Images:
KOSHA 2026
Flatweave
100% New Zealand Wool and Bamboo Silk
Woven Resistance
Last year, I was asked to design a rug that Jamie Stern
was going to take on the road
as a fundraiser, with an online auction to help
the Sierra Club’s fight against climate change
and PFLAG’s efforts in supporting LGBTQ+ communities.
Resistance comes in many ways.
My concern in this day and age is the mental health of
children, family, friends and the
collective of people that surround us.
As a teacher of Vedic Meditation, I am
intrigued by theresistance
that I find in people feeling that they
can’t meditate because
they have too many thoughts.
Or after being taught the technique
that they resist the impulse to sit quietly
for 20 minutes in the morning and evening.
Because they aren’t getting instant
gratification from sitting.
Not surprising, as we are fighting the
tech companies who have wired
our minds with reels, catastrophic news clips
or shopping opportunities, all too
often, to distract us from our own true nature.
What is that? Our own true nature?
Inside the body are many other bodies called
Maya Koshas — Sheaths
That fit like a glove…
Sitting allows the mind to settle down and
identify with that feeling of being
— which is our ultimate identity.
When we meditate, we go beyond thought,
and that becomes the field of being.
We have to get through the layers, which takes
practice and patience.
Each structure in this rug represents a
layer of identity and awareness,
reflecting how we move from the external world
toward our inner deeper truth.
There are 8 Koshas, I am sharing 5 here.
They are
1.Physical
2.Energetic
3.Mental (mind, emotions, thoughts)
4.Intellectual (intuition, discernment)
5.Bliss
The Five structures in the Rug are represented by the
pattern shift.
The contrast of matte and shiny fibers in the rug
speaks to the tension between what grounds us and what
inspires us — the earthly and the celestial,
the struggle and the hope — which can pop up in the
form of thoughts in our meditation.
It takes time to settle through these layers…
Repetition is the key to
any practice and technique…
If you feel inclined… donate, attend the Woven Resistance events
or bid on the rugs…
https://www.wovenresistancebyjamiestern.com
If you want to learn to meditate, please stop
resisting.
02.01.2026 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com