MICHAEL TEH is a meditation coach devoted to a personal mission of awakening more people to higher consciousness. He teaches self-realisation through meditation, qigong, yoga, and philosophy.
LYFE recently spoke with him about the Michael Teh Signature Workshop: The Essence of Life Series, which explores meditation as a powerful tool to realise our true potential.
Michael has designed multiple workshops in this series to support his participants’ self-realisation journey. Workshop Series 1 is currently running every few months on-ground in Kuala Lumpur, titled Knowledge of The Self and Fundamentals of Meditation.
To find out more about his mission, visit Michael’s website www.iammichaelteh.com, or his social media pages on Facebook and Instagram (@iammichaelteh).
How did you first come to adopt this practice for yourself?
“In 2018, I stumbled upon a meditation workshop in Singapore by chance. I was not seeking, nor in any state of mind that I was looking for a workshop such as this.
“However, I always believe it is good to have an open mind and to look for opportunities to learn and to further enhance myself, cultivating personal growth and insights.
“I thought to myself, there was no harm to give this workshop a try. Little did I know, I came out of those seven days’ workshop with newfound realizations and understanding.
“Prior to meditation, I sought material pleasures which include travelling, attaining wealth and success, sight-seeing, food explorations, marriage and building a family, etc, not knowing that joy and peace actually comes from within.
“Meditation is the tool not just to remove and minimise pain and suffering, but also the doorway to discover your innate potential and your life’s true purpose! Truly game-changing for me.
“Ever since then, I pursue my daily practice of meditation, it has greatly enhanced my overall mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing!
“I am able to de-stress through meditation, leading to a life with more clarity and purpose.”
How much conscious effort is actually involved in the process?
“The goal is to make meditation as effortless as possible; the ultimate aim of life is to cultivate meditation practice as a way of life. Why? Because through meditation you cultivate being present in the Moment of NOW, where you experience life from Moment to Moment, enhancing your overall wellbeing, and being present in everything that you do, in every food that you eat, in every person that you meet!
“Life is as exciting as it is every single day as you explore different life experiences with mindfulness and being present, leading to feeling peace, calm, and bliss!
“At the same time meditation is an enabler to help us reach our true potential – however, it requires practice and cultivating goodness and morality in life. It also requires discipline, focus, mindfulness, and self-reflection. Most importantly, you need to be in love with meditation practice, so, that one day it becomes effortless!
“So, in order to plant this Potential in you, you have to water it daily, give it love and care, and finally see it blossom like a Lotus Flower which grows from under and from muddy waters.”
How has meditation impacted your life?
“It has greatly impacted positively in every aspect of my life.
“The quality of life has become much more peaceful, healthy, joyful and love not just within me, but also with my family members, my wife, my children, my parents, siblings, and friends! And this is Fengshui 101, when you are innately peaceful and happy, the quality that you bring to your home is such that it is of the same quality. Cultivating peace and goodness within your family.
“Not only that, through meditation practice and deep contemplation, I found and realised my life purpose, which is to teach and preach these potentials to all who may have come to my workshops for guidance, and I am feeling innately happy and fulfilled each time I am able to share and render these teachings and to see participants life transformation! The fulfilment and peace are all that I am seeking and actualising.”
Can you provide simple imagery of what a good meditation session feels/should feel like?
“A good meditation session should give you a sense of rejuvenation, find peace, calm, and still. It results in clarity of Mind, and lightness of the Body as we practice meditation. You are able to observe your breath calmly, cultivating the effortless joy and peace that is emanating within.”
How important is meditation when it comes to taking care of your overall wellbeing?
“It is very important. Many of us, take good care of our forms, our bodies, which is good, we shower every day to remove the dirt on our bodies. We conduct physical exercise, yoga asana practices, carry weights, build our stamina and strength, these are all physical bodies. “However, as much as we need to take good care of our Body, it is paramount that we take good care of our MIND, consisting of our Thoughts and Emotions. There is a saying: ‘Our mind governs our life’. What we think, we become; what we feel, we create; what we say and express, it becomes our reality.
“Not many people understand the importance of cultivating mindfulness and purification of the mind. As a result, we fall victim to these negative consciousness that exists within and outside of us, resulting in mental health problems such as anger management issues, fear, insecurity, depressions, unhappiness, lethargy, restlessness, anxiety, etc.. leading to pain and suffering. In order to tackle these, one can adopt meditation as the tool to purify one’s mind, at the same time regenerate your Chi and Energy, leading to a life of Higher Potential!”
What is the biggest stereotype or misconception about meditation and what would you say to change people’s minds about it?
“There are several:
0 Mental Stigma – That people are feeling embarrassed and shy away from coming to practice meditation to be seen as having mental issues. That it doesn’t look “OKAY” if you are practising meditation. They have no idea that meditation is the tool we use to discover our innate potential, the doorway to Who We Truly Are.
0 Religious Practice – That meditation belongs to a certain religious practice. If you practice meditation, you belong to a certain religion! The fact that it is not, it is a Universal Practice. It is a scientific practice to understand our innate system, our mind and to realize Who We Truly Are.
0 That the Spiritual practice of meditation cannot co-exist with Material and the world of Business. Many people think that they don’t have time for meditation because they are swamped with responsibility, work, career, family commitment, thinking that meditation is selfish and is a waste of time. This is the biggest mistake one makes to think that the Spiritual practice of meditation is only for those who wish to renunciate or to have attained enough of Material. They have no idea meditation can bring them closer to their life goal!”
What is the general age range of those who practice meditation?
“It applies to people of all walks of life and of all ages! I do attract people of the 20s, 30s, and 40s to come to my workshop and classes.”.
