PP

Through meditation and practice, | started to notice that
action [of constantly turning to his phone], and then just stop.
| started to get really conscious: ‘what-do |. need to go to my

phone for?’ ‘what is there, that | can’t find right here?

— Andrew Fredericks

 

has contributed to heightened self-control in his
meditation practice. He explains that gaining control
over his devices gave him the tools to improve his
dhyana. “Through meditation and practice, | started
to notice that action [of constantly turning to his
phone], and then just stop. | started to get really
conscious: ‘what do | need to go to my phone for?’
‘what is there, that | can’t find right here?’ That’s
what would develop that curiosity around ‘what can
be found in meditation?’ Five minutes maybe can
extend to 20 minutes. If we’re just taking time for
ourselves to breathe, to hear the sounds outside, to
notice any tensions or sensations in the body. Five

minutes doing that and it can just keep going and
going. [...] Taking control in some balance to these
two things, there’s much to discover.”

Fredericks notes that similar to the focus he
receives when turning of his social media and device
notifications, the time spent away from society
during COVID has also decluttered his mind and
allowed him to better focus on creative endeavours.
“(Prior to COVID] there was no room for my creative
expression to come out. Everything was in here and
in here,” he says as he points to his head and heart.
“But it was staying in there. [...] | could never finish
anything; | could never put anything onto paper and

 

complete it. I’m only coming to realize that now, it’s
taken a tremendous amount of time with myself [to
have] the mental space to allow for it to come out.”
What principles can we learn from Karma
Teachers and Fredericks to incorporate into
our own lives? Which of these will improve the
dimensions of health that are absent in our day-to-
day lives? “Karma Teachers hopes that its services
will be helpful to those who need it. The world
has collectively just experienced a trauma.” Want
to learn more? Practice with Karma? Volunteer?
Donate? Check out the studio’s website.

Photos by CJ Sommerfeld