Invest In Experiences - Talk And 5-Minute Practice

It is important to recognise the depth within oneself, rather than get lost in the materialism of everyday life. Tony Samara shares very valuable advice to move beyond the momentary satisfaction of buying more things and instead choose to invest in experiences. Concluding with a 5-minute guided meditation allows our appreciation for all and everything to be embraced.

Thank you for choosing one of Tony Samara's meditational tracks today.

Transcript

You you you When you're ready just relaxing into a state of stillness Allowing the mind to just come back to the present moment Which means being aware of your breath Being aware of your thoughts being aware of your feelings,

But at the same time Recognizing that there is something deeper This depth within oneself what I call the flow sometimes gets lost in the materialism of everyday life and of course this materialism is understood or experienced in different ways and Perhaps when you go to the shops you're reminded you have to spend your money and it's all about materialism.

It seems like rather than spend money on activities or important learnings such as a retreat or such as a transmission like you're part of now or whatever we spend money on things and according to research spending money on things doesn't really Create any sort of happiness.

It creates a sort of satisfaction for a moment but that passes and research shows that spending money on experiences not only generates more gratitude and sense of thankfulness and connection which is the topic of today's transmission but also reduces material consumption because it motivates a generosity and a sense of Belonging to what is going on rather than this separation that is very much the feeling or the sensation or the experience with when manipulated to spend money on material things You can check this research.

I think it was the University of Chicago and you know in the end an Experience is something that is there forever so gratitude then is not just something that you feel for a moment and then the next moment happens and the gratitude is forgotten that experience always brings up a good feeling inside of you and helps to motivate you to go deeper into more experiences that will help you to cultivate and nurture gratitude and the sense of positivity and Also help to give back to the people around you who you know could benefit out of such a positive experience or because you're just Overwhelmed with gratitude you want to share That's a wonderful thing Because when we begin to do this we sort of go against materialism which Perhaps is one of the major reasons why the world is in the state that the world is in today There is this mantra that's constantly repeated within the capitalistic system and within even so-called communistic systems Where there isn't enough and there is this Idea that there isn't enough that we sort of play out in our everyday thinking in the everyday feeling But actually what if we did things a little bit differently and embraced that we have enough That what we've got is enough It would be very complex because in the beginning there were you go against the grain you go against the mantra That's being repeated around you family wise Society wise country wise World-wise There is this idea that there isn't enough which actually stems back to the evolution of humanity when there wasn't enough but the leftover remnants of that experience and that feeling and those thoughts and The body chemistry and the reaction to situations create this there isn't enough experience and the experience is usually just mental because It has nothing to do with reality today.

We have a lot more than a hundred two hundred years ago most people and We still don't have enough we still look at the empty glass rather than what we've got so when we understand this and Begin to embrace what I call a minimalist lifestyle which has become very popular by the way So it's not just about being poor and suffer and all the all the aspects of a minimalist lifestyle that people Sort of thought about in the past but it just means saying no to all these material things and looking deeper inside for the key to happiness Whereby we can learn to appreciate and be grateful for having enough These beautiful things that are around just look in within Your experience look at nature.

Look at the sky look at the elements and Experience how they're making you feel and then look at the things that you've got,

You know,

A lot of us create stress because we believe that that We're we need to sort of keep up with all these things and have this and have that children today going to school Or young people today having to keep up with the latest fashion or whatever is the latest And there is a lot of stress and if we embrace a minimalist lifestyle then we can just say no I Have enough can repeat this mantra within oneself.

I have enough and even though okay,

You may be suffering from financial hardships and work stress and feeling that you know,

There is a Lot more that would make you happier that leads that sort of thinking leads on to depression and anxiety So the answer is just buy less question everything So it doesn't mean you have to go into the shop and try to save every penny that you've got because actually most of the Money doesn't go spending For example on unhealthy food that money goes on other items if you really look at it logically and calculate What we spend Our wealth on what we spend our time on and what we spend our thinking and feeling on Realize that we are poorer than we believe simply because we've created that scenario within our experience so,

Of course the answer is to buy less and appreciate more but also to be very Very clear what you're doing and where you're placing your energy and be very discerning So that stress anxiety depression Overwhelming feeling doesn't control you and begin to manipulate you because this is how society actually manipulates everyone It's not that society helps you to feel better about yourself helps you to feel that you're missing out on things and this is why advertising on Facebook and advertising today everywhere Works so well because we know this is a human trait because of our evolutionary process Not enough and so everyone is afraid on missing out Because on some deep subconscious level if you miss out you could starve you could die you could not exist and That's probably how you feel emotionally if you're being very material.

So You know if you think about gratefulness,

It's much more complex than just being grateful because a positive thing happens Or because you win the lottery being grateful is about a shift in attitude Which I'm speaking about where you're not trying to keep up with the Joneses or practicing you know practicing How to spend your money on everything that will make you happy and because there are books today that Are written,

You know how to do this and how to do that and it's all very focused on the material So it's it's for me it's about appreciating who you are in this moment rather than trying to be something or being manipulated to believe that being something means happiness to release yourself from this iron grip of Manipulation requires a little bit of Strength where you have to take back something but some sort of control over the system that's playing out in your thinking and in and in your feeling consciousness and Sort of hold on to this clarity that being minimalist doesn't mean that you're poor But being minimalist means you're saying no to certain things and that that's a very powerful statement to say no to materialism and yes to spirituality or yes to the joy of just being and Experiencing rather than always wanting to buy your experience Which is basically what you're doing when you're manipulated to live an extravagant lifestyle where you're just spending on things that Really don't bring about any sort of happiness maybe for a little while But in the end,

It's not really the true happiness that your heart is seeking.

So being creative doing things that help you to come back to your personal health and well-being and Dramatically looking at The situations around you and saying no creating clear boundaries is one of the very powerful ways to Invite and cultivate gratitude into your life Material goods Can be a celebration of gratitude but most of the time it's a symptom of a very sick society and also very much a manipulation that plays with your subconscious mind and plays with the way that you think and feel and Creates this void where we believe that this void can be filled by material things and We know that this void very often is more about asking for love for connection for experiences that create purpose and meaningful Engagement so It requires a little bit of Deep work Meditational work to identify the real the authentic Within the emotional within the spiritual within the mental bodies to identify that which is real and focus on Cultivating gratitude so that the real can be fulfilled In in this way by sitting still And relaxing Just coming back to your heart Breathing deeply And perhaps placing the palms of your hands on your heart and just relaxing and saying it's okay Sometimes you need to do this,

You know by placing your hands on your chest in this way.

There is this connection Communication that happens you can visualize this it's okay and you can relax the heart so that the heartbeat the heart rate variability that Is being created?

Comes back to Equilibrium comes back to a sense of balance Deep breath relaxing on the out breath Letting go You You Letting go And a deep breath Just to connect you to the experience of presence the flow that is around Within you the flow that is in everything Just notice that everything moves everything Is part of a rhythm that is the flow of stillness Deep breath deep stillness as you come back to this natural state of alignment Relaxing your heart Relaxing the body Relaxing the emotional body relaxing the mind Deep out breath as you let go You may wish to take these next few moments just to stay connected to integrate this experience of stillness within You And throughout your day today just reminding yourself to come back to this place within you the heart And to relax and connect to the flow Thank you You

Reviews

Thanks- Such a profound message I know to be true. V hard to practice for me, as I have always had cravings for more possessions, but I see & have felt the happinesses & joy experienced by “experiences” vs the fleeting thrill of a materialistic object - I am catching myself now, when I’m longing for more, shopping online, or even at the store- stopping & inquiring if I really need these items- it’s also embarrassing to admit the amount of time I’ve wasted contemplating now if I should buy something or not as my awareness as increased. There have been successes where I’ve left the website &/or store and not purchased anything- but the time I’ll never get back... I guess it’s a process, so I’m trying to be compassionate with myself as my awareness heightens - However, sometimes, I do back & make the purchase! The craving wins! The path of awareness is wobbly for sure!!!

Fantastic gift at this time of the year to any one who is lost in the acquisition of more...more...more...’stuff’ 😂
I have enjoyed this talk and bookmarked for anyone that I feel should receive this as a gift or present in 2020.
A great wake up call to all to see and appreciate the abundance around us, relax and stay in the flow of gratitude to enjoy what is there first before reaching out for the next more.
Thank you for nice choice of words used and the meditation was just beautiful way to end and reflect.

Very true yet hard when we live in a culture where housing is expensive. In order to live comfortably in our city of choice, we must spend an exorbitant amount of money for housing. Yes, we can move but the experiences here are creative and lovely.

Love this! Such an interesting perspective! I’ll return to this again!

Beautiful and timely. I find that I’m happiest of all when in creative activities. To be honest, shopping for beautiful objects for my home, or books I love, fulfills me deeply. So some may say I have a cluttered home of objects d’art, others may find the meaning of the pieces I chose.
But it is critical to live within my means and not fill up my life with too many possessions. Otherwise THEY begin to possess US.
I only wish to lovingly care for what I have, and then find a new home for it when it no longer serves it purpose.
I rotate the art in my home, so I can see it with new eyes. My home is like a lovely and contemplative museum or art studio to me.

Very timely. I have been dealing with the loss of a home and finding myself judging others for being materialistic (boyfriend’s leased BMW when he had a perfectly good car still under warranty, friend’s insistence to get a dog she is now enrolling into daycare) because she isn’t home to care for the dog ...). I am seeing the longings and grasping each of us have are part of the same thing. Thank you for helping me connect the dots, create space, and connect thru experience instead.

Excellent..have been working on this as I don’t feel like I fit with other people and things to feel better...will replay. Please post more.

Thank you for a very thoughtful talk followed by a meditation. The message was an important one.

Namaste.

Thanks so much for the reminder that experiences/connections bring peace and happiness, not more stuff. Something to continue to work on! 🙏 💙

Very interesting. 🙏🏼

Thank you for this wonderful meditation 😁

A good reminder at an opportune moment!!Thank you.

Very true words. I am a true believer in what you say. The whole concept is freeing. Someone recently said to me "Less is Better". We can accumulate so much "Stuff". Thank you for your reaffirming reminder.💖🤗