A Teacher's Journey Through Life's Seasons
When Liz first learned Vedic Meditation with Tim Brown in 2003, she was a busy community services professional in Sydney, searching for ways to manage the stress of her demanding work in aged care. She learned about Vedic Meditation through a friend whose profound transformation after learning inspired Liz to want the same for herself. Little did she know that this ancient practice would become the steady foundation carrying her through life's most challenging moments. After her adult son's tragic death from a drug overdose just 18 months into her meditation journey, Liz found herself at a crossroads. At 58, she made what many would consider an impossible leap: leaving behind her job, financial security, and everything familiar to train with Thom Knoles in Flagstaff, Arizona in 2009.
Now 75 and having taught Vedic Meditation for 16 years, Liz embodies the grace of adapting to life's seasons while staying rooted in practice. As she cares for her aging husband, she's scaled back her teaching to focus on new students and remains deeply connected to Thom and her small group of initiators through monthly sessions connecting teachers from around the world. Her journey—from stressed professional to dedicated teacher to elder caregiver—illustrates how Vedic Meditation continues to support us through every chapter of life. In Liz's own words, watching meditators "become happier, healthy and at peace within themselves" remains her greatest privilege, showing how our practice can both sustain us and flow through us to serve others.
“I don't feel the suffering from the challenges and heartache that I used to feel any longer. This is also the gift that meditation, Being has gifted me over the years.”
- Liz Smith, Founder of Beyond Thinking