Survive Or Thrive - A Talk By Tony Samara

You you you Many people ask me why is it important when practicing meditation,

Which is a creative and a spontaneous and a very intuitive practice why is it important to have Discipline and why is it important to have?

Spiritual boundaries and why is it important that we utilize time in in a very logical or what seems?

Too many in this very logical Structural way why not just do whatever feels right?

Just go with the flow and Be in the moment and just do whatever you know is important in that moment without planning without discipline without boundaries without all those other things that seem to confuse people especially in the way that I communicate these things Where I emphasize that structure is so very important tends to confuse people because people look at the more intuitive the more spontaneous the more creative aspect of spirituality and think that The the structure doesn't really go hand in hand with the creative It seems to be like an opposing factor It seems to be contraindicated when we look at the flow within the spiritual practices contraindication of that inner work that is important and Of course Spirituality is about creativity spirituality is about being spontaneous and jumping into the unknown But we're all human To some degree that human aspect that's within us Controls us and manipulates us,

You know some of those things already bad habits Negative thoughts in the background,

You know,

Just those things that you know happens happens in meditation happens in in daily life happens even in monasteries and spiritual centers You know the more mundane human aspect of the mind of the emotional body even of the energy It's very very strong very manipulative very much in empowered by not being clear and not being focused in a way where there is a certain amount of spiritual discipline in your practice that then Helps you to see what's going on one thing that I can continuously speak about is the negative bias You know the structure of the brain that by default will look at all sorts of problems rather than solutions We'll look at all sorts of negativities rather than positivity negativities So,

You know if this happens to you and you can't begin to sort of fight within yourself and say gosh again Things don't work out things don't flow again.

My bad habits are Stronger than my intention to to transform those bad habits to positive habits Judging yourself in this way.

What won't help you won't help anything because you're just judging how your Mind and how your emotional body has evolved throughout time Just to survive,

You know and so the structure that you're living within is an old structure and You can't just ignore it that old structure has to be transformed to a new one And the way to do this is to make it very clear to the energies in the body So your nervous system energy your mental energy or emotional energy your life energy all the energies in your body To be very clear that they need to go towards very defined structure so rather than sit and worry for 20 minutes about All the problems that you have which is a natural thing to do.

So if you're doing this,

Don't worry But rather than do that you can define within your daily schedule I'm going to set aside 20 minutes no matter what because mostly people will spend those 20 minutes worrying and really getting overwhelmed and and Confused by the mind anyway,

So if you define and create this spiritual structure I'm going to sit for 20 minutes every day or better twice a day and make sure that Those 20 minutes are used in a very different way.

This means that you're signaling to The structure within you that the old no longer serves you in the in the way that it perhaps served you Thousands of years ago when the reality of your daily situation was very different than it is today Today we need much more Intuition much more energy to survive in this very complex very dense very intense world We don't need to be in a fight-or-fight Sort of mode we don't need to be holding on to our old fears We don't need to be holding on to our old habits Hoping that you know one day things will change because if you do this,

We know that things don't change because mostly old habits are very difficult to let go of and so if you If you've survived up till this moment and you're okay Meaning that you're not really in a critical type situation.

You're not facing death You're not facing some sort of aspect of yourself that will create a threat to the species Then in your mind,

Even if you're depressed,

Even if you're unhappy Even if you you can't you don't really understand the meaning of life because there is nothing that gives you meaning Or there is nothing that gives you a sense of profound connection to the world Doesn't matter in the old structure that is very much the dominating structure in the world today This is how we act mostly That's how we communicate our energy and how we act out and communicate our thoughts and feelings from an old structure that old structure Really in the end,

You know will help you to survive but won't help you to thrive and this is what?

Spiritual practice is all about it's about Understanding what can we transform and be very disciplined about such transformation?

So it's not maybe Okay,

I will see how it goes or let's Wait a few let's procrastinate and wait a few more months and see you know,

If I'm stronger in a few more months time It's about saying to yourself.

I have a choice in this moment.

I have a choice to go and continue energizing the old structure continue putting my thoughts and my feelings within those old aspects of the survival brain the Primal part of the brain the primitive part of the brain putting a lot of my energy there or through the neocortex Which is mostly not used in a very efficient way through the neocortex create a very clear intention So I structure I can structure my day.

This is what I do How many hours do I have in a day?

I rather than project based Discipline I have time based discipline,

Which means that Okay,

If I get up at six or seven or eight whatever time nine some people ten,

You know from ten o'clock Till whatever time you go to bed ten eleven twelve What do I do with this time?

If you look at time in this way then you're creating a A spiritual discipline because rather than just falling into the old structure and time just flies you ask someone What did you do today?

Oh,

I don't know but I'm sure I did a lot of things Yeah,

You've done a lot of things but all those things weren't the things that you wanted to do These were things that just came your way and then you got distracted and whatever Impulse that was created in the brain or whatever impulse that was created within your feelings Helped you to move into that direction So very often the impulse just distracts us from our focus and our focus is to enjoy and thrive in life But we get caught by the mundane the negative bias For example the structure within the brain that pulls you into all sorts of negativities.

Look at this problem Look at that problem.

Look at all the problems and then the mind the neocortex gets very busy thinking about all those problems rather than thinking creatively and helping you to Define what does it mean to thrive?

Well,

If you have a time-based sort of schedule a Discipline that says okay from 10 to 10 30 I'm going to do this or from 8 to 8 30.

I'm going to sit in meditation and spend half an hour and enjoy being relaxed and enjoy Healing the body and enjoy the beautiful sensation of coming back to stillness Then you've just consciously decided This is what I want to do with my time.

I want to thrive rather than just survive If you do that focus from a time-based intentional space everything changes You become aware that we make all these choices,

But very often out of habit we make all these choices about what we can do with our time and Very often those choices are not the positive choices that we would make if we're conscious about those choices.

They're triggered by impulse By intuition no by impulse By creativity no by impulse And very often the impulse that it wins out Is the impulse that's within your subconscious?

So if you have a story a script in your mind that's linked into the subconscious,

For example some part of you saying I'm not good enough and The impulse within you will choose an external situation that you think will make you happy So very often We will just go and do something.

Oh,

I deserve a holiday or I deserve to eat the cake It's been such a hard day or I deserve and there is nothing wrong with making such a choice if it's just a habitual Impulsive choice so you have no awareness that you're making that choice You're just sort of being pulled in by the old paradigm within you the old part of the brain that is That has helped you to survive up to this moment,

But really isn't helping you to thrive Then you understand what I'm saying You're not making a conscious decision.

If you don't make a conscious decision,

Then nothing changes then everything stays the same Part of for example waking up in the morning and saying the first thing I do first two minutes of my Morning is to make my bed You make that decision clear.

That's a disciplined structure some part of you might say Oh,

No,

I want to just check my phone,

You know,

I just want to see if there's anything on the news or oh no I um,

I don't know.

Let me see I'll distract myself by going and doing something else and I'll come back later To fix my bed That's not discipline That is the old brain taking over and manipulating you to think in a certain way And making life difficult for you by presenting everything as a heavy problematic choice Really in the end the choices that you make once you Create a schedule a time-based schedule Mustn't be choices that come from struggle So you mustn't think can I do this or will I do this today is just like this is what I'm doing So there is no choice so you don't have decision fatigue situation that happens when there are too many choices and in the end that requires a lot of energy the neocortex uses a lot of energy to make To make decisions and it really shouldn't be a decision to make your bed in the morning if you've already Created a clear system within yourself.

This is what I do every morning.

So there is no decision about it It's just a habit.

It's a positive habit that you can then embrace and As you practice this habit it becomes very much second nature.

It's not that you need to actually think about it It's just what you do.

It's like brushing your teeth.

You know,

You've done it so many times.

It's just what you do It's not will I brush my teeth today?

Do I have time to brush my teeth today?

It's like this is what I do and It's interesting when everything becomes Focused and part of a structure that doesn't require decisions that is just Intentional so your your focus is to help you to thrive rather than just to survive So such decisions then empower you and give you energy rather than deplete you of energy So when you complete that little task in the morning It may seem like nothing and people may think it's totally weird It's just because they don't really understand the way that the brain functions,

But as neuroscientists today have understood that first Yes,

I've managed to Embrace life from a state of control meaning that you don't feel you're separate and everything is overwhelming and intense But you feel you're in control of your energy because you are receiving energy you're doing things without having to fight Or flight you're doing things just because you have consciously decided to create a space within yourself where all these Half an hours or one hours of time within your waking hours Are used in ways that will help you to thrive Wow,

If you look at it in that way Then you could look at life from a very very different context You know,

You could look at life and say I have 14 15 hours of Choices that I can make that then means that I can look at really what do I want to do with those hours?

To thrive So you are turning things around in a very subtle way,

But it's very interesting when you do this There is a lot of resistance,

But actually you are making the choice to tell yourself What do I want to do with this time so that I don't lose it so that I don't get Manipulated by the paradigm that's not only within myself but it's also within the structure that we call our culture or reality that then manipulates this sort of space of Subconscious desires and wants and needs and fears and all sorts of negativities To pull you in a direction that really isn't your choice Is it really your choice to do some of the things that we end up doing in life?

Or is it just because it's easier and all these little games that are out there that people are exposed to from media to shopping to how you spend your money how you spend your energy is Very much part of a cultural paradigm that is based on the old manipulative Past rather than a conscious looking forward at the future if you knew If you were clear in your mind as to what is important then you would focus your energy There and that would take up so much of your time.

You would be totally present in your experience.

You wouldn't be sort of half half-heartedly doing whatever it is that you've chosen to do because you've decided I For example want to go for a walk half an hour and you schedule it And there is no choice in the matter when you schedule a walk This half an hour is for me for my body.

There is no choice There is no choice for the negative old aspect of the impulsive brain to manipulate you to fall back into System that we call our freedom our cultural freedom.

Yes.

We have a choice to buy those sweeties Yes,

We have a choice to sit and watch TV.

Is it really a choice?

Yes We're we're not manipulated by Facebook or social media We have the ability to just be part of it without being manipulated by it We know this is not true on some level.

This has been studied and verified by many many scientists So we know we know that you know,

That's not really freedom You know,

It's freedom to be manipulated but not a freedom to choose how to thrive So if you want to go against that It's not only going to be difficult because you'll be facing your own internal forces But it will be difficult because you'll be facing the external forces.

They are Very much set in place so that change doesn't happen no one you know a supermarket that sells a lot of sweeties to children doesn't really want to stop doing that because they're paradigm they're Sort of their driving force is profit,

You know,

If we can make money selling sweeties then fine Same with Facebook if we can advertise fake news We'll do it because it's money money is what rules the world.

Unfortunately,

What rules the world today and That's just part of the manipulation the external manipulation the internal manipulation is the fact That it's so very easy to fall into old habits So if you're facing your old habits as you know any old habit that needs to be challenged and changed Will come up and say no no,

No,

No,

No,

I don't want to change and it will be a struggle So in the beginning don't expect everything just to be easy and flow You know if it was easy and everything flowed in that way where you know you okay?

I'm just going to sit here and decide what to do with my time.

I'm free.

I want to do this I want to do that if that was easy Everyone would be fulfilling their New Year wishes and not needing to create new ones every time There is another new year.

You have to do it right now.

No choice.

Of course there if something Drastic happens if your colds because of an emergency and then you reschedule It's not that you've ignore the you reschedule whenever there is time But only in a very sort of extreme type situation where there is no other choice Truly,

There is no other choice because sometimes that can even be a manipulation you think there is no other choice But it's just the mind manipulating because doesn't really the mind doesn't want to change Those habits.

It's quite happy with the way things are doesn't want to create new Neurons in the in the brain where you know when you fire and wire the neurons you create this gray matter or plasticity within the Brain that then allows you to see the possibilities The brain doesn't want to do that because when it's happy firing and wiring in a certain way.

Okay,

That's good You have to challenge you have to do things Intuition isn't just sitting back and yes,

This is my intuition intuition is really pushing yourself and saying To the brain.

I don't want to listen to that script in the background.

I don't want to listen to the negativities I want to create an emptiness within that allows me to be in touch with real information that's being transmitted in this moment rather than My ideal or my dream or my this or my that?

When you do this you you'll realize that It's better to schedule a few things into your day that you know are important and it's not all about going for a walk and Nurturing yourself maybe and getting a massage or doing whatever that you feel is nice for you for yourself It's also choosing to do the things that you know are important like making your bed or whatever It is that really helps you to thrive and there are certain external situations that need mundane Attention and when you choose to do this but in a very focused way then your whole energy goes into transforming the situation where rather than being distracted by Whatever it is and while you're focused on a situation you're totally present to your work experience and my my experience In doing this is that it's important to focus energy for a certain amount of time This is why I say to sit in meditation for 20-25 minutes because that's a natural sort of time for your brain to process the information that you're working on so if you're sitting in meditation you're working on just Rewiring the way that the brain functions and you're moving into a deeper state of consciousness When you are in that deeper state of consciousness 25 minutes is good and then a little bit of a break stretch do whatever,

You know for five six minutes and then Meditate more if you need or again look at the next 25 minutes.

What are you going to do with the next 25 minutes?

Is it really that important to read the news?

Is it really that important to read whatever?

Notifications you have from Facebook When you begin to ask yourself these questions and you begin to challenge the manipulation that most of us are ruled by When you begin to ask these questions,

Then you have the freedom to choose What really helps you to thrive you begin to do things that nurture you in a way that?

Is really nurturing rather than a desire or one sometimes we want things.

I really need a holiday But actually we don't really need a holiday.

We just need to change the way things affect us and communicate to us So it's more about changing the structure around rather than just escaping for a week Holidays can be good,

But I'm just saying many people really don't need the holiday that they're thinking about There is a part of them that's thinking more.

How can things change?

Creating this spiritual structure and Spiritual boundaries.

So the boundaries are clear when I'm doing this.

This is what I'm doing allows for very clear focused energy to be part of your Meditational and spiritual practice that then helps you to reach towards the real goals that help you to thrive And that is a fantastic thing to begin to practice.

So I always recommend that you start with Perhaps a few hours schedule a few hours in your day.

This is what I'm going to do and Create a time limit.

It's not this is what I'm going to do and then you know It's an endless sort of open book where you could spend your whole day doing whatever for example checking your emails or If I'm totally focused for 25 minutes on my emails I'll achieve much more than two hours getting distracted and going backwards and forwards and doing whatever Whatever pulls my attention into it and then realize oh,

I've got to go back to emails And pulled into doing something else Back to emails and before you know it a few hours have gone because you've been distracted You've sort of looked at oh,

That's interesting.

Let me have two minute read No,

There is no two minute anything when you're focused on your emails That's all you do and you can then even go a little bit further and be more extreme And that is to define what you need to do within that within the 25 minutes So which emails do you want to actually look at?

Your friends that you haven't replied on or work emails or Something to do with your budgeting,

You know,

And then you begin to define Everything so that those micro steps that I spoke spoke about before become the way that you look at things.

I will achieve Things step by step rather than I want to do all my emails today That's you know,

That's unrealistic.

So time Definition requires that you break things into small manageable structures those structures are Part of how you address your time.

So you write them down so that you know,

If you need to make a decision What do I do now?

Oh,

Maybe I should walk to the fridge and see if there's anything Anything in the fridge because I'm feeling a little bit peckish not if it's not in your schedule It's in your schedule.

Oh,

It's 12 o'clock.

I need to prepare lunch fine But if it's not in your schedule Don't be distracted The ego mind is a monkey mind and a monkey mind will get distracted if you allow it So in the end,

That's a choice.

Do you want your monkey mind to be in control or do you want your Spiritual discipline and spiritual and spiritual boundaries that you create Do you want those to guide you towards a space where you can thrive and enjoy the present moment as it really is without being?

Manipulated When you make that choice Then you're already empowering your spiritual journey so that you come back to the stillness within rather than the noise that we're so manipulated by Just taking a few moments to integrate this knowledge and Today Make sure that you start your day by Scheduling some time some time to do those things that are important for you.

Thank you