Charm: Your Inner Compass for a Purpose-led Life

Imagine a life as a breathtakingly intricate tapestry. Woven within its vibrant threads is a golden strand - a subtle and powerful force that whispers to our souls the way to a path of least resistance towards our next step in growth and evolution.

In the Vedic tradition, we call this force 'charm'.  It's not the superficial allure that the word might initially evoke, but rather an innate wisdom, that calls for attunement to our 'fine level of feeling' allowing us to sense the truth at any instant. We most commonly like to refer to charm as intuition.

As a Vedic meditator and meditation teacher, I've learned to navigate the ebbs and flow of daily life by tuning into this charm. It influences the simplest of choices – e.g. which café to visit for my morning chai, which route to take through traffic, how to structure my day, or organising my next meditation course. These seemingly small decisions, guided by charm, can lead to a cascade of ripple effects which can create profound changes in our lives and the world around us.

You have to imagine charm as a mystical compass nestled deep within your heart; it's a divine instrument in sync with your soul's unique journey.

Always pointing to your ‘True North’!

The beauty of charm lies in its unpredictability. To truly benefit from its guidance, we must remain open to the surprises it may lead us to.

Let me share a personal experience that illustrates this perfectly. For years, I had dreamed of enhancing my meditation teaching skills under the guidance of my beloved mentor and teacher. When he finally offered the specific training I had long awaited, I was shocked to find that the charm wasn't there. The needle of my inner compass stood motionless. My heart whispered a firm 'no', even though my mind struggled to comprehend why, so I chose not to enrol.

A few months later, an unexpected and alternative training option emerged with another revered teacher in the same field, offering me the chance to elevate my skills. This opportunity resonated deeply, providing additional tools for managing your own business and creating impact on a bigger scale, plus the timing / duration of course aligned perfectly for me. Now, a year later, I stand on the cusp of upgrading my meditation teachings and graduating as a Vedic Meditation teacher.

Had I followed my initial ‘thought process’, allowing my mind to make the decision to sign up for the initial training, unforeseen health challenges would have forced me to withdraw, preventing me from travelling to India - a trip which was required for this programme’s initiation and graduation. By following charm, even when it seemed counterintuitive at the time, I found myself on a path more aligned with my current needs and circumstances.

This experience imparted a valuable lesson: the absence of charm can be as significant as its presence. It's okay if that gut feeling isn't there. Moreover, it showed how Nature unfailingly supports us when we tune in to our fine level of feeling in making both minor and major decisions, rather than getting entangled in intellectual analysis, overthinking and doubting our inner True North…

Remember, our inner compass doesn't always point in the direction we anticipate. This doesn't indicate a default in our navigation system; it simply means our true north lies elsewhere. Trust in the wisdom of your innate knowing, for it always leads you towards flow and growth, even if the path it illuminates is unexpected.

The role of Vedic Meditation: Our Guiding Star

In our journey through life, the majority of people rely on their intellect to steer them forward. However, the intellect, though useful, is often mistaken and limited in its ability to grasp the subtle, divine orchestration unfolding for us.

When we primarily operate from this potentially misguided intellect, we tend to fall into desire-based living. Like charm, desire pulls us in an appealing direction, but it comes laden with expectations. Our happiness becomes contingent on specific outcomes, leaving us more often than not disappointed when things don't go as planned.

Charm, in contrast, offers a different path. It gently points us in a direction without attachment to the results. Following charm creates a sense of flow, whereas desire-based living often results in resistance, friction, and a rollercoaster of emotions. It's about heeding the mind's urges, which rarely rhymes with peace and bliss.

“Yogasthaḥ kuru karmāṇi” - "Established in Yog [Being], perform action."

– Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Through the practice of Vedic meditation, we cultivate an increasing ability to connect with our 'fine level of feeling' – that quiet place where our deepest truth can be heard loud and clear.

Imagine, loves, that you're planting a magnificent tree. Most people, in their eagerness for growth, focus solely on making the tree grow quickly. They rush to see the branches reach for the sky, without first ensuring the roots are strong enough to support such growth. This approach often leads to a weak tree, easily toppled by life's storms.

But what if we took a different approach? What if, before rushing into action, we first established ourselves in Being and developing that bond to our fine level of feeling? This is akin to nurturing strong, deep roots. When we ensure our roots – our sense of Self and inner peace – are well-anchored in the soil of our being, we create a foundation for sustainable growth and resilience.

Sadly, the majority of people rush into life without this essential grounding piece. They make decisions and take actions without first connecting to that fine level of feeling, that inner compass that guides us true. But when we take the time to establish ourselves in Being, just as Maharishi advises, we allow ourselves to grow tall and healthy, like a majestic tree with roots reaching deep into the earth.

A daily Vedic meditation practice cultivates this state of Being. It acts as a guiding star that allows us to make choices from a place of deep awareness, truly aligned with our innate wisdom and compass - our inner voice. Life begins to flow with ease when we operate from this centred place and stable state.

The use of a personalised mantra during meditation, akin to a 'birth sound' determined by when you were born, allows us to dwell in that stillness and pure Being. The more time we spend in contact with this unshakable part of ourselves, the more established we become. We can refine our fine level of feeling and correct the intellect, going beyond conditioning and limiting beliefs.

This practice of  Vedic meditation transforms us into a force of nature, enabling us to navigate uncharted territories from a place of true Self (with capital ‘S’) rather than the mistaken intellect aka small self with lower-case ‘s’. We transition from the limited viewpoint of the mind to a more expansive, universal consciousness. If you are looking to establish Being in your daily life, I can teach you how and guide you through the proper use of your personalised mantra so that you can become a self-sufficient meditator for life.

Remember, dear ones, amidst life's uncertainties, you don't need to have all the answers. Your inner compass resides in your heart – all you need to do is listen. Let it be your guiding star, illuminating the path to your purpose and deepest fulfilment.