We all have stories inside of us. Most of our stories die with us, unheard, unexpressed, and yet still fully lived. When we tell stories of different times in our lives, you may have noticed that as the years go on, as you grow, evolve, and expand, the way you see your past changes, and therefore how you experience yourself in the present also changes.
The Vedic tradition encourages us to examine the way we relate to our memories, what we consider to be the truth or ‘what really happened’. Because the only time that exists is now. The past is a memory of the now and the future an idea of what it could be. Therefore, the so-called ‘past’ is actually alive and kicking within us right now, but it has a bias. Past memories are based upon who (you thought) you were, what you were feeling at the time, and how much self-awareness was present. We call this our state of consciousness, and it’s always influencing our present, and therefore our past and future. We really are authors, directors, screenplay writers, and casting agents, writing the scripts of our lives, acting them out, and coming to deeper realisations of who we truly are in the process.
Telling your story can be a powerful way of bringing greater awareness to the past that’s alive in you right now, seeing it with new eyes, understanding the role it has played, and coming to deeper acceptance of your life, as it is, right here, right now. As we do this, there’s an inspiration that surges forth into the present and begins to change the direction of your future. That’s why we tell stories, and this story, our Mahasoma story, picks up again in 2023.
The unknown path of taking an idea into reality.
An idea for a future vision doesn’t always go according to plan. An idea sits in the beyond world, not up close to reality. It has be raised by the human experience, forged in loving acceptance, and kneaded by the need of the time. Until an idea becomes real, you don’t actually know how it’s going to turn out. It’s what creates the fear from lack of control but also the excitement for what’s to emerge.
But as the Vedic wisdom reminds us, the process is the outcome. Outcome orientation, thinking if we just ‘get there’ it will have ‘worked’, misses the fact that our outer purpose in life is simply a way we get to evolve internally, personally, and live out the greatest purpose for our birth - Self-realisation. We really are just walking each other home while building businesses, raising kids, succeeding and failing, and hopefully stopping to watch a sunset or a sunrise every now and then.
“Does it matter whether we achieve our outer purpose, whether we succeed or fail in the world? It will matter to you as long as you haven’t realized your inner purpose. After that, the outer purpose is just a game that you may continue to play simply because you enjoy it. It is also possible to fail completely in your outer purpose and at the same time totally succeed in your inner purpose. Or the other way around, which is actually more common: outer riches and inner poverty, or to “gain the world and lose your soul". Ultimately, of course, every outer purpose is doomed to “fail” sooner or later, simply because it is subject to the law of impermanence of all things. The sooner you realize that your outer purpose cannot give you lasting fulfillment, the better. When you have seen the limitations of your outer purpose, you give up your unrealistic expectation that it should make you happy, and you make it subservient to your inner purpose.” - Eckhart Tolle
The team become three.
In mid-2023 Mahasoma shifted into the team of Kathleen, Sarah, and myself. I was living in Noosa, teaching courses, group meditations, travelling to Melbourne and India to teach, while living in a tiny home and growing a syntropic food forest.
Kathleen was living in Castlemaine, growing deep roots with her community and future husband while hosting retreats in India and Bali.
Sarah moved to the Surf Coast before coming back to Melbourne, stepping into the leading role of hosting Rishi Training and Siddha Training for dozens of meditators.
The path becomes more defined by walking it.
There was a natural differentiation process taking place as we all stepped more and more into our unique expressions of the Veda. This led to our weekly community newsletters evolving into this Substack you’re currently reading(!), sharing Vedic wisdom from our three different perspectives, rooted in the feminine experience of living, teaching, and embodying the practice. The essence of what we were creating was becoming more and more clear. But we couldn’t have got there without living all our previous iterations. Those past versions of us were the discoveries of deeper, truer, realer expressions. In all the messiness, hard conversations, annoyances, and imperfectness, we got here. And here was feeling in flow.
Desires, visions, and letting Nature organise.
At the end of 2023, I was with Pandit Baskaran in the South of India, and one afternoon he came to me and said during his meditation he’d had a vision of guiding 10000 people into meditation. He then looked at me and said, “Possible?” I looked to my friend who was also travelling with us and I laughed, because I cannot say no to Panditji. Fast forward a day or so and I’m in contact with the Wanderlust team, who just happened to be looking for a meditation teacher to guide an in-person meditation at their next event series headlined by Russell Brand in Australia (and wait for it…) for 10000 people. I laughed and said, we’re in! I have by now learnt that Panditji’s connection to Nature, to life, is so deep and profound, if he thinks something, it’s because it’s happening and he’s awake to it. As he always reminds me, “Everything is possible Laura-ji.”
Fast forward a few months to the Russell Brand saga going public, Wanderlust drops their headline act, and the tour gets a change of plans. But in all honestly, it was perfect. In February 2024 a smaller more intimate journey arranged itself for Panditji with a whirlwind 3 weeks of yajña, mantra, meditation, and meeting so many incredible people in our community from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Byron Bay, and Noosa. To have the light that he is, light up our world in Australia, was such a blessing. He is a true embodiment of what we teach (and if you didn’t read it at the time, I wrote a Substack on it called What I learnt travelling Australia with Panditji for 3 weeks. There’s some gold nuggets of Panditji wisdom in there!)
The next generation.
On the new moon in June 2024, we began our second Mahasoma Vedic meditation teacher training with 3 months of intensive study of Maharishi’s wisdom at Sri Sakthi Amma’s in India. It was a glorious, challenging, expanding, and beyond time that feels like lifetimes ago and only just yesterday. We graduated 18 Mahasoma Vedic meditation teachers from the UK, Estonia, Switzerland, USA, Mexico, and Australia and they headed home to begin initiating and cultivating communities of their own.
It was these seeds of creation in the form of newly graduated teachers that became the next big wave of evolution we were being asked to ride. As the teachers walked their path, we saw how much support was really needed post-training. The creative power started to flow in this direction and in 2025 we launched our first Radiate residency for Vedic meditation teachers - an online space for connection, learning, and deepening into being a teacher alongside a 9-night retreat with Panditji in Byron Bay.
It was the beginning of creating an ecosystem of teachers and students where we could support each other cyclically rather than hierarchically. We had never been about creating another spiritual model that seats the teacher at the front, on a pedestal, waiting to fall. We wanted a new way, what we considered to be more feminine, based on the principles of Nature, and rooted in mutual love, respect, and community. It was a great success and after a year of running Radiate, I saw how it needed to expand. There was another gap for those who had taken advanced Vedic wisdom trainings and didn’t want to become teachers, or may not be ready to teach yet. Where did they go? Who was serving them?
Mahasoma’s new role was being revealed, so we shifted gears, surrendered (again), got super clear on the vision, and opened up to our next chapter. If you’ve sensed that things have been changing around here of late, it’s because they are. And next week, I can’t wait to share with you all the next iteration of Mahasoma as we move into 2026 and beyond.
With love and gratitude for being part of our story,
Laura x
Group meditation timetable.
Tuesday 12 May - 6pm-7pm AEST online with Kathleen O’Brien
Wednesday 13 May - Every Wednesday - 6:30am movement + 7am meditation. Open to anyone to attend. Tell your friends! Follow us @noosa_meditation to stay in touch.
Sunday 17 May - 9am-12:30pm - Rounding Workshop in Derrimut, West Melbourne with Victoria Madamba (paid)
Upcoming courses from our Mahasoma teachers.
Gift yourself a lifelong practice for health, happiness, and deeper connection. Join our community and be supported for life.
14-17 May - Vedic meditation course in Noosa (Eumundi) with Laura Poole
15-18 May - Vedic meditation course in Castlemaine with Kathleen O’Brien
21-24 May - Vedic meditation course in Melbourne (Cheltenham) with Sarah O’Brien
21-24 May - Vedic meditation course in West Melbourne (Derrimut) with Victoria Madamba
4-7 June - Vedic meditation course in Melbourne (Cheltenham) with Sarah O’Brien
11-14 June - Vedic meditation course in Noosa with Laura Poole
2026 retreats from our Mahasoma teachers.
28 June - 6 July - Bali Rounding Retreat with Laura Poole
Join Laura for a nine-day immersion into Being through Vedic meditation, community, and devotion. This retreat is an invitation to experience yourself from a deeper place within, and discover a new way of being and living that is more real, true, and alive.
11-19 July - Vedic meditation initiator retreat in Bali with Pandit Baskaran
This year our Vedic meditation teacher retreat will be held over 9-nights in Bali, an invitation to gather in community and bathe in deep rest through daily high-rounds and siddha rounds.
Mahasoma - a home for Vedic meditators living, leading and teaching.
We honour the wisdom of nature, the intelligence of the body, and the power of shared presence in community. Rooted in tradition, relevant for everyday lives, and deeply human. Come home to a meditation practice and community that feels like yours.
Really enjoyed reading your story 🙏
So very grateful to be apart of it all ✨