G'day my name is Scotty. I grew up in the Upper Hunter Valley NSW. I left school at a young age and went fencing on properties and horse studs. I was a Shearer for 7 years around Australia and New Zealand. Lived in London for a couple of years and learnt to become an Arborist and became a Rope Access Technician. I have been a Shotfirer in an open cut mine for over ten years, still am. I played Rugby League until I was 27. 

There were two significant events in my life that started to change the way I looked at things. First being a relationship break up. I was engaged. I’d been in the relationship for about 5 years or so. I got home from work and had a letter in my mailbox from a woman saying that my partner had been having affair with her partner. This was about 5 months out from the wedding. Obviously, the relationship ended. Once the house was sold and settled, I moved up to Central Qld. Like most men dealing with emotions, I started to deal with it by drinking alcohol. A lot of it. Over the next couple of years, the emotional pain subsided but I didn't deal with the issue. I simply pushed it down. Emotions are energy in motion. We are not supposed to hang onto these. We are designed to feel them. Learn from them and then let them go. But as humans, a lot of the time we don't. 

The next event was a near death experience. I was invited to a wedding in Fiji as a Groomsmen. I met Stewy in London on my travels. We remain great mates to this day. I had a plan that I would travel over two weeks earlier and do some charity work there and roll into the wedding and all the celebrations which go along with that. The universe had other ideas. To this day I am still not sure what it was that triggered this. I decided to climb the highest mountain in Fiji (Mount Tomanivi). On the way down I started to notice my hands swelling, then my feet. As I got back down the Mountain I stayed in a little village. Literally a straw hut. By the time the tour guide got back to me I was laying on the ground. The swelling was working its way towards my knees and elbows. I was having an anaphylactic response to something. He rushed me straight to hospital. Slowly, I could feel it start to tighten my airways. I remember laying on the hospital bed thinking I am about to die here if they don't stop the swelling. I was struggling to breath. I was 36 years old. Still in my prime. But...... I just let go. I thought about my life. It was pretty good. I've travelled a lot of the world. Fell in love a few times. Played in some successful Rugby League teams, been a great friend. I had three God Daughters. Such a huge honour. So, instead of feeling afraid of death. I actually got excited. I thought ok, what's next? Where does the spirit/soul go? I knew I wasn't my body. I was simply going to leave it. But to where? And once I embraced exactly where I was. I started to heal. The swelling started to go down. I started to get better. 

I never made my mates wedding. The side effect of the event was that I had a heap of fluid in the body. That continued for months after. I also had rheumatoid arthritis as a side effect of the anaphylactic response. Again, this lasted for months. I got back to Australia and was straight to Hospiital. I used all my annual leave and sick leave, and the company I worked for never rang me once. I was losing everything material. I had a house in Scone, a house in Airlie Beach and the Toyota Landcruiser. I realised that material wealth is the most irrelevant thing out there. Thinking I was going to stay like this forever. Some days I couldn't walk. The pain of the arthritis was too extreme. Each day the pain would be in a different area. I spiralled into a deep depression. Some days I would just lay in bed and drink. I remember the Rugby World Cup was on at the time, at least I could watch that. Even though I had some support from friends and family, the only person who can get you out of depression is yourself. It must be you that makes that first step. Otherwise, you will fail. It must be you. Slowly but surely, I crawled my way out. I slowly started to get better. The toughest time of my life and I got through it. 

What is this life thing about anyway? There's gotta be more to it than just getting married, having kids that have grandkids, buying a house, taking the bins out, paying bills and going on a holiday every now and then. 

Then I became a seeker. 

I did my level 1 Yoga Teaching Training,  Vipassana (10-day silent meditation),  7-day course in Holographic Kinetics, 4 week course in Intuitive Anatomy Theta Healing, A weeklong course in Meditation at the Byron Yoga Centre, 2 weeks Muay Thai Training in Pataya, Breathwork Course, Wim Hof, the list goes on. I was trying to find myself. 

My Vedic meditation journey started back in early 2019; I was listening to a podcast on Meditation, I knew immediately that I wanted to learn the technique. I booked into the next available course. Once completed I continued down the path to become a Teacher. I was kinda like a Bulldozer. I didn't stop until I became a Teacher. Being a teacher of Vedic Meditation under the Shankaracharya Tradition is by far my greatest achievement. (Other than my family) 

Vedic Meditation has blessed me with the ability to live my life objectively, without attachment but with a deep sense of purpose, compassion, understanding and love. It has helped to free me from the constraints that use to limit me and dictate my life. Out of every modality that I tried during the 15-year healing journey that I had been on, (and still am to this day) Vedic Meditation was undoubtedly the most useful and powerful tool in managing the daily stresses of life, remaining balanced, removing anxiety and depression symptoms, healing any traumas and bringing joy and clarity into my life. I now live life with increased clarity, more freedom and confidence in who I am. The little things that once affected me no longer cause me discomfort and there is nothing that brings me more joy than helping others reach this place of freedom too. 

Have a read of the Testimonials (via my Home page at https://zakodameditation.com.au/home) and you will soon notice that everyone from all different walks of life and career paths are benefiting from the technique that I teach. Personally, I wish I had learnt this while playing Rugby League. Sometimes I would play the game in my head before I got out there. This tool calms the mind to a deep place of rest that is 2 to 5 times deeper than sleep. This has been proven by science. 

My plan was to always have this knowledge available to regional Australia. Especially the Hunter Valley Area where I grew up. There is a strong calling for this knowledge in the bush. 

To be able to guide as many people as possible to their own truths and their potential; so that they do not need to be led by others but can awaken their own mind, amass their own experience and decide for themselves their own path, choosing a life of freedom, love and evolution...... doesn't get much better than that does it. 🙂  

Much love 

Scotty