☰

About

Welcome to VaraVild! My name is Peter. I teach or rather guide. I started VaraVild to help people revive their perception of True Self and Nature. We are all inseparable from the whole universe. We are all one in our true self. In finding our true nature we find the Beauty Way.

We should embrace this Beauty Way so that we can reclaim our natural happiness and aliveness. We should also embrace it in our corporations and organisations so they will become incubators of spontaneous purpose and not the prisons of our dreams. But most of all we should embrace it in our schools so that the future will be brighter, lighter and permeated with love.

The Practices of the Beauty Way

Being in the true self, simple beingness, presence or alert awareness is not a practice or state to add on to you. In that you are already complete. What needs to happen is to give it space because in most people experience and awareness of the true self is hidden by the noise of the mind and personhood. The 'I' we think we are is a formation of mind: a concept, a stream of conditioned thoughts where everything gets tagged with “me”. This stream forms the story of the person. For example: opinions are not mere views on subjects but rather elements and images of the story of the 'I'. If someone disagrees with a held opinion the egoic self does not see this disagreement as merely another view but rather as an attack on the person because the person has the story of 'I' identified with that opinion. These persons are not who we are but they do cause us and others immense suffering.

It may seem very counter intuitive if I say that the only thing that stands in the way of realizing your true self is your person. There are many possible reasons for people to start reflecting on the question “Who am I, what is my true nature?”. What ever those reasons are they come from a gradual (sometimes even sudden) awareness of a perceiver of the person and the thoughts bound by that person. The person can not look beyond its own bubble as it has no perception of its own, It is only conditioned thought and images. So what is it that becomes aware of the person? This is the start of self-enquiry. From there you will embark on a journey of subtle transcendence, leading back to the original self and the Beauty Way.

Quiet introspection, contemplation and intuitive experience is most important in self-enquiry. As the true self is beyond the conceptual, words can not describe it nor can they formulate a roadmap to realization. Words can be used though, but only as pointers. Pointers pointing towards experience and intuitive perception. Such words are most effective when the setting is tolerant, calm, peaceful and loving and in a group of people whose energy and attention is focused in the heart. Therefore gatherings, circles (or, if you like to use the Sanskrit word, satsangs) are very useful and powerful practice.

I start with practices that cultivate mindfulness. This means practices that bring back the mind to the body and the present moment. From there I want you to discover what I call Heartspace. In Heartspace the activity of mindfulness is transcended, resulting in a more fluid state of harmonious presence and awareness. This is a state of consciousness that is the natural state of human beings (and, in fact, all living creatures). In this state we will practice mindfulness of relevant perceptions in awareness which basically is tracking.

Humans are the best trackers on this planet and we do it all day in all facets of our lives without being aware of it. Unfortunately, because of all the mental noise and the cloak of personhood, we are not very good at it anymore. Tracking and awareness go hand in hand. They catalyze our connection to the natural flow of unfolding existence.

Many of the practices are pointers or catalysts opening up for discernment of the true self. Tracking, sit spots, earth living skills, meditation and musical expression are all expressions of our true self in the form of naturally flowing beingness. Therefore they have always been imbued with spiritual significance and experience. These practices will help you open up your intuitive consciousness and revive your qualities of perception without judgement of mutually arising and interrelated opposites.

Ultimately my goal is for you to discover your true self and the way of living life as it unfolds from your heart: the Beauty Way. And, although I love to use the teachings of Nature to bring this about, in the end, my intent is for you to discover that Nature is everywhere, timeless and that it is what you truly are.

Once the true self is discerned and realized you will know that I had nothing to teach. That you return empty and that this emptiness is full of you. When you return home you will know that you left nothing at the retreat or workshop and that you bring nothing new back home. It was there all along, in you. You were there all a long. What changed is your seeing of it.

Guiding vs Teaching

Modern teaching methods try to get all students proficient in the same set of skills. A far better approach is to identify the talents of each individual student and optimize his/her personal growth. This better method is actually a very old living skill and has existed since the dawn of man. The model I am talking about is called mentoring or guiding. The guide's or mentor's goal is to guide the seekers (they who seek wisdom) in discovering and experiencing the things they wants to master, to guide them to the right questions instead of giving all the easy answers. Real learning is found in the questions not the answers. The guide is on the same path as the seekers and learns through them as well, as they see with different eyes. This model can be adapted to any conceivable culture and fits all types of people with all kinds of abilities.

This is why I embrace the timeless and skillful means of guiding (Sanskrit: upaya).

Copyright © 2011-2019 HuskyGård / VaraVild.