One of the two CEOs of the Urokimeditatsii project on his role in it, the importance of challenge in life, the ability to reach agreement, and awareness.
Vladimir Semenikhin (Vishvashanti) is one of the two CEOs of the Urokimeditatsii (Meditation Lessons) project. He is also a yogi (nine years of meditation practice), a musician, a programmer, the leader of the "Silence Retreats," a husband and a father. At Urokimeditatsii he manages and coordinates the work of all the departments. We talked with Vladimir about his role in the project, the importance of challenge in life, the ability to reach agreement, and awareness.
— How long have you been on the Urokimeditatsii team?
— From the very beginning – since 2014. I started as a programmer. Back then there was only the mailing list of Dada's video lessons. And everything to do with information technology in the project essentially fell on my shoulders. Now, of course, the project is growing and scaling up, and we are learning to delegate, to build teams and so on. So these days I hardly do any programming anymore.
— And how did you end up in the project?
— I was very inspired by meditation and by the idea of creating a yoga center in the countryside in Siberia for practice and meditating together. But since I'm not much of a builder, and I'm more the type for "clever talk" and "programming," I began helping Dada on the high-tech side.
— How did you grow from a programmer into the general director?
— The team was growing, and at some point there was a need for management. My main task became creating the conditions for all the team members to act in concert. There is an idea that if yogis get together, everything between them should go smoothly and easily. But we have learned from our own experience that this is far from true. For that to happen you need basic communication skills, nonviolent communication, and also the ability to listen to and really hear one another. All of this is very important, and the project's results depend directly on whether we have managed to reach agreement within the team, whether we set our priorities correctly, and whether we are moving toward one goal. And now we are learning all of this.
— Were there moments when you wanted to leave the project? To go and get a "normal" job?
— I had a perfectly normal job. When I first came across meditation in 2011, I was working as a programmer in Vladivostok. Inspired by meditation back then, I began telling people about it, and suddenly I started to feel that my life… well, that there was no challenge in it, no fullness. And most of all, here I was giving lectures to people, talking about trusting the universe at group meditations, while I myself lived in conditions where trust simply had nowhere to show itself. I had everything sorted – friends here, stability there. And it turned out that all of it was just theory. So I decided to put it to the test and see how the universe would catch me if I trusted it. I set off into the unknown, to Siberia, where I had no old acquaintances, to build a countryside yoga center and work on an internet project.
At first there were many obstacles. For example, we lived in barracks-like conditions, in tents. But given that I am still meditating and working on the project, you could say I have not lost my trust in the universe. It really does catch me after every new step. And the challenge is always there. I am always in circumstances where my skills and my current vision are not enough to solve the problems at hand. And to solve new problems at a new level of consciousness, you have to keep growing. It's like the feeling on a roller coaster: such a thrilling adventure, flight, amazement. Only these feelings don't go away; they are with you all the time. You just keep doing and doing, and you're amazed: "How does all this even work? Where do the right people come from?" You are amazed at the inspiration and purity of these people, and at their ability to make a big contribution to the shared dream selflessly and with dedication.
And I don't regret leaving a "normal" job. Now my supernormal job is to make sure as many people as possible learn about meditation. So that they are inspired by the idea that it is possible to "draw happiness from within" and share it with those around them. Not to run around looking for happiness all over the world, dependent on a host of different circumstances, but to find that source within. To realize that it depends only on the purity of one's own conscience, which is a process one can control. And with the help of meditation to remove dependence on uncontrollable things like the weather, success, luck and so on. This idea inspires me tremendously. And I think it is important and interesting for everyone.
— And how does your family feel about your "roller coaster" and your "supernormal" job?
— As far as my wife is concerned, I've been very lucky in this sense. She fully shares my views. We practice together, and she knows well what yoga is. That is a great joy. As for other relatives, at first, as with most practitioners, they were suspicious of it all. He sings some A sound or set of sounds that, repeated with its meaning in mind, carries the mind toward the Infinite., he's gone vegetarian – in short, he's joined a sect (laughs). But gradually I began explaining and telling them that I wasn't planning to live an antisocial life and that I would keep up my relationships with everyone as before. And their attitude began to change.
— What motivates you to keep moving forward? Where do you find inspiration?
— What motivates me is the movement forward itself – the dream of a world, a better world, a happy world. "To make the world better" – that is how I would put the mission of Urokimeditatsii. And making the world better, in turn, means making the people of this world better. That probably sounds somehow crude and aggressive. After all, nobody knows what "better" is for everyone. Each person has their own "better." But this can be understood in meditation. After all, who can tell me – Vladimir Semenikhin, 32 or 33 years old, husband, father, programmer, bass guitarist, general director of Urokimeditatsii – what is "better" for me? No one. But in meditation I begin to feel and understand which of the things I do make sense right now and which do not. I discover my own "better" and actually become better.
Another benefit of meditation is energy and inspiration. You enter the atmosphere like a comet and you burn, shine and rejoice. And I see how the practice radically changes people and their system of values. And that is the most important thing. That is real transformation, which brings deep change and a feeling of happiness.
We often look at the world through the prism of our own perception, values and priorities, and very rarely stop to think about any of this. And yet the level of our happiness depends precisely on how well your picture of the world matches reality. Meditation helps you feel your way to that reality. You begin to understand the laws of the universe, to become steeped in all these things, and gradually all your actions become a reflection of harmony and love. And however painful or hard things are, you remain happy at every moment.
— You have a pretty busy schedule and a lot of tasks. How do you manage to get everything done? Is there some secret to productivity?
— The foundation of productivity is a good team of like-minded people. We can be in different states: sometimes on top of the world, sometimes under it. And it is important that in difficult moments the team can support each other and, if necessary, cushion the effects when one of its members temporarily drops out.
We are also gradually introducing planning methods. We read books such as Jedi Techniques and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We aim for a shared vision, so that everyone on the team understands what we are doing and where we are heading.
And of course it's very important to get enough sleep and to do A yoga posture held steadily and comfortably; it balances the glands and quiets body and mind for meditation. and meditation regularly. Our productivity depends directly on that.
— Is Urokimeditatsii your main activity? Or are there other projects?
— I do a lot of things within Urokimeditatsii. For example, I play in the band Cosmic Love and I lead the "Silence Retreats." I'm also practicing in these things. In terms of work, it's my main activity.
— How did the "Silence Retreats" come about? When did you realize that, on top of everything else, you also wanted to share your experience of practice with others?
— I was never interested in going out and "preaching" something to someone; I shared my experience when I saw that there was a real request for it. It all began back in 2012, a year after I had started practicing myself. At that time I talked with people from a beginner's point of view, telling them about the problems I had faced myself. Dada supported this beginning and explained how best to speak about meditation and yoga so that it would be easier for others to understand. Then we held the first event in the "Silence Retreat" format at Ananda Shivani. After it, the idea was born of holding such retreats in other cities as well. And so this format of event came about, for those who want to make a leap in their personal practice, to go out into nature for a few days and immerse themselves in meditation as fully as possible.
— And how do yogis relax? What do you usually do in your free time?
— That's a hard question… Free time is an ephemeral notion for me at the moment. There's very little of it, but when it comes, I spend it with my family. That gives a good switch.
Sometimes there are computer games. On the one hand, I simply like playing, and on the other, all of education is now moving toward gamification. How do you frame tasks so that they feel like a game? What business goals do you set so that your corporation dominates a certain field? It's a very interesting subject.
I also like table tennis, though I don't often get to play. In Vladivostok we used to go hiking in the mountains. But now, even though I live in the Altai region, I get out to the mountains less often. In short, there is still room to grow and develop as far as relaxing goes.
— What would you like to wish or say to the subscribers of Urokimeditatsii?
— I'll say that the most valuable skill is awareness. What is awareness? It is when thoughts arise about your own thoughts. For example, some ideas, thoughts or realizations come into your head, and you, perceiving them as something external, become aware of them and weigh their importance. What is the source of this thought? Anger and envy. And this one? Nobility and conscience. Which of these two thoughts will I follow? Which thought will I turn into words and actions? And which will I forget and stop paying attention to?
I would like to wish that we all develop this skill of awareness and strive for a more harmonious and happy life. And that the whole world around us – people, animals, plants, molecules, stones, space – may rejoice together with us. After all, the only thing that separates us from this state of happiness is a lack of understanding of some basic principles and values of the world. But as soon as we begin to change, we also begin, gradually, to draw closer to this ideal.
I also advise everyone to read Stephen Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Read it slowly, attentively and thoughtfully. It is the best book I have read, apart from the literature on yoga. If you manage to really understand it, you will already start taking little steps in the right direction. And if you add meditation to that, you will have no personal problems left at all. And you will have only one thing left to do – solve the problems of humanity and help others achieve the same success. That is what I wish for everyone.
