Avalon NEW ADDRESS 13 Wollstonecraft Ave, Avalon
7pm with Gary Gorrow
Paddington tonight with Tim Brown at 7pm
118 Sutherland St, Paddington
No need to RSVP just turn up!
WEEKLY MEDITATION MEETINGS
These weekly meetings provide an ideal opportunity for you to refine your practice, enjoy group meditation and gain further knowledge.
Avalon no meeting tonight.
Paddington tonight 7pm with Gary Gorrow
118 Sutherland St, Paddington
No need to RSVP just turn up!
WEEKLY MEDITATION MEETINGS
These weekly meetings provide an ideal opportunity for you to refine your practice, enjoy group meditation and gain further knowledge.
Avalon no meeting tonight
Paddington no meeting tonight
WEEKLY MEDITATION MEETINGS
These weekly meetings provide an ideal opportunity for you to refine your practice, enjoy group meditation and gain further knowledge.
Avalon tonight with Gary Gorrow at 7pm
72 Wandeen Rd, Clareville
Paddington no meeting tonight.
No need to RSVP just turn up!
Have you ever asked yourself any of the following; Where was I before coming into this world? Why is it that I chose to be born? Are there certain obligations that come with being here?
The answer to the first question is you were simply waiting for the ideal conditions for re-entry, and yes it was a decision you consciously made. The answer to the latter question is also affirmative; in agreeing to be born you entered into a spiritual contract with the universe that is karmically binding. This spiritual contract, whose details are encoded into your subtle body, contain all the knowledge pertaining to your higher purpose for being here. However, most people upon moving into the boundaries of a physical body have a tendency to become entangled in ‘the world’ resulting in a lapse in forgetfulness when it comes to the finer details of the agreement.
To assist you in getting you back in harmony with the laws of life, in case you’ve drifted off course, I’ve magnified the fine print in your spiritual contract below. It should be noted that the terms of the agreement appear nonnegotiable and a living reciprocal, meaning that the reward for living in alignment with your calling is a feeling of lightness in the heart, conversely being misaligned brings friction and suffering in all shapes and sizes to life.
Here’s the fine print…
You are here to love.
You are here to learn.
You are here to grow.
You are here to create.
You are here to evolve yourself.
You are here to evolve your family.
You are here to evolve your world.
You are here to make a difference.
You are here to play and have a good time.
You are here to raise your level of awareness.
You are here to express the uniqueness of your soul.
You are here to become more than you think you can be.
You are here to develop a state of connectedness with all things.
You are here to realise who you really are beyond your physical form.
You are here to realise your eternal nature whilst living within the temporal.
Force be with you 
Gary.
Being given a human body is one of the greatest gifts we receive from our creator, it is literally our ‘vehicle’ for our journey through this life.
One of the founding themes of Ayurveda is the idea of Prakriti- the fact that each human being on earth is a unique creation and perfect health is our true nature. However this state of optimal health is only experienced when we understand our physcophysiological uniqueness and learn to follow a way of life that maintains perfect harmony between mind, body and environment.
Easier said than done obviously. We live in a world where 1 in 5 people suffer from a mental illness and even more suffer physical ailments. We’ve become so entangled in the matrix of life that we’ve lost connection with the needs of our innate self and the demands of life make it almost impossible to live in a balance state. Knowledge is power in this case and an absence of it brings dis-ease.
Fortunately the ancient sages of India congnised the knowledge of Ayurveda- the sacred ‘science of life’ that teaches us, amongst many other things, how to balance our physical bodies with the demands of an ever-changing world.
For those on the path to higher consciousness would already have understood the concept that the soul, mind and body are inseparably linked, intertwined in a sense much like the strands of our DNA. The quality of your mind directly influences the condition of your body. Correspondingly the condition of your physical body influences quality of your awareness.
From this point of view it is easy to understand that a healthy body supports the growth of your consciousness, whereas an imbalanced physiology will interfere with the unfolding of your inner potential. Realising this principle in ancient times people were never initiated into the spiritual arts (meditation and yoga) until they had at least acquired a rudimentary understanding of Ayurveda and how to maintain a level of physical well-being.
It is with this in mind that I have created the Ayurveda In Daily Life Course which will bring to light this cherished ancient knowledge and empower all those who desire it with timeless wisdom and techniques that will enable you to create a state of perfect health for yourself, adding years to your life and more importantly life to your years!
If you’d like to learn more visit my website http://garygorrow.com/knowledge-courses/
Welcome dear friends to 2011. At the winding down of the previous one there seemed to be a general trend for everyone to review all that had come to pass in their personal lives and with the dawning of a promising new year we tend to focus our attention on all that we’d like to create for ourselves this time round.
Knowing this I thought I’d shine a little light one of the great conundrums that all spiritual seekers have to contend with at some point in their journey, and that is ‘how does one reconcile the desire to achieve certain future goals with the spiritual tenant to live within the here and now.’
The potential trap that comes with goals is the mind can become so fixed on future achievement and become so intent on arriving somewhere that it loses touch with the joy of the journey, which is all we really have.
The other trap is people never set forth their intentions and which means they never really meet their potential. Or even worse that invest energy in pursuit of an unworthy goal. Nonetheless goals are essential to the progression of life. We have more creature comforts and technologies than our ancestors could ever have dreamed of all thanks to human endeavour.
Yet in spite of all these advancements we still occupy a world where most people are unhappy and unfulfilled, so what is it that’s missing? Can a balance be found between aspiration and present moment realisation? Between the material and the spiritual? Of course it can once we integrate the knowledge that there are really only two types of goals and both of them are equally vital. There are outcome goals and process goals; the former being the most common and the latter being the most disregarded.
What is most important with outcome goals is that we aspire to achieve goals that are truly worthy of our hearts, goals that bring benefit not just to ourselves, but to others and our world.
Once you have set our desired outcome you should let go of any rigid attachment to it. As the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita says “Be not attached to the fruits of your actions, but to the actions themselves”. The real nectar we seek is found in the very depths of our activity, the process itself. So don’t abandon your goals, set lofty ones, the bigger the better, but never forget the doing must be joyful.
This year if each of us can learn to harmonise both the outer and inner needs of life and make the way of life, the goal of life then we will have made a most valuable personal contribution to the evolution of the collective consciousness. We will become a light for others that declares the deepest need of our lives is not solely physical advancement, but rather the development of our true spiritual potential.
Enjoy the unfolding of 2011 and I’ll look forward to sharing the sojourn with you this year.
With love,
Gary.
Here is an email he sent out that tells a little of his story.
Lovers,
A small miracle has occurred and we’ve finally turned on the power in Imaki, a very bloody remote village in Vanuatu. Vanuatu is a Least Developed Country (ie- third world) in the pacific, and suffers heavily from a lack of modern energy services. This means, that, amongst other things, people die sooner, kids have more diseases, and less people can read and write.
The provision of electricity in this village will raise the standard of life for its people by contributing to its health, education and communication services, all in line with the UN’s Millennium Goals for development. Added bonus – all the village’s power is coming from a stream of water. we’re talking hydro-electricity baby – super clean, super green. Crucially, the health clinic has been connected to 230V AC power for the first time – two outcomes of this being a) vaccine refrigeration is now possible (important, duh!!!), and b) lights! (also important!! (for example, babies born at night no longer inhale kerosene with their first ever breaths!!))
But, there’s a catch. It’s not really finished yet. There are a couple of important little steps (like actually hooking up the lights in the health clinic) we still need to do. We also need to travel back to Imaki to teach the community how to look after their system, so it doesn’t fall into a state of disrepair. To do this, and finish the job properly, we need your money. All of it. Not really. Just some. Not much actually – the total project cost is over $40,000 and we’ve successfully raised about $36k…I’m sending this email to about 200 people – if everyone just chucked in 20 bucks it’d all be sweet! AND your twenty dollar donation is tax deductible, so you’re really only donating about 14 bucks- and stiffing the government $6.. BONUS if you can afford it, please go to http://www.unsw.edu.au/donate/form/donate_unsw.html and include “The Imaki Community Electrification Project” in the donation description,(and send me an email to let me know you’ve done it so I can make sure the uni doesn’t try to channel your donation elsewhere).
Your small action will help a good thing happen, and when I formally open the system at a ceremony in November in the presence of the entire community and some local politicians, I will mention your name and thank you personally. (really, i will, and l’ll even send you video evidence of your contribution to the development of this beautiful island nation) thanks for listening Eden x
Eden’s email is - eden119@gmail.com
If you were to look beyond the complexities of daily life you’ll see there’s one common goal that motivates all human actions. Everyone irrespective of their age, race, culture and status is seeking it in their our own unique way and that universal desire is to be happy.
There is no doubt happiness is the most wanted thing in the world yet the most difficult experience to attain. So why has our birthright to joyfulness become so elusive? It’s because we’re attempting to acquire it in places and ways that guarantee we will never attain it. So let me start by clarifying once and for all where happiness is not.
Happiness isn’t found in a ‘significant other’. Relationships are wonderful, but another person cannot make you sustainably happy. Relationships are meant to be an outlet for you to share whatever level of happiness you have attained independently, and not the cause of it.
Happiness isn’t in a bigger home. A spacious abode is popular these days, but a bigger house often translates to a bigger mortgage requiring more work and more stress, which means less time to be happy. The reality is that it’s the quality of the consciousness of the dweller within the house that truly matters, not the house itself.
Happiness isn’t in the bank. Look at the Forbes richest list and you’ll notice a larger bank account doesn’t guarantee you joy… but neither does a small one.
Happiness isn’t in stuff. A new car, designer shoes, fancy clothes are laudable but anyone who’s acquired those knows that the mind fascination with them swiftly fades and the mind inevitably craves for something more. What the mind really craves is the nonmaterial which means no amount of stuff will ever be enough to satisfy the minds deeper need.
Happiness isn’t in a bottle. Calvin Klein’s latest fragrance ‘Euphoria’ or Revlon’s ‘Pink Happiness’ fall short of their promise, it turns out they’re just scented alcohol.
Happiness isn’t in time. Some people perpetually defer their joy believing that the future will save them thinking ‘when I retire’ or ‘when I do this’ or ‘when I get there’ or “when I have this then I’ll be happy’. This means our desires are always out of reach and happiness is merely an intellectual concept not a here and now experience.
The truth is the happiness we’re really seeking is not found in things, but within ourselves. This is why the modern approach is so tragic; it is all externally derived and delivers only moments of satisfaction, never a sustained experience. To be truly happy our happiness must become independent of external conditions and circumstance. The outer layer of life is eternally shifting; jobs change, people change, economies change, the weather changes, our bodies change, this means if our happiness depends upon those things then we can expect our level of joy to be continually shifting or more to the point brief or nonexistent.
Run the thought experiment and ask yourself how much of my happiness and sense of self is derived from outer things. Remember if its ‘things’ that make you happy today should these things change or be taken from you then they will ultimately bring you misery tomorrow.
So my advice is to abandon the fruitless outer search for happiness and learn to look within. Fulfillment is your natural state, it doesn’t have to be sought anywhere, it just needs to be woken up inside. It is felt when the mind is no longer seeking or craving but simply being. It begins with a shift in awareness (which is why I have dedicated my life to teaching the art of Vedic Meditation) and a shift in attitude. As the great sage Lao Tzu said “Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”
A SPIRITUAL SOLUTION TO ALL PROBLEMS
Knowing there’s a spiritual answer to every question and a spiritual solution to every problem I was asked recently for my perspective on the latest oil disaster in the gulf of Mexico. Here is my response to a questioner who asked me, ‘Who do you think is responsible for the disaster and what do you think the world should do about it.’
We’re all responsible. We’re all co creators of our universe and we all contributed to this disaster through our acquiescence. You really have to stop for a moment and ask yourself what on earth is a sophisticated and technologically advanced society still doing insisting on using oil and coal when we have an inexhaustible source of clean energy above us- the sun, below us- geothermal, and blowing all around us- the wind.
We have the technologies to deliver green power to the world, but we’re using fossil fuels, which is the equivalent of a modern businessman using pigeons to convey messages across the globe rather than using to the expedient email super highway.
The problem is simply two fold; firstly, oil and coal companies will never voluntarily abandon these sources simply because there are trillions of dollars still sitting under the ground and they’re in the business of making money at what ever cost. Furthermore they’ll do everything in their power to maintain the current system. The second factor and deciding one is the world’s population is so insular and complacent that we never actually challenge the system.
The predominating theme of our times is that we never really change anything until we’re forced to do so or until things get back enough. The moment I heard about the gulf disaster I knew it was another wake up call for humankind- a darn big one. The solution is not to just clean up the mess, but to evolve the thinking that created the problem thus ensuring nothing like this happens again.
The spiritual solution is to question the status quo, look behind the veils of societies behaviours, then use the power of your consciousness to dream a different world into being. The power of thought is a remarkable thing, which is operating at all times whether we realise it or not. If we were all to hold in our minds a simple idea such as one where our future is green not black, meaning sustainable not fossil based, we wake almost immediately to see powerful waves of changes sweep across the world.
Trust me it would happen that fast. The spiritualist knows that the individual mind is but a wave on the ocean of mind and as our personal thinking upgrades it spontaneously elevates the thinking of the collective mind. Action is tertiary, thinking is secondary and consciousness is primary. The state of the world reflects the state of consciousness of its people, but when a collective group of people participate in high grade ideas the energy that is created is particularly powerful. It just so happens almost everyone is participating in the low grade game or what the Vedas describe as avidya which means ignorance.
I am writing this missive in the knowledge that it will plant a seed of understanding in you that will begin to germinate with time and in doing so evolve the global mind of which you are inextricably woven into. So the spiritual solution to everyone thing is to begin by evolving your own mind and life. We’re all powerful beyond measure, so lend your thoughts and intentions to a bigger, braver and more enlightened world and it will come. As Henry Ford once said ‘Whether we think we can, or we think we can’t, we are right.’
An article in yesterday’s Sunday Telegraph that was great to be included in!
Every day more than 6 billion people experience the same day on this same remarkable planet, yet each day we all have a completely unique and personal experience of life on Earth. How so? It turns out there is one single power that determines how we experience all things – individual perception.
There is a simple formula I came up with that one can apply to life. W + I = E or World + Interpretation = Experience. This simply means that outside of ourselves exists the external physical world ‘W’. Subtler than this is the mind, which is that mysterious organ that allows us to interpret ‘I’ the world of form. How we interpret external events determines our subjective experience ‘E’.
Right now you’re reading these words which form part of the physical world. If your mind is offended (interpretation) by what I’ve written then you’ll feel angry (experience) and I most likely won’t be invited to your next dinner party. If however your mind is intrigued by this missive then you’ll feel inspired to read on thus yielding a different experience through the mechanism of altered interpretation.
So we are delicately woven into all that we see. Life is really an interpretation we make to ourselves and as our perception changes so do the things we’re perceiving. Too often people remain fixed in a way of perceiving, regardless of whether it is serving them or not. The way to redeem the mind is two fold; firstly expand the mind by exposing it to ‘Being’ (the field beyond thinking one experiences with Vedic Meditation) then secondly in your own conscious waking state engage in that most laudable and practical art of mindfulness where you adjust your thinking on a moment to moment basis to yield the highest perception.
Here are some conventional ‘mis-interpretations’ people make about life and their resultant inner experience. Proceeding it are ‘enlightened perceptions’ and their respective influence on mind.
Age = loss of beauty.
Age = Wisdom.
Death = Sadness and end.
Death = Transition and new beginning.
Problem = Panic.
Problem = Situation.
Disaster = Helplessness
Disaster = Opportunity
Change = Stress
Change = Nature of life
Failure = Failure
Failure = A new learning
Criticism = Rejection
Criticism = Anothers perception
Work = Chore
Work = Play
Loss = Pain
Loss = Gain
Time to choose your own perception- choose wisely.
Image above is from a Tame Impala album cover designed by the very talented Leif Podhajsky
This blog was created for those who know there is a deeper purpose to life, who understand they weren’t born to live in the mundane, but are here to connect with the profound. Its for those desirous of moving beyond the limitations of our culture to become much more than the status quo. It's simply for those interested to know the science of life and the art of living it.
GARY GORROW
