. Hello. Hello Ed. It's good to see you again. Likewise, Likewise. We've been in connection for maybe a month now I would say, Maybe just over a month and had some really beautiful conversations already. You've been also offering your meditation and your music at the Sunday service we had last weekend which was beautiful. So it's nice now to have some more time to connect and to dive into this wisdom that you're bringing to us. Great. Thank you. So let's start off with the kind of the ritual question, Which is, How would you explain in your own words what it is that you have been doing for the past few years and what it is that you're, What is the magic or what is it that you do for people? Well, I've been meditating for a little over 40 years now. It was something that I discovered quite early in my life. And me, I always felt that my life was going to have something special in it. I didn't know exactly what that would be. But when this appeared, It was like the ultimate no brainer. Like it was like, Okay, There it is. This was something that was really actually already a part of me. I just needed to really discover it and dive a little deeper into it and explore. So I was very fortunate at the time that I was able to do that and have been able to continue all these years. It was a huge turning point for me, My early 20s in my family and just my whole life, Just things kind of radically changed very, Very, Very quickly. And then the next thing I knew, This opportunity to begin meditating and being presented, I just immediately went for it. And here we are 40 plus years later. I've also worked in different careers and worked as an administration, I worked for the telephone company. I was a model, I did voiceover work, I did some acting and did a variety of different things. But I always returned to the practice or I always kept the practice of meditation going on. And so it's something that I felt very, Very deeply within. And I think the great thing about this particular meditation that I've been doing all these years, It really is a very free kind of space, Not ritualistic, It's not based on any kind of dogma. It's just very, Very, Very, Very free flowing. And it doesn't require like punctuality, But it can be regular in doing it. So that's been my, Basically in a very general sense, The approach. And so what was the trigger? What was it that brought you to meditation in the first place? Right. It was actually a yoga class that I took. I wanted to take a hatha yoga class. And then the summer when I was 21 and all these things happened, That fall I had an opportunity to go to a place where I could take yoga. And in those days yoga was not the way it is today, It was just sort of starting out. And so I went for this yoga class and I found that I really liked it. I really enjoyed the atmosphere. And I particularly enjoyed the end of the yoga class when we would lie down and do what's called Shavasana, Which is like the posture where you just lie on your back and sort of let go. And after doing all these postures and then doing some breathing and so on, Just lie there on my back and just in those moments just kind of take off. It just felt absolutely fantastic. And then when I would sort of come back into the waking state, I felt incredibly refreshed and incredibly charred. I could really see that where I had gone was something different than sleep. It sort of felt like sleep. It felt restful, Very deeply restful. But it was actually deeper than all of that. And so I was like a deep, Deep recognition, Deep recognition. You know, It's like it said the other day, It's like having a recognition of coming home. And so it was it was like that. It was just like coming home and feeling really connected to something that was already in me, But I just hadn't been able to access it way before. That's really interesting. And that's a good leeway into the understanding of what meditation is, I think, Because there's so many misconceptions around meditation. There are many different misconceptions and there are many people who are practicing meditation in different ways, Which is great. And I certainly I admire, I respect, I fully support anyone who is doing a meditation practice. It's absolutely great. I feel that it's something that is definitely becoming more and more popular, More and more known about. And I fully encourage anyone who has a practice already, Just as it is, Continue with that. And at the same time, There are people who I've spoken to, Quite a few people actually spoken to who have said to me that they would like to meditate, But they feel they can't for one reason or another. Some people say because I don't have enough time. And I know someone said, Well, When I retire, I'm going to start meditating. And other people say, Well, You know, I yeah, I'd love to meditate, But I can't control my thoughts. And I can't stop thinking. I can't sit long enough, Or I can't do it for an hour or two hours or three hours or whatever. And well, I would never ask anybody to do that. I in fact, In the meditation that I that I offer that I talk about that I practice, It's called invitation meditation. And it's simply a meditation about inviting yourself to just connect with yourself. And it's really so simple in the sense that it doesn't involve anything complicated. In many practices, You know, They all have a very kind of basic template or whatever where you sit comfortably, Close your eyes, You take a breath, And you start to watch. And that's in as well. So in that sense, It's all very harmonious. It's all really the same thing. And meditation and invitation meditation, You simply watch wherever your thoughts are coming from wherever they go to, And don't consider them, You don't have to consider them a problem. In other words, You can give yourself permission to think, If you're thinking, Not thinking, You have full permission to do that. In other words, Freedom, It's it's based on freedom and being free to just be whoever you are in the moment. And the whole thing is not so much what is being experienced, But rather, What is who is the experiencer of this, Because generally, When we're functioning through the day, And we have to do this with our senses, And we're engaged in doing so many different things that's fantastic, And it's needed. But there's a place in each one of us, From where all of our action, And our thinking and all of our emotions and thoughts, From where all that comes from. And generally, We just don't pay attention to that. And what I have found, And I would like to say at this point, Something very important, It's very important for me is that whenever I talk about any of these things, I'm coming from my own personal experience. And I know that might seem obvious, But I really liked that point that this is my own personal experience. So whatever I'm saying, Is something that I have come to see in my own life. And I would never, If you meditate in this way, This will happen to you, Anything like that, No, Nothing like that. Rather, For me, It's a matter of offering my experience. If someone likes that, If it resonates with them, If they sense something, Then great, And you can carry on from there. So in meditation, The whole thing is basically to just identify with that one behind it all, Without canceling anything. What I find the really beautiful thing about it is you don't have to cancel thoughts or cancel ideas or cancel anything at all about who you are. It's a matter of adding, Adding, Adding. And what's being added? The awareness of who you are before thought, Who you are before your breath, Who you are before you come into your, What we call, Conscious state, Your conscious mental state. There is something there. It can't be grasped with the mind, But it is there. This is the experience that I've come to understand is very, Very, Very special and very available through meditation. So is it, In a sense, Is it kind of turning this, Our focus, The camera of the focus around into where the origin, The origin of the thought, The origin of the, As you say, The image, The feeling, The sense comes from? Is that what you're saying? Yeah, Very much, Very much. And just getting to a place, Actually just identifying with that source of the breath, The source of the thoughts and the source of our life. I look at, Sometimes I talk about it in terms of you take, For example, A table lamp, If you have two table lamps and they're just standing there, They're radiating light. But in order to radiate light, They need electricity. And so the electricity comes from somewhere. It comes from a generating plant or whatever, Wherever it's coming from. We generally don't think about that generator plant when we switch on a light or when we enjoy the radiance that it's putting out. So in the same way, We all have a life current, A life kind of electricity flowing through our veins, Through our lives, Through our hearts and minds and all our feelings, Thoughts, Emotions, It was a kind of electricity, A kind of current flowing through and it's coming from somewhere. And that somewhere is that source. And something else that I've come to see, A meditation that's really beautiful is that we actually feel we all have the same source that really on that level, We are really that same source, That same essence, If you will. So a sample of the two table lamps, One lamp could be looking at another lamp and they can be saying, You know, Whatever lamps, However lamps, But seriously, Those lamps can be looked at, They're on a table, But they're deriving their energy, Their power from the same source. They could be both plugged into the same mains, Let's say for example, But one could be a red or a blue or a green lamp and the other one could be a crystal light or a chandelier or something. And they could look very different, But in essence, Their life source or their energy is coming from the same place and in that sense is actually the same energy. So when we look at each other, We look very different. We have very different life experiences and we've got all kinds of different things in our lives for sure, But at the heart of it, At the base of it, I feel we really do come from the same place and in that sense, Everyone knows everyone somewhere. Like there's a kind of a sense that when you see someone, You may not know all the details that there are to know about them, But you can know that they're alive because of that same energy that I'm alive with. And if we pay attention on that source, Then something really amazing happens. You talk about the magic or the kind of the wonderful thing, The effect of that. And the wonderful effect is that then there's an automatic sense of harmony. If you are doing something or you are away in a certain way that is not familiar to me or if something is a certain characteristic of someone I don't like, Well, Okay, I don't like that characteristic and I don't have to look at that characteristic, But what is important is at the back of it all, Behind it all, There is a source that we are internally forever united in. Connecting that source, Connecting with that source, Something really wonderful happens. And the feeling of openness, Feeling of compassion, Feeling of harmony, Whatever, And yes, All of these things come out of that. So the main thing though is for myself, Yourself, For anyone who is interested in this practice, And simply to just connect for themself, With themself, To that source and see where it goes from there. And my experience really is incredible. It has transpired in my life over these 40 years and I'm just so grateful for having been able to do this practice and to continue to do it and to talk about it with people. For all these years, I have been teaching over the years, But I felt particularly in the last few months a real draw to indicate that, To open up a little bit more expressively to people who, As I said, Would like to meditate but perhaps feel they can't. Because I feel we're at a time in our whole evolution of our planet that a lot of people are really asking really powerful and deep questions. And a lot of the questions have no answer. Sometimes things are the way they are, But at the same time, A lot of times answers can be found through tuning into the source, I feel, And I felt. I've been amazed at just how many answers have come to me and a sense of peace and a sense of joy and a sense of delight with which life can be lived. I'm fully in support of that which supports life and that encourages it in any way possible. What you're speaking to also is the power of spirituality really and the power of meditation, Of course, As an access point, As a vessel to reconnect with that aspect of ourselves, With that energy, That beautiful divine source that we come from and that we are fed from and that we receive from. And I really want to take a moment to really honor that. The power of spirituality because I know in my life and I see it in many people I work with and clients, There's a deep sense of that spiritual knowing. There's a deep sense of that, As you say, The harmony that we come from the same substance. And yet there's also a doubt, A distrust, A shame around speaking about these things, About spiritual concepts, About this knowing that we have inside. And I love what you said that you also felt recently more drawn to sharing your experience, To sharing your experience. I want to say your understanding but your experience is the best word to use. I think your sense of it and your practice of it and the message that you have. And that's also the feedback actually I received from when you did the Sunday service was that through your words, Just to know your experience, You were able to bring people back to that sense of connection, Back to that sense of home, Of knowing that they come from this place. So I want to really celebrate that in you and honor this also, This conversation. It's a very important moment, As you say, In our history where there are so many questions and this is a path to, I don't even know how to call it, An answer. It is a way of discovering more, Isn't it, Of having our own experience of it. Yes, Yes, Absolutely. And when you were saying about how it's kind of, What were some words you used, Like not encouraged or not easily done, Say, Generally. Well it's because it hasn't. It's kind of like, One thing I've observed is it's kind of like building a muscle, You know, It's like building a spiritual muscle, If you will. And you can have that propensity, You know, That potentiality to develop it. But until and unless, This is where the importance of regularity of practice comes in, But until and unless you actually do the practice, There are lots of great words we can say about it and that's all very valid. But to actually do the practice is what's really important. And again, As I said earlier, It's not about punctuality, But it's just about being kind of regular. And you know, I find also that for a lot of people, There's a time in their day when it just sort of naturally drifts towards that place of meditation. But unless someone is used to doing it or unless someone is sort of aware of that happening, They'll just go maybe grab a coffee or they'll go and, Or go out and do something and get active and kind of push through it. And again, That's perfectly fine if that's what someone wants to do, Certainly most welcome. But it's also a very special time. I'd like to mention that if that moment comes up and you're able to catch that moment and just take those few moments and close your eyes, Take a breath and watch. That's it. Nothing more complicated than that really. And to take those moments where you're not asleep, Because you're not sleeping, You're not dreaming, Because you're not dreaming, It's not nighttime and you're not in your place. And at the same time, It looks like you're in the waking state, But you've actually sort of sidestepped it into a different state. There's the waking state, The dream state and the deep sleep state. And then there's this other state in meditation, Which is automatically there. Moment you close your eyes and you start to watch. It's really that simple, It's that accessible. But generally, People don't give a name to it or don't acknowledge it or address it. So it's just like, Oh, Yeah, I'm just spacing out or whatever. And some people don't like that. So that's their choice. But what I would invite someone who, For whom this resonates, Is to honor that as you know, To honor that time in the day or those times when you feel like, Oh, I just I just I'm kind of spaced out now I just need a few minutes. And to make the experiment. That's a really, Really neat thing to make the experiment of just closing the eyes in those moments. If you can, Of course, Certainly if your attention is required to drive a car or operate machinery or do something that's not the time for it. You have to keep going and doing whatever you're doing. Certainly. But when you have the time at your discretion, At your disposal to just really let go and just let yourself be, Then I really invite anyone again for whom this resonates to make the experiment to gift yourself those moments to gift yourself that time to really allow and allow yourself to just to just go and kind of let go for those few minutes with alertness, With with awareness, Because meditation is not about sleeping. Meditation is actually the word in Hindi for meditation is dhyana and dhyana means attention. So if somebody is doing something, They'll say dhyankaro like pay attention. And so the word dhyana, Which is used also for meditation means alertness. It's not a it's not a sleepy thing. So it also is not a tense thing. So it was a question I had for many years was how can one be alert and relax at the same time. And over the years, I've come to see that it is possible just by watching, Easy and allowing that moment to unfold as well in meditation. Now might be a good time to give an introduction and maybe give a little taste to anyone who's listening as well about this, This state that you're inviting us to rediscover. So if you like, If you feel inclined, Then I would simply invite you to provide as you're able to comfortably and you have the moments and the time to do this at this time. And I would encourage you just sit somewhere where you can sit comfortably and just adjust your body in any way that you need to. If you if you need to lie down, That's fine too. It is preferable to sit up so that you don't fall asleep. But if you do need to lie down, By all means you should just feel free. This is this is a meditation infused with freedom. And myself, No one is going to certainly I'm not going to tell you anything to do anything or suggest anything that is going to in any way impinge on your freedom. You are free. That's the whole thing. That's the whole basis of this is you are free. And we're doing this to discover our free nature, Our true free nature within. So for those of you who would like to participate, Just sit comfortably in any way that you like. Have your legs crossed if you're sitting on the floor or whatever or sitting in a chair, Whatever. And if you like, I'd invite you to close your eyes. And just for a moment, Sit up straight and pull your shoulders back a little bit. Drop your head back just ever so slightly. And then just relax. And once again, And this time, Just tuck your chin down towards your chest first. And then lift your shoulders up, Lift and draw your head back. And just relax. And now, If you will, If you'd like, Invite you to take a nice deep breath in. And as you inhale, Allow your stomach to expand. And just fully, Fully fill with that beautiful air of life as you inhale. And exhale. And once again, In and out. And this time, As you inhale in, Very gently shrug your shoulders up and roll them towards the back as you exhale. One more time in, Shrugging your shoulders up. And exhale, Draw your shoulders back behind and lower them down. And just as you are, One nice easy breath in. Hold for a second. And out. This time, As you inhale, Just feel the air going down the back of your throat as if you are kind of making a sound a bit like, Almost like rain or the ocean. So it's. . . And out. And once again, Drawing the air along the back of your throat, Making the sound of rain or the ocean. And out. Now from the place where you're sitting, Just feel easy and just start, Just observe. If you're having some thoughts, It's perfectly fine. If you're not having thoughts, It's perfectly fine. What I'd invite you to do at this point is to think about the one who's watching these thoughts. Just think about the fact that in order to have a thought, Someone, Something has to be there in which to have this thought. So allow the thought to be, Or if there's no thought, Allow that to be. But if you will, Very gently, Very lovingly, Very sweetly, Just very kindly to yourself, Just direct your attention back to that which is before your thoughts. And if you feel that you can't do that, That's okay. In that case, I would just invite you to just sort of imagine that there's something there behind, The source of your life, The source of your thoughts. Just be with that for a few moments. Just watch that life spring that is there. Though it may not have been recognized, Or may though it may not be recognized in general, In these moments, In these moments you can recognize that. You can recognize the source of your being. And that source of your being is all love, Is all purity, Is all peace, Is all compassion. That source of who you are never changes. Because if you haven't experienced, What comes first, We always say is, I. I experience this. I experience that. I am experiencing this. I did experience this, Whatever. And of course, With feelings, I feel good. I feel really good. So what is common to both of those experiences, Both of those feelings, Is I. Your I is always there. And that I is forever a kind of neutral plate in which all the experiences happen. Really identify, I feel I am sad, I am happy, I am this, I am that. But in these moments, In these moments you have the opportunity, If you will, If you like, To identify that I am I. I am that I, That source of my being. That pure electricity, That pure current, That pure reality that's behind all experiences. And as such, You are absolutely perfect, You are absolutely pure, You are free, You are forever. That you, That pure source, Is the reality to come from, As you are, As you return, One day when the body is no more. The body is how many they go, But that source, That pure being remains. It was there before you were this body. It is now as you're this body, And one day it will still be there. And you as that, You remain that. So just take a few moments in that stillness, In that space. We'll just take a short time, Maybe a couple of minutes. Just allow, Allow, Allow. You have the opportunity here to give yourself permission to simply rest in yourself in a way that generally is not spoken about, Generally is not talked about. In these moments you have the opportunity, If you wish, If this resonates for you, And if you feel to give yourself the opportunity, These moments are a gift to yourself, To give yourself permission to just be you, As you are, Pure, Free, Forever. So just take a couple of moments, A couple of minutes, And then we'll come back on to the level of discussion and talking. All right. . . . . . This life energy is so precious, You cannot buy it with billions of dollars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .