Summer School 2023

Marvelous Mediation

The first session kicked off with an informative and practical talk from Teresa Keast – ‘A Deep Dive into Meditation’. Theresa spoke knowledgably and passionately about how we can enhance our meditation practice and self-awareness through looking after ourselves mentally and emotionally, offering many practical, every-day applications. I found listening to Theresa very motivating. She had so much compassion for how difficult meditation can be - how challenging it can be to keep showing up on a regular basis. She offered a few helpful reasons why this process can be so tough, including ‘spiritual laziness’ – which prompted knowing smiles from many in the audience, including myself.

Theresa has been meditating for the past 30 years, and acknowledged how difficult it is to instil a new habit, to make it a part of our every day lives. She stressed the importance in the consistency and quality of our meditation practice, over the time spent meditating. She highlighted the importance of a supportive household and energy, and suggested setting time aside specifically to practice, as little as five minutes per day, acknowledging everyone’s unique life situations, stressing that any time we can spare is valuable.

Theresa compared meditation practice to going to the gym. Meditation is a space where you can exercise your mind. The more you consistently practice pulling your mind back out of thought, to focusing on a certain object – like your breath, your heart space, a crystal or a sound – the more you can train your mind to be able to focus, and the more you can direct your energy and attention to thoughts that serve you as you go about your daily life. The more effort we put into our meditation practice, the more we can let go of any negative thought patterns, making space for new energy to flow.

Theresa described two layers of meditation. The first where you can focus your awareness on your breathing, and the importance of deep breathing to stimulate the vagus nerve. The second, a more contemplative form of meditation, is a deep state in which your awareness moves to your energetic body, your aura, and you become less aware of your physical body. In the West, we often force our awareness and attention to our breath, and Theresa stressed the importance of only lightly placing your awareness on it – suggesting we imagine our awareness as a butterfly, landing lightly on each breath. Every time our thoughts, like a river, manage to sweep us away downstream, it’s important to notice this and gently bring our awareness back to the breath, to gently climb out of the river and stand back on the bank, silently observing the stream of thoughts rushing past. In this way we become the Silent Watcher, or Silent Observer.

The 10 Aquarian Axioms

After a short break - a cup of Earl Grey, some sugary shortbread snacks (just to make sure my feet were definitely back down on Earth after this mornings’ meditation) and a chance to connect with some more wonderful and interesting members - I was back in the main room for the workshop called ‘The Jewel in the Lotus’ by the lovely Wayne Gatfield. After a couple of spiritual jokes from Wayne, prompting some giggles from the group as whilst we waited for everyone to join, we explored the meaning of the first three of the 10 Aquarian Axioms as we sat in circle.

1. Life is built up by the sacrifice of the individual to the whole. Each cell in the living body must sacrifice itself to the perfection of the whole; when it is otherwise, disease and death enforce the lesson.
2. Harmony is the law of life, discord its shadow; whence springs suffering, the teacher, the awakener of consciousness.
3. To obtain the knowledge of Self is a greater achievement than to command the elements or to know the future.
4. Self-knowledge is unattainable by what men usually call 'self-analysis'. It is not reached by reasoning or any brain powers.
5. Real Self-knowledge is the awakening to consciousness of the divine nature of man.
6. Will creates intelligently; Desire blindly and unconsciously.
7. When desire is for the purely abstract - when it has lost all trace or tinge of 'self' - then it has become pure.
8. Spirituality is not what we understand by the words 'virtue' and 'goodness'. It is the power of perceiving formless, spiritual essences.
9. The discovery and right use of the true essence of Being this is the whole secret of life.
10. You cannot build a Temple of Truth by hammering dead stones. Its foundations must precipitate themselves like crystals from the solution of Life.

I absolutely loved this workshop. I was moved by the wisdom each member shared with the group and touched by the kindness and compassion in their words. We acknowledged the difficulty of the path, of living a Theosophically led life, the challenges we all experience as humans in the face of our own suffering and the suffering of others, and how arduous it can be to remain composed in the face of the lower personality and shadow.  The take home message if you will from this beautiful circle, was that although suffering is a natural part of the human experience, we have permission to show ourselves compassion, kindness and patience; and to remember that everyone is on their own unique journey and each one of us is exactly where we need to be at this time in our lives.

Creating Connections

After Wayne’s workshop, just before lunch, I had the opportunity to connect with fellow young theosophists. It was such a pleasure to get to know everyone, to put faces to names, to meet friends whom I had previously connected with through the WFYT WhatsApp group chat, and to meet new friends who I look forward to re-connecting with soon through the youth group. We chatted about our life stories and situations, shared our views and opinions on our current theosophical studies, recommended books, podcasts and other theosophically related literature and videos, and discussed the recent youth gathering in Naarden (of which I was unfortunately unable to attend). We made our way together to the lunch hall, where a gorgeous selection of vegetarian food was available to us. After filling my plate with mushroom, caramelised onion chutney and mozzarella toasties alongside a bowl of broccoli and cauliflower soup - yes, it’s as good as it sounds - I found myself sitting on a table opposite Pablo and Michele Sender. It was such a delight to get to know these two wonderful beings, to hear about their lives – how they found theosophy, how they met; to witness the beautiful love they hold for each other and their shared love of theosophy - and their views on different theosophical subjects and astral projection. I was aware Pablo had been a part of a group of young adult theosophists in America, so I was grateful to hear his advice and wisdom in engaging, guiding and supporting other young people in living theosophically led lives.

After lunch, we gathered in the main hall as one this time, where we had an opportunity to understand and experience the power of group meditation, to really appreciate its capacity now and in the future to awaken humanity spiritually and create positive change in the world. This was another session led by Theresa, who yet again delighted the group with lots of informative and practical information, before we all settled into our chairs to experience this powerful practice first hand. Theresa led us into a state of relaxation and calm, perhaps a little too relaxed - I nodded off a few times, what with a belly full of lunch - but I was still able to appreciate the vibrant energy of the room, the connection to each member as we sent loving awareness to each other and to every corner of the Earth.

The Blavatsky Lecture

The final session of the day was the eagerly awaited lecture from Pablo – ‘The Blavatsky Lecture’ – H P Blavatsky’s teachings on theosophical practice. Pablo explored the lesser recognised body of instructions spread throughout HPB’s writings - a theosophical yoga, including the importance of physical purification through diet. Pablo highlighted the importance of aspirants to maintain a plant-based or vegetarian diet along with no alcohol.  Keeping a pure physical body is necessary so that we as humans can respond effectively to unfolding consciousness along the path of awakening to unification of individual consciousness with universal consciousness. In other words, it is easier to channel your higher self and to feel more connected with the whole, with fewer chemicals and dense energies in your bodies. Pablo also spoke about purification of the mind and emotions - consciously choosing what we think about and redirecting our energy to a life of self-realisation, study and service, helped of course by the daily practice of meditation.

Goodbyes and thankyous.

After Pablo’s session, it was time for me to drive back home. After saying my ‘goodbye for now’s’, I walked along the path back down the hill towards the oak tree under which I had parked my car. This was a day I surely won’t forget. A huge thank you to Jenny, Andrea, Damon and the other organisers for your hard work in making this event possible and for showing me the incomparable value of in-person connection. Summer School was everything I could have hoped for and more, and I can’t wait for next year, when I hope I have the time to stay for more than just a day.