Put Aside All The Stuff And Create A Positive Space

The mind is reactive as soon as it looks at all its piles of stuff, and to-do lists to complete. In this inspiring podcast, Tony Samara invites us to liberate our minds and contemplate choosing freedom in order to enable us to step into life from a positive, practical and beneficial place. By closing your eyes, and relaxing the body, we can open ourselves to the wisdom that is beyond the mere words.

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

Transcript

So just making sure that the space around you is conducive to meditational practice. Just making sure that any gadgets or devices or practical issues that need your attention are set aside. Set aside for later. Sometimes it's not good to set things aside for later, But when it comes to creating a receptive space, Meaning a space where you are not caught by the demands and the activities of mundane everyday life, You are receptive to something more, More profound, More meaningful within the experience of this moment, Then that receptivity allows you to be in touch with information or communication that is vital for spiritual practice. If the mind is reactive or if the experience of reactivity is set in motion due to mind thoughts or due to chemical imbalances in the body, Then there is really no solution to the situation that can be understood through the reactive mind or through the reactive aspect of the body. So getting upset about upsetness doesn't really help you to find inner peace. Getting stressed by stress doesn't help you to relax. So in the end, We have to change things, Which means sometimes setting things aside for a little bit, For your attention a little bit later. Setting things aside doesn't mean you're sweeping whatever it is under the carpet, It just means that you're giving space to contemplation, To the space where you can just look at things from a different perspective. That makes a huge difference, Especially when it comes to the subtle nature and the complexity of our experience of life, Our life experience. Normally setting aside practicals for later isn't a good thing. We do this all the time, But that is because the mind is reactive to whatever issue it's facing. So we believe that we can't manage or we can't do whatever is required of us in that moment. We can't do things in the way that we're being asked to do or we're being pushed to do sometimes or being pushed to such a degree that there is stress in what we're doing. So sometimes we have to set things aside, But that's never good. In the end, Some time for relaxation and contemplation means that you're just reassessing your values and your priorities in such a way where you can place those priorities in a context that allows you to achieve all the things that you want to achieve, But in a way that's realistic and sustainable. And so very often we want to do these many things. Many people even have dreams about doing things. I'll do it tomorrow or I'll do it next month or next year or when things change or when I have the time or when I have the money or when I have the help or when I have the intelligence or when I have this or that or whatever it is, That procrastinates the activity so that it's waiting for tomorrow and tomorrow just never happens. So it's never a good thing to wait, But at the same time it's never a good thing to try to do everything. Some people then don't reassess their values or don't reorganize the structure of life experience in such a way that it's sustainable and realistic. The activities just get piled up one upon another and there is a lot of stuff that has to be carried around, Even if it's not really being carried around, Just the thought of carrying around all that stuff already tires you before you even lift one of the objects up to look at it and to say, Okay, This needs my attention now. The attention can't be given to anything because there is just too much stuff all around in your mind, Too much stuff that your feelings have to deal with, Too much stuff that your body has to work through, Too much stuff in the communication that's happening around you with people or because of people in the world, At your work, In relationships, In the way that you just meet people. Everything becomes very chaotic if there isn't the space of receptivity where you can assess things in such a way that they become sustainable and also become clear or the issue becomes clear to you as to why you're doing what you're doing or thinking or feeling what you're feeling. Sometimes we're tired out and we wake up in the morning. I remember working with someone who said, I wake up in the morning feeling tired, And I said, But are you resting, Are you sleeping well, Are you sleeping enough hours, And they said, Yeah, I sleep enough hours, I'm rested, But as soon as I wake up, The day meets me in such a way where I just don't want to get out of bed because there are so many things that need my attention, My energy before I even get out of bed is already caught in the whirlwind of all the things that I'm carrying on my shoulders, All the stuff that I'm having to deal with or interact with or communicate to, That I'm tired before I even begin with any of the aspects that needs my attention. I'm tired before even doing the first thing that needs to be done, Which is just get ready for the day, You know, Just brush my teeth or just eat my breakfast. Already the stress is overwhelming and I'm tired, And that's truly the case with many people, Some of us ignore the signals, Ignore the signals by either just having the morning coffee, You know, And just saying, Okay, This will keep me awake, This will give me the energy I need to continue or to start my day, Not to continue, Maybe you'll need a few more coffees later on to continue the activities in such a way where you can lift all that luggage or all that stuff and just lift it up and be running around the place doing one thing at a time, Hopefully, Or just getting so confused and wondering what you need to do because there's just too much stuff and you don't know where to begin even, So you go for whatever it is, Addiction, That takes up your time, And that is what tires the mind out, And this is why it's not sustainable, Because then we fall into reactive behaviours that are addictive in their nature, Meaning that the adrenaline rush or the stress that creates an imbalance in hormones and the imbalance in hormones then create an addiction because we're used to, Let's say, The hormones that are sabotaging the body being there, Just say for example sugar eating cake, You know, Whenever you're feeling stressed you go for the sugar fix and you're used to these hormones or the sugar or the insulin or whatever it is that's out there in your body being manipulated because of the situation, The stress or the anxiety or just the demands of everyday life, Meaning that we fall into such negative patterns of behaviour, It becomes addictive and we think this is normal, So sitting down and being receptive in meditation is already a challenge for a mind that is reactive and can't be still, So in the beginning, And this is what I explained to the person who was asking me what to do, You know, When I get out of bed feeling tired in the beginning, There needs to be a clear boundary as to how you interact with all these aspects that are presenting themselves in your life, And how these aspects are presenting themselves is up to you, So if you allow your mind when you wake up to get overwhelmed by the many thoughts because you give the space for that to happen, Then I'm not saying it's your fault but you're empowered in the same way to change the boundaries in which your mind can run around and create all sorts of thoughts by renewing the structure and rather than falling into the addictive boundaries that, You know, Ok I'll go for my coffee and sugary bun, Rather than doing that, Creating new boundaries, And even though they may be very difficult, Giving enough time for them to change, So receptivity doesn't happen just because you want it to happen, Receptivity is all about practice, And the practice requires that you give enough time for the practice to happen, This means that you need to negate some of the sabotaging thoughts, Negate maybe is not the word, But you need to just say to those sabotaging thoughts that come up in the moment, For example if you're getting out of bed like this person, And just overwhelmed by the activities of mundane life, Saying to yourself even though it goes, It's contra to the clarity that my mind is offering in the moment of stress or reactivity, Even if it goes against such wisdom that my mind is saying in that moment, Saying to that person, Now you have to really get up and do this and do that and whatever, I'm not going to do anything, I'm just going to sit here and breathe, Breathe in and breathe out and let go of the mundane, See it goes against the addiction or what you're used to if you're in that space, Everyone's in that space because we're always delaying things for tomorrow, So we're always piling up the stuff and it gets very stressful because everything gets very messy, So we're on some level we're always procrastinating, Meaning that we're not actually honouring that which is important for us in this moment and that which can create a flow of energy in the moment, We're caught in the future and the past and all the references that come from the future and the past and so if we sit for a moment just like you're doing now and breathe, And if your mind wanders off and says okay I have to think about this or I have to worry about that, That's fine, As long as you create clear boundaries and you come back and you say I'm here for my breath, I'm not here for those mundane thoughts or the stuff that my mind wants to engage in, I'm here just for my breath, I just want to feel what it's like to breathe in, I want to experience what it's like to breathe in deeply and to breathe out and to let go of whatever tension there is in the body, This is what I will do, Maybe start with a few moments, This is what I told the person to do, Start with a few moments every day when you get up, Just two minutes and focus upon just relaxing the body, See you change everything because you're changing the boundaries, The physiology of your body, The boundaries that allow for certain states of mind to happen transform simply because in a way you are releasing certain hormones in the body that help you to relax and you're releasing certain thoughts within your mind that are more positive because of course you experience positivity because you have the space to experience positivity, So if you're relaxing you have the space to experience positivity rather than worry about whatever it is that needs your attention in the future, So the fact that you become more positive already changes the structure of how you're interacting with the stuff, You're already energised by the positivity, By the fact that you're breathing oxygen into the cells of your body, Into all those cells of the body that usually don't receive enough oxygen because the stress changes your posture or changes the way that you breathe, So you're not breathing in a very deep and profound way, You're just breathing in the normal stressful shallow way that most people breathe, Most people breathe in this way when there is so much stuff to worry about, But now you're changing the structure, You're changing the boundaries by which you allow an experience to happen from, That's really powerful because when you realise that this is possible, And it's not just a mental realisation, It's not oh look I'm feeling better, It's also body wisdom understands through the experience, Wow this actually works, Now not only am I positive and not only are the boundaries changing, Not only am I not getting into being overwhelmed by the stuff, I'm also able because of the space and the positivity that's created, Able to step into life from a different perspective, From a perspective where you can choose, When you have the freedom by creating this possibility through creating boundary and the space to feel and experience positivity, Then you begin to choose freedom rather than addiction, So when you have the freedom to choose, Then you can begin to ask yourself what choices are important in this moment, And of course I'm not saying yeah I'd like to go on a holiday or I'd like to go to the Caribbean or I'd like to you know just stay in bed till the evening or just watch TV, I'm saying what choices, Realistic choices matter for you in this moment, What is your priority in this moment, And you can make sure that you give enough time for those things, See part of freedom, Part of being free and part of being able to choose from a space of freedom and exploring freedom is to make sure that what you choose is positive and helpful and useful, So you're not just choosing things because you're addicted to a negative set of thoughts in your mind or addicted to negative physiology in your body, But you're choosing because you highlight inside of yourself in your spiritual practice, In your meditational practice, That right now what is important is choosing something that rewards you with more positivity, So the positivity that you begin and initiate within yourself continues outside of yourself through the activity and interaction and communication that you have with the external world, So you're choosing not just to be positive in your thinking but you're choosing to be positive in your actions, And that in itself is truly remarkable, Because when you do this you realise that a lot of the stuff that you're carrying around, Say the tension in your body, Perhaps look at this now, Just the tension in your shoulders, Maybe you're not, Most people are not even aware that they carry such tensions until they begin, They begin to change the boundaries, So now that you relax your body you begin to realise, Gosh, Perhaps I'm carrying around this tension, Perhaps you notice tension in your face, In your jaws, Around the jaws there is a lot of tension that is usually there because we grit our teeth and we sort of say I'm going to do it tomorrow, I'm going to do it, And then tomorrow never happens, And then this way of interacting and communicating to life where you believe that the world is just a horrible place, There is no positivity out there because everything is negative, Because everything is connecting and aligning to that thought of tension that's in the jaws, And is real, You feel it, And you just get used to it and you think this is just the way life is meant to be, So then your communication is the world is not a positive place, What happens in the world is just reinforcing my own negative thoughts, And the tension continues for such a long time that most of us don't even realise that there is such tension, So be aware, If now you have the freedom to release this tension, Look at your body, Scan your body, Just relax the muscles and see if there is any tension anywhere, Very often there is tension in the diaphragm, Because we don't want to breathe and allow the intensity of life to overwhelm us even more, We hold on to the breath just as we hold on to the tension in our jaws or in our shoulders, And as you let this go, Remember that that is in itself the freedom that you're creating by transforming the boundaries that limited your thinking to negative thinking, Now transforming the boundaries so that they become more expansive, More flexible, And of course more receptive to the positivity that is within the experience, And that means that the activity of meditation goes beyond just relaxing your muscles, Beyond just scanning and realising that there is tension in the way that you breathe, Or in the way that you think, Or in the way that your body reacts to situations, The next step is to clearly define what is your priority, What is important in this moment, And right now, In this moment, If there is tension, There is only one choice, And that is to relax the tension so that the tension is no longer manipulating your freedom, Or the way you think, Or the way you feel, So it's very clear, The information is there, What do I do with this moment, I relax my body, But then as you relax, The level of consciousness that you can touch is much more than just saying okay what next, Okay because there isn't anything, I'll fall back into that reactive, Repetitive nature of thinking or feeling or interacting with my stuff that I'm used to, Changes happen when you become more conscious, And so a conscious decision needs to be made from this space where you're relaxed enough and receptive enough to listen to that which is more meaningful, The communication that is more meaningful within yourself, So as you breathe in and breathe out, Your body is relaxed and you're letting go of tension, And make sure that you're connected to the heartfelt space of wisdom that is deep within, The light of consciousness that shines within whatever experience that you're having might be, As you breathe in and breathe out, Be receptive, As you let go, Be receptive, And reach out for that which is more meaningful, That which creates purpose within your spiritual practice, Within your meditation, And also within life, This practice can continue, The vibration of consciousness is in everything, In your meditation but also in your communication to the world, Breathing in deeply, And letting go, Letting go, Deep breath

Reviews

This is very helpful to hear.
He speaks very quickly but still in a soothing tone. This brought me some clarity and I will listen to this repeatedly. I think it will help.

Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU for this inspiring and encouraging meditation❣️ I have found a new FAVORITE to add to my Playlist.
This Meditation is truly relevant for my life and I look forward to using it on a regular basis.
Bless you 🙏🏻💕