Hello I’m Mark Zaretti a light and sound energy meditation teacher, and I’ve been teaching meditation since 1998. I first started exploring meditation when I was a young child. I didn’t have a teacher or meditation guide to help me and the internet did not exist, but I was naturally sensitive to energy and auras.
Curiosity led me find out more and so I began meditating by following my intuition. I would sit with my eyes closed and simply enjoy experimenting with different ways of breathing, shifting my awareness to go inside and become more aware of energy, stillness and inner love. By the late 1990’s I found a number of meditation teachers and I also began teaching others.
Around that time I also discovered a more advanced form of meditation, referred to as “Light & Sound Meditation“. As the name suggests it is the practice of meditating on inner light and inner sound frequencies which vibrate faster than your thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Although it’s called light and sound meditation I usually explain to my meditation students that it is light, sound, & stillness because inner stillness is the key to experiencing the light and sound energy vibrations. This understanding has helped shape my teaching approach.
“Stillness is just another way of saying Love”
Mark
My Own Journey to Discover Light and Sound Meditation
As I explain above I was intuitively exploring meditation from a young age and in 1997 while studying biology at Manchester University, in the UK I became friends with a fellow student who I will call Ms J. One day in conversation I raised the topic of meditation with her and it turned out she’d been meditating on light & sound energy for a few years. I was unsure whether to believe her or not as I’d not heard about meditation involving sound and light energy before, but I trusted her as a friend and I figured I had nothing to lose from finding out for myself.
It certainly seemed to be what I’d been actively searching for too. It was the first time that someone had spoken to me about the fact that we can have an awareness that goes beyond the mind and personality, and that really got my attention.
She introduced me to a couple of teachers and I went along to weekly lessons to find out more. I started meditating about two hours a day and six hours at the weekend and 13 months later I was initiated into light & sound by an enlightened man who also lived in Manchester. He explained that he had been initiated and enlightened by his master and it was through his master that initiation was possible.
At the time I’d not met his Master, known to some as “the Irish Master“, but that would happen about a year or so later in 1999. The experience of meditating on light and sound was completely different from what I had noticed in meditation previously, it was a quantum shift, which is saying something as I had already enjoyed some pretty amazing experiences within my meditation up to that point.
My Spiritual Journey and Becoming a Light and Sound Meditation Teacher
I started teaching public classes even prior to being initiated into light and sound meditation. As I progressed along my own journey I helped a number of other people get access to light and sound. Some of whom I’d been friends with for years, which was great as we could openly share the experience, swapping notes and generally agreeing that this was the real deal!
I met a lot of different and varied people who all shared similar experiences of the light and sound energy and was lucky enough to find teachers as I moved around the UK for work. Each meditation teacher also brought their own personality, ideas and experience into the mix however importantly I stayed focused on the big picture, the fantastic meditation, and the energy which was the real deal. I am truly grateful to everyone who gave their time and shared their insights to teach me and others during that period.
Even before I discovered the light and sound meditation I was passionate about sharing what I knew with others and my enthusiasm to teach and try different approaches meant that at times I felt it best not to be part of a group, which had fixed ways of teaching and so I spent time on my own figuring out what works best while still teaching meditation and sharing what I was learning with others. The inner light and sound energy was always there.
After a few years of enjoying my meditation, teaching independently and learning useful skills for guiding others, I cautiously re-established contact with the Irish Master’s group and in June 2009 I was able to realize the state of enlightenment. Realising that this was a true journey I did my best to help teach and guide others.
However I was increasingly finding some of the core teachings and beliefs of that group was not aligning with the realisations that enlightenment was revealing. For example the Irish Master denied the existence of the soul or past lives and taught that enlightenment was the end of the journey. He also dismissed the idea of God or Jesus and Love was not a part of his teachings. Equally worrying was of the lack of compassion and duty of care being demonstrated by some within that group, and I felt a more loving and honest approach was possible.
After several years of perseverance in 2013 I decided to start teaching completely independently of that or any particular group so that I could provide a deeper level of support for people. I cut all ties with the Irish Master and his teachers though I made the effort to stay in contact with genuine and loving people who were kind and wanted to help others. It was from this open-hearted, love oriented approach that I choose to continue to teach people from any background.
The Role of Higher Spiritual Beings
Throughout my journey on light and sound energy, I had a number of significant experiences of encountering spiritual beings, and a few people I know and trust shared similar accounts over the years. A few years after enlightenment I became more aware of these beings and in 2015 established regular contact with one of the ascended masters, or more accurately they started to guide me. It was through working directly with them and with other enlightened teachers that I gained the ability to initiate people into spiritual light and sound energy myself. I have since initiated many people and taken some further to realise their enlightenment. It was around this time that the Spiritual Hierarchy also reached out to other enlightened teachers and a number of groups started offering people initiation into light and sound.
This is the same initiation process that my original teacher and his master used. It has been revealed to me by the ascended masters that all access to spiritual light and sound energy comes from the same source, which is God. between God and people on Earth are higher spiritual teachers who are the “powerful spiritual beings” mentioned in an excerpt of an article from 1986 which describes more about “the ways to Enlightenment” written by the Irish Master many years before.
With many hours of daily practice I became fully aware of the ascended masters and improved my ability to communicate with them, which is predominantly via direct channelling, which is only possible with the crown chakra opened as an enlightened person.
At the request of the ascended masters guiding me in the Autumn of 2016 I began channelling spiritual guidance and information directly from them. I was guided to publish the information in the book “Guidance for the Seeker of Truth“, which was made freely available on the pure energy meditation website. This was to be the start of a larger body of work, though I did not know it at the time.
I now dedicate my time fully as a teacher of The Way Back, teaching and guiding people in spiritual meditation as well as on their soul journeys which is the greater of the two. I continue to channel guidance which I make available as articles, videos and information on this site as well as in books, the proceeds of which go to supporting this site and all the charitable work we do.
I understand that this is a gift of grace and that is why I teach for free and will gladly work with, help and guide anyone who is sincere, kind and open-hearted. It truly is an amazing time that we have all chosen to be born intoโฆ
Qualifications and Relevant Experience
CVs and certificates are great at qualifying people for activities and roles where they have had to learn a skill or gather knowledge. We normally assume that a certificate of training equates to qualification and likewise that an exam grade translates into ability. Spirituality and meditation is a little different though. It is based on stillness, not movement. It is based on transcending the mind, rather than feeding the mind with knowledge. Spirituality is not a new thing, it is ageless. It is a natural part of being human, in the same way as breathing, digestion and the heart beating. The ability of a teacher to teach is based on awareness, access to definite energy vibrations and real states of being within higher vibrations. It’s not something that you can get a certificate in. You either have spiritual awareness and abilities or you don’t. A teacher is someone who has attained a certain level of understanding through practice and dedication and who chooses, out of compassion and love to share their insights with others.
It is natural though that any teacher would be asked “what qualifies you to teach?”. While we can look at how long they have been practicing and what they say, ultimately it is the results of their teaching which is the only true validation of them as a teacher.
So because I am asked regularly, I give below the relevant facts of my personal background in relation to meditation teaching and guiding as a guideline to help you understand where I am teaching from.
Mark Zaretti
Meditation Teacher CV
Personal Meditation Experience
I recall I started exploring altered states of awareness without any guidance in the early 1980’s, based only on intuition and curiosity. In 1998 I had my first formal meditation lessons in Manchester, UK with a number of teachers. Since then I have learned from teachers across the UK.
Meditation Techniques I Have Practiced
- Breath meditation: From 1980’s – present
- Crystal meditation: From 1989 – 2019
- Mantra meditation: From 1998 – 2019
- Yoga & Tai Chi*: From 1999 – 2020
- Advanced Kundalini meditation: 2001 (no longer recommend or do)
- Light and Sound Energy Based meditation: From April 1999 to present.
*Since 1999 to present day I have attended a number of Yoga and Tai Chi classes. I regularly practiced them but I am not a yoga or tai chi teacher. I have enjoyed benefiting from the insights they reveal about the lower levels of spiritual awareness. I do not recommend them as practices which support more advanced forms of meditation.
Landmark Spiritual Events
There are many traditions of spirituality and each has its labels and landmarks. Using the language of various traditions I shall outline some of the key events or stages from my own journey so far. These are not my own labels and I generally do not use them in my teachings. I simply give them here as indications of where I am teaching from.
- Etheric, astral and aura awareness since birth.
- Raised my kundalini a number of times.
- Raised my crown chakra many times.
- Opened my brow, throat and heart chakra.
- Perceived the thousand petal lotus from below and since 1999 from above.
- Permanently transcended the mind.
- Awareness beyond the atmic point.
- Attained intuitive state.
- Attained yogi state.
- Attained mahatma state. Crossing the mind bridge and the void.
- Attained enlightenment.
- Initiated others into Light and Sound Energy*
*The most important point is that I am able to initiate people into the more advanced inner light and sound energy so as you look at the list above, what it really means is that I can help you to realise and experience those “landmarks” for yourself.
Meditation Practice & Lifestyle
To date I have spent approximately 11,000 hours meditating (as of April 2016). Typically I meditate for 2+ hours a day and one longer meditate of 4 to 6 hours once a week.
Since 1989 I have done “long meditates” of the following durations:
2 days, 3 days, 5 days, 8 days, 10 days, 12 days.
A long meditate is where one does nothing but meditate, eating very little and sleeping as needed. It is an amazing way to get deeper into and further along a spiritual journey. Typically during these longer meditations one might meditate up to 18 hours a day.
Since 1997 I have been vegetarian. I do not drink alcohol or smoke, although I did in my youth. Since 2015 I have chosen to be vegan, out of respect for all life and the planet.
Meditation Teaching experience
- 1998 to 2000: I assisted with teaching groups of up to 30 people beginners and advanced meditation techniques in Manchester.
- 2000 to 2011: In Kent, UK, I taught a number of weekend and evening meditation courses to groups of approximately 10 students. I also organised regular meditation group sessions once or twice a week throughout this period, as well as teaching people one-to-one.
- 2011-2015: Teaching one-on-one sessions and group sessions in the UK.
- 2012-2014: Taught one-to-one, group meditation classes, and free taster sessions at The Orchard Therapy Clinic in Horsforth, Leeds, UK.
- 2013: Taught staff at the NHS Employers Offices in Leeds, “Stress management and relaxation meditation”.
- 2013: Presented “An Introduction to the Benefits of Meditation” to approx 130+ people at The U3A in Pudsey, Leeds.
- 2013-present: Supporting advanced meditation students around the world via online sessions using video conferencing.
- 2015-2016: Teaching one-to-one and group sessions in Italy.
- 2016-present: Teaching group sessions in the UK.
- As well as complete beginners I have also taught people from various meditation backgrounds including Transcendental Meditation, Buddhism, Hare Krishnas and Reiki masters.
Personal Skills
While not directly relevant to teaching meditation I have attended a number of training disciplines which have provided useful life skills and insights:
- BSc Biology – Manchester University 1998.
- MSc Biochemistry – Manchester University 1999.
- ASK (Association of Systematic Kinesiology) Practitioner and Advanced training – York, UK 1999.
- NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Practitioner and Master Practitioner and other related training courses 1999 – 2005.
- PT (Provocative Therapy) with Frank Farrelly – 2005 – 2010.
Publications & Media
- Books: Paperback books by Mark Zaretti on Amazon; Chapter contribution in book “Absolutely on Purpose“.
- eBooks: Published PDF eBooks.
- Articles: in Rapport magazine; Article in Natural Health Magazine.
- Radio: BBC Radio Kent interview
- Video: YouTube and Vimeo