Meditation for a Calm Heart – 5 October, 2021
I wanted to share Meditation for a Calm Heart as it’s a meditation perfect for beginners, yet it’s also very effective.
It’s a favourite of mine to bring yourself into a state of balance if you are feeling a bit anxious or wonky.
Practicing it for just 3 minutes is useful, ideally 7 or 11 minutes to really feel the effects.
Put on some calming music and take some time to reset yourself. We tend to be so busy it can feel hard to find a few minutes for meditation – however every time we do we begin to realise that meditation is a life hack that allows us to find more time within the busyness!
I love the notion that Meditation is the greatest act of rebellion.
After all if we can connect with our inner selves then we connect with the universe and can get into flow, where the magic happens.
Ego Eradicator – 28 September, 2021
Ego Eradicator is named after a Kundalini Meditation.
Rather than demonstrating the process of engaging in the meditation, this video piece describes the state of transcendence one can achieve on the path to enlightenment.
The further you go through stages of spiritual enlightenment, the more likely you are to understand that, whilst you are you, you are everyone else too.
We are infinite beings as part of a collective consciousness. The other person is you…!
Space Odyssey Meditation – 21 September, 2021
For this second video, I wanted to share one of my most favourite meditations – it’s the oldest known meditation to humankind written about in ancient scriptures.
It uses the mantra SA TA NA MA – meaning Infinity, Life, Death, Rebirth. I titled the video Space Odyssey Meditation as an homage to Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, as I believe both the video and the movie focus on similar concepts.
It is said in the ancient scriptures that if mastered, the mantra gives a person control over his own death, and over that of others. Given we barely keep up with our daily stress, that’s a pretty wild notion for us in 2021!
Through practicing this meditation daily myself, I have noticed I have regained control over my own mind, and since our mind controls our universe, I do believe the mantra is helping with my inner harmony. It’s so simple, yet effective, and the best things in life are simple and, well, effective!
Meditating With Marlene – 14 September, 2021
Inhale Dreams, Exhale Memes is a project that has developed out of my art practice and my interest in Kundalini Yoga.
I discovered Kundalini Yoga in late 2016, and had wanted to deepen my practice and become a teacher basically since discovering it.
However as an artist doing residencies and exhibiting I was constantly travelling so committing a year to teacher training was impossible. The pandemic literally made me stop and become settled in one location in London. I also was suffering from anxiety and depression due to the loss of my former life and knew that Kundalini Yoga and meditation would be my saviour. I signed up for the teacher training course and devoted the past year to studying and becoming a teacher.
The yoga and meditation is the foundation for my art practice, and life. I want to share the practice and help people to feel better. Unfortunately most people I speak to are pretty depressed as a result of the pandemic, and many suffer from anxiety constantly. It can seem so overwhelming to even begin to solve these issues, it can also be much easier than we think. I used to laugh when people spoke about learning to breathe… but it’s seriously as easy as that.
Learning simple breathing exercises that you can do anywhere at any time for a few minutes can transform your life! The realm of Wellness can be overwhelming – the way it’s marketed is that you need to have a perfect body, skin, wear linen or lycra and be holding a jar of green juice 24/7… for me that’s no fun, and not my vibe, I just ate a lamington for breakfast!
I’m experimenting with the format and mixing it with my art practice as a video and performance artist. I’m excited to be doing this during this residency and hope people use the videos in practical sense to learn skills whilst enjoying the art form and having a giggle.