In this episode of The Miracle You, your host Vince Kramer of Imagine Miracles and his special guest Neil McKinlay discuss the possibilities of meditation and how it can change your life. Neil shares his journey of starting a meditation practice early in his life and the trials and tribulations he has experienced. Neil gives us an understanding of meditation being a practice.
Neil is an embodied meditation teacher who has been practicing his entire adult life. Reflecting a longstanding interest in how this work enriches and is enriched by our everyday lives, he offers a range of resources that encourage and empower us.
He was introduced to meditation as a teenager. While perched on a rolled-up sleeping bag, a swim coach taught him how to sit still, close his eyes, and recite a mantra. Intrigued, he passed the next few years exploring a range of contemplative traditions. Meditation always beckoned, though, and he has today spent more than twenty years immersed in somatic or body-based practice.
Through all this, Neil has also been a parent and partner, author and competitive swim coach. Each of these roles has, in their own way, shown him that meditation specifically and spirituality more generally, is not something to be left on the cushion or stored in the shrine room.
These diverse experiences lend Neil’s presentation of meditation a unique flavor. Well aware of the challenges and opportunities a full contemporary life poses for meditation practice, he speaks to – and links – the realities of both with candor and freshness.
In addition to offering in-person instruction in Victoria, BC, Neil leads two online communities (The Living Meditation Network and The Online Gatherings), and hosts the Bringing Meditation to Life podcast. He also mentors individuals wanting to bring meditation and embodiment more fully into their lives.
Episode Resources:
Official Website: www.neilmckinlay.com
Instagram: @neil.mckinlay.meditation.words
Facebook: @NeilMcKinlayMeditation
Email: [email protected]
Three Key Points:
We all have the ability to tap into a knowingness, true guidance, to help us in every aspect of our lives. This knowingness can help us in making decisions, finding peace and supporting us in being all that we are meant to be.
There is no “one way.” There are many ways. It is extremely important that you find your way. There also isn’t one solution for every circumstance. If you can become familiar with many ways to support yourself, you can choose the tool that is best for your current experience.
Meditation like everything else takes time to learn and become comfortable with. It isn’t something you will be good at right away. No one is. But if you learn to be quiet for 30 second and then a minute, you will find that you can meditate.
Show Notes:
4:12 – Neil gives us more of who he is and the difference he is meant to make in the world through meditation.
6:16 – Neil shares his most recent wake up call that got his attention and moved him further along his path.
9:42 – Learn how the path was revealed to Neil and the losses he experienced along the way.
13:50 – Neil learned how to make meditation his practice and was surprised by the discoveries.
15:45 – Learn more about meditation and how we can lead ourselves into expecting too much or complicating our practice.
18:04 – Meditation doesn’t necessarily need to look a certain way. We can find a way to meditate that is our way.
20:53 – Neil shares where we can move beyond a belief that we can’t meditate and explains it is all part of the practice.
25:45 – Neil gives us the definition and an example of embodied meditation.
Imagine Miracles Resources:
- Your Unique Purpose Formula: Vince’s Five-Step Process to Discover Your Purpose and Your Miracle Life.
- C.R.E.A.T.E Model: Vince’s Six Steps to Creating and Living the Life that You Desire.
- Free Chapter: From Vince’s Best-selling Book Sharing the Four Things You Don’t Know Keeping You From Living a Miracle Life.