Hi there,

Tomorrow, 20th Sept, is our monthly energy boost from Shamil Chandaria which you can join here: Energy, Awareness & the Nature of Mind

Many teachings emphasise calming the mind. For Shamil this is just the (important) first step. It's a condition for insight and clarity, but transformation needs more than clarity: It takes energy. 

Think of habits like dips in a landscape. Effortless to roll into but harder to get out of. When they're too deep, escape can feel almost impossible, even when it is clear the thought or behaviour is unhelpful. If the dips are too shallow, we roll around from one place to another, never staying anywhere long enough to make a difference. 

So how do we construct a new and healthy landscape, full of habits that are helpful to ourselves and others? 

Willpower and motivation can help. If you traverse the same path enough times, eventually the ground gives way. 

But willpower has limits, and turns out, there is an easier way. 

Imagine the landscape of your mind is like playdough: easy to mould to your liking when warm. 

Neuroscience indicates the more awake your mind, the warmer it gets. As the brain moves from deep sleep to waking up, entropy increases. It becomes more available to create new patterns. 

Importantly, this wakefulness may get supercharged under both psychedelics and meditation. It is one of the reasons Shamil emphasises energy in his teachings, to learn how to create this heat, which in turn gives you a flexible mind with the ability to create transformation.

With practice, the mind becomes a dynamic, hyperdimensional landscape with many beautiful ‘ways of looking'. Graceful dips that you can move between as the moment requires. 

You can learn more about the neuroscience in Shamil's course, with a relevant extract here.)

And tomorrow, we gather to practice creating this inner heat, clarity and transformation towards human flourishing. 

I hope to see you there!

Amir

 Extract from Shamil's course: