Welcome to The Slow Newsletter, your weekly dose of dazzling, aha-moment-generating Vedic wisdom. The Slow is where we break down teachings on meditation and consciousness to inspire easy, abundant living—even in the most demanding times.
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💬 Said Simply
Ca·pa·bil·i·ty
Noun
the power or ability to do something.
When we feel stressed and fatigued, our state of consciousness (the range of behaviors, creativity, and inventiveness we can access) also becomes strained and narrow. Our capability diminishes.
In that fatigue, we often spiral into overthinking and end up white-knuckling our way to half-baked, “okay” solutions, all while carrying a nagging sense that things could have been better… if only we’d been in a better mental space.
Rather than battling our problems at the level of the thinking and overthinking intellect, I propose we do something far more effective: expand our state of consciousness as the foundational step.
Through deeply restful practices like Vedic Meditation, we release accumulated stress and fatigue. As a result, our consciousness relaxes and expands.
With that expansion comes access to our full mental potential and infinite capability.
And from that relaxedness, we can effortlessly find solutions without the strain.
More on all this below.
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Subscribe Now✨ The Cosmic Giggle
In a recent Q&A session I had the pleasure of hosting for my teacher, I heard him say a most succinct – and instructive – answer to the following question:
“How do I stop the incessant chatter and rumination in my mind?”
Thom didn’t hesitate.
“Stop thinking.”
I know that sounds like a cheeky answer, but stay with me here, because his explanation of this two-word response is the stop-in-your-tracks, spicy teaching we could all use a reminder of.
Thom went on to share that the antidote for “too much thinking,” which is the experience of overwhelming rumination, is certainly not to continue to think about not thinking.
(Makes sense.)
It’s to quiet down the mind to its least-excited state.
But how does one actually stop the thinking altogether? Don’t the thoughts keep coming as naturally as the heart keeps beating? If we can’t intellectualize our way to less thinking, what is the mechanism?
Natural relaxation of the mind, with the guidance of a settling sound. A mantra for your meditation.
While we can’t think our way to non-thinking, we can coax our mind’s awareness from those shallow, super-active layers to a much more charming and enjoyable experience.
A Vedic Meditation mantra initiates the process of relaxation, providing your mind with a much more charming alternative to alight its awareness on, rather than staying in the superficial thinking of worries and anxieties of the day.
And as the mind favors the mantric sound, the mantra gently guides the mind into more and more quiet.
And naturally, without having to think about not thinking, we settle into more peace, more relaxation, and a LOT less thinking.
Are you curious how Vedic Meditation actually works? Learn how the mantras I teach are designed to settle your nervous system and quiet the mind: Vedic Meditation Mantras 101.
🔍 Behind The Scenes
The thought keeps coming, and I want to pass it on to you:
Maybe I’m feeling it so strongly because it’s a reminder I need, too.
And if you’re reading The Slow regularly, chances are this Vedic credo resonates with you as well.
We all forget sometimes, especially when we’re striving to do good, feel good, evolve, even with a solid meditation practice in place.
Here’s your reminder that relaxedness and happiness are your birthright.
Allow your consciousness state to settle into that quietude of Unboundedness, and let in the beauty and naturalness of all life has to offer.
It’s all there waiting for you.
