At the end of last year, I had made a switch. Or more accurately a switch had been made for me. Instead of being an author who created meditations to augment his books, I became a full blown meditation creator and producer who has a portfolio of books on the side.
Insight Timer (the first 1)
Like many of these evolutions, it happened gradually and organically and I was about the last to notice. It took this publically available stat for it to really sink in – which increases daily.
In confirmation that this switch had been flicked, I was approached by Todd McGuire, the CTO of IncentaHealth, a wellness company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. They wanted to augment their wellness app to include meditations. At first they merely wanted to re-use some existing meditations but after a few chats it was obvious to us both that something had to be created from the ground up.
Along Came Eternell (the third 1)
I’d been musing anyway about using some new background music to give my new meditations a new energy and I had come across an amazing ambient music composer – and all round enlightened soul, as I subsequently found out. Initially I approached Eternell via Insight Timer about using his existing music. To my surprise and delight, he wanted to create something from the ground up too and produced new music to accompany my new meditation words.
Only one month after this collaboration came about, seven new meditations to help those on a weight loss or weight management programme came to be. I posted a sample of the seven on Insight Timer and it seemed to resonate …
You can listen to this introductory meditation to sample the delights of what we created together …
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Before embarking on another year, it pays dividends to reflect on the year just gone.
For me, 2016 was one amazing year and an example of how any formal goal setting can actually hamper our progress. So-called “SMART goals” are better than having no goals at all. Perhaps where they are not so smart after all is that they can lead us to manifesting the ego’s desires, rather than to follow the soul’s calling.
p.s. my two meditations, Just Imagine and Just Be, from my Meditations for Relaxation, lead us to a much better outcome all round.
This Was 2016
By way of example, this is what unfolded in 2016, all of which I had definitely not planned !
So, in retrospect, 2016 was one of my most successful and productive years yet. That said, and on reflection, I know now with hindsight I could have done things better. Knowing too that planning might not be ideal, how can I hope to improve on 2016 in 2017?
The key lies in setting goals based on what I’d like to learn, which is :
How to take my meditations to a wider audience with speaking engagements and virtual presentation opportunities
How to develop, deepen and mature the many co-creation opportunities that have come my way
How to create meditations that help specific groups of people and address specific issues
How to get my books on to the bestseller list
How to monetise my new found skills as an interviewer and take my podcast from 200k listens to 2 million and beyond
Having a Meta-strategy
When we set ourselves a meta-strategy, what I have found happens is that all the resources we need seems to pop along just when you need them. By sharing your strategy with others, the perfect co-creators seem to pop along just when you need them too. So here goes …
My meta-strategy is to help awaken humanity, and the planet as a whole, to the next level of consciousness
There, I have said it – now your turn – pop yours in by way of comment below. You never know who is reading this who might be able to help you achieve it !!
p.s. if achieving any of the above appeals to you and you want to know how, I’d be delighted to help, get in touch !!
It’s traditional around this time of year for Three Wise Men to come from the East bearing gifts.
This year on the Zone Show podcast is no different, apart from two of them hailing from the West, namely Mitch Horowitz and Master Charles Cannon, with only Christopher Plowman coming from the East, specifically Bali in this case.
Thanks you gentlemen for sharing your wisdom and bringing such riches along.
A Time of Insight : show notes and useful links
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Living an Awakened Life : show notes and useful links
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A Cosmic Philosopher : show notes and useful links
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I had the great pleasure of seeing Dr Strange this weekend – the 3D version highly recommended.
There’s a great scene where The Ancient One, sublimely played by Tilda Swinton, pushes the astral component of a sceptical Dr Strange out his body. Benedict Cumberbatch expresses shock and bewilderment at being thrust ‘out of his body’.
See 1 minute into this trailer for this particular scene …
While much of the film is fantasy, the existence of the astral world and both our gross and subtle bodies might be more ‘real’ than is thought. Components of the astral world may comprise some of the missing dark matter and energy whose whereabouts has the scientists somewhat perplexed these days.
In order to access the astral world, you don’t need a Large Hadron Collider. We are all able to sense and experience the astral plane daily. Here’s five ways to do it, noting the last one is not recommended.
1. Dreaming
We slip into the astral plane each night naturally when we dream. This is especially so when we travel in our dreams and experience what are called lucid dreams.
Sometimes we can feel like we are flying when we have an out-of-body experience. When this happens, you can sometimes look down on your sleeping form.
Some guided meditations can take you to imaginary places and mystical worlds. Sometimes these are called shamanic journeys.
Such meditations that give the most intense experience occur when the person who recorded the meditation was deeply entrenched in the astral world themselves at the time of the recording.To experience an intentionally light state of astral travel, listen to either of these two Visualisations for free on the Insight Timer app.
There are many tales of espionage organisations using native indigenous people to train operatives in the skills of ‘seeing at a distance’.
For a safe ‘remote viewing’ experience, I have produced a jet lag reduction meditation which works by gently separating the gross and subtle bodies. The subtle body gets sent ahead to your destination. When the gross body catches up by actually flying, the two join again and the effects of jet lag are minimised.
The Astral Plane is a conduit and gateway to what is known as the collective consciousness. This is thought to be an even higher dimensional plane where all thought and knowledge – past, present and future – reside.
When we get into the flow state referred to as ‘the zone’, we forge a connection with astral. This flow state is where performers and athletes perform at their peak. Actors sometimes call it ‘channelling’. It is where writers, artist and musicians connect with their Muse.
The key to accessing our Muse, lies in getting into the meditative state with our eyes open. This visualisation on Insight Timer, takes you through a safe and repeatable procedure that also gets both halves of our brain working in synchronism.
While Dr Strange was undergoing CPR, we saw him floating outside his body. As I mentioned, experimenting with NDEs is not recommended. If you are interested in knowing more, have a listen to this podcast with PMH Atwater who is one of the world’s leading experts on NDEs – and has had three herself.[smart_track_player url=”https://audioboom.com/boos/3557894-near-death-experiences.mp3″ title=”Near Death Experience” artist=”PMH Atwater” image=”http://www.thezoneshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/PMHAtwater-300×300.jpg” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_email=”true” ]
After listening to one of my sample meditations on the free Insight Timer app, Dr Ashley Curiel got in touch. She read my new book and listened to the 10 companion meditations for 10 days. Here’s what she had to say about them:
“Studies continuously document the psychological benefits of mindfulness and meditation. As a clinical psychologist, I know both personally and professionally just how beneficial a mindfulness meditation practice can be.”
“I frequently suggest establishing a meditation practice to my clients. Those who are able and willing to try it are able to experience their emotions without letting their feelings take over and run their lives; meditation facilitates their ability to stay in the driver’s seat of their lives rather than be relegated to the back seat, with anxiety, depression, or other strong feelings driving the car.”
“One difficulty consistently emerges when I suggest my clients begin to meditate. They are not sure where or how to begin. Once they start, they are often confused about how to sustain their practice.
In The Authority Guide to Practical Mindfulness, Tom Evans masterfully designed a program to introduce the modern individual to a timeless tradition. He demonstrates how, in just 10 minutes per day, one can re-shape the experience of his or her world. His meditations meet and address the needs of society today and offer real-world suggestions to encourage initiating and maintaining a mindfulness meditation practice.”
“I have been listening to the meditations that accompany this guide daily and have witnessed the serendipities and benefits he describes. I recommend this book and the corresponding meditations to my clients nearly every day. When they are able to become more aware of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences, they are more likely to be able to effect positive and lasting change in their lives.”
“I now listen to at least one of the ten meditations daily and I love them; in fact, my mind has come to crave them! Sometimes I’ll be having a rough moment and I think “I need one of Tom’s meditations right now!” I used to consistently reach for a cookie, now I crave mindfulness meditation. What progress!”
Learn more about Ashley’s work and philosophies in this podcast from the Zone Show
[smart_track_player url=”https://audioboom.com/posts/5181446-from-woe-zone-to-go-zone.mp3″ title=”From Woe Zone to Go Zone” artist=”Dr Ashley Curiel” image=”http://www.thezoneshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Dr-Ashley-Curiel_square-300×300.jpg” color=”#ffffff” background=”#6688aa” social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_linkedin=”true” social_email=”true” ]
There’s something intriguing happening to time that I feel I should share with you. Time as we know it is a’changin’ and the speed of its passage becoming controllable by our state of consciousness.
While many people claim to be time poor these days and need another hour in the week but I have uncovered some of the secrets of why time isn’t as fixed as we think.
I’ve just looked back at my last month and all of this has happened when I have also ‘spent’ loads of time caring for some family members and had every weekend off. It all comes down to learning to #LiveTimefully.
Here’s what I have generated in the last 30 days :
#1. Produced the audiobook version of Freedom From Bosses Forever
It’s written by the brilliantly maverick and wise Tony Robinson. Apart from being an enjoyable romp of a story, Tony sprinkles the story with nuggets of business wisdom, called Leonorisms, designed to help microbusinesses both survive and thrive, with a Terry-Prachett style of humour. Listen to Freedom from Bosses Forever today
#2. Recorded and produced six new Zone Show podcasts
#4. Recorded four new meditative visualisations and remastered three more to create a new seven day meditative experience
In just one week, spending just 10 minutes a day, learn how to calm your mind and create a new world where magic happens. Just for Me meditations
#5. Remastered and published four new meditative journeys to the Insight Timer app
I’ve deepened and widened the scale of my free meditations on the Insight Timer app to share some of my more esoteric explorations. Insight Timer free for iOS & Android
#6. Written two and a half more months worth of Just for Today daily nuggets of mindfulness
At the start of May, the 180 nuggets I wrote last summer ran out, so I’ve written a whole set of new aphorisms. Note that when I get to 365, I will publish a book of them – an example of how to write a book slowly! Get Just for Today nuggets of mindfulness free today
#7. Written a brand new 20k word book I had no idea I was going to write
By way of contrast, I started writing a new book in Sue Richardson’s Authority Guide series last week and yesterday sent off the first draft of around 20,000 words. The trick I use here is to channel my future self who knows the words I have yet to write. When we do this, we jump outside time and space and time-as-we-know-it disappears.
p.s. this was also in a month when I had a cataract removed and replaced so I can now ‘half-see’ what I am doing (2nd one done next week).
I really am not making this up, or trying to brag, and I genuinely have not put in 25 hour days or 8 day weeks. I would love to share the secrets of how I manage this so more people can make the most of their time by getting more done with less of it.
So, for the rest of Summer, until the Autumn Equinox, my Living Timefully self study programme is available for just £99 – a Summer Saving of £100.
As for planting a tree the best time to start Living Timefully is yesterday, the second best time is today !!
Just use MYBESTSUMMER on checkout to take advantage of this offer and to start taking control of your Personal Time Machine – your mind !!
Along Came IncentaHealth (the second 1)
![Three Wise Men [2016]](https://www.tomevans.co/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/threeWiseWomen.jpg)
It’s traditional around this time of year for Three Wise Men to come from the East bearing gifts.
We slip into the astral plane each night naturally when we dream. This is especially so when we travel in our dreams and experience what are called lucid dreams.
Some guided meditations can take you to imaginary places and mystical worlds. Sometimes these are called shamanic journeys.
There are many tales of espionage organisations using native indigenous people to train operatives in the skills of ‘seeing at a distance’.
The Astral Plane is a conduit and gateway to what is known as the collective consciousness. This is thought to be an even higher dimensional plane where all thought and knowledge – past, present and future – reside.
After listening to one of my sample meditations on the free Insight Timer app, Dr Ashley Curiel got in touch. She read my new book and listened to the 10 companion meditations for 10 days. Here’s what she had to say about them:
