The Veda is an ancient body of knowledge that gives us many practices, including yoga asana and Vedic meditation, and it gives us so much more. The Veda contains knowledge of the laws of nature that govern life and living, and teaches us how to live in a way that is geared towards our evolution, in harmony with nature and with maximum flow and resources. Knowledge has organising power. Simply being aware of this knowledge starts to create subtle changes in the way we live. These subtle changes accumulate and lead us towards our highest expression in a gentle, easy way.

One such piece of knowledge is of the power of our attention in the creation of our reality. The Sanskrit word ~ soma ~ means flow of consciousness. That which we put our attention ~ or soma ~ on will amplify or grow stronger in our awareness. The simple action of directing our awareness onto something will create more of it.

We can apply this knowledge to every area of life. Take the common example of being in the market for a new car. You choose the car you wish to purchase, and all of a sudden you start to see it everywhere. It's not that there are suddenly more of those cars on the road now that you've made your choice; the change in your experience is a result of the shift in your attention.

Apply this now to those qualities in other people that you choose to put your attention on. If you have a dynamic with someone that you find challenging and you have created a habit of putting your attention on their less desirable qualities, those qualities will dominate your awareness when you engage with this person or bring them to mind. By putting your attention on those perceived unfavourable qualities, they will be all you notice. If instead, you create a new habit of putting your attention on their finer qualities, you are using your soma to create more of what you wish to experience. This could be anything from the way they dress to the colour of their eyes; simply pick something you appreciate about this person and put your attention there. Even when you start small, you will start to notice a shift in your experience of this person. They haven't changed - what's changed is where you are directing your soma. The subtle shift in your attention creates a change in your experience of this person. Without ever saying anything to the person, they will also sense the shift in your attention and respond favourably.

This is but one of many lessons we can take from this ancient body of knowledge and apply to our modern lives. The soma of a Vedic meditator is powerful; every time you meditate you imbue your soma with all of the qualities of the unbounded state of Being we touch on when practicing Vedic meditation. Every time you transcend thought in meditation you uplift the quality of your state of consciousness. As a Vedic meditator your attention is powerful, which makes it all the more important to be discerning with where you choose to place it. If you're interested in learning more about the science and practice of Vedic meditation, join me for a free, no obligation Intro Talk to Vedic meditation. Click here to register.

* Sanskrit is the ancient language of India.