About
Wise Monkey Way is an online meditation school helping people drink less and achieve more in life.
It was founded by Rory Kinsella, a Vedic Meditation teacher and sober coach based in Sydney, Australia.
Coming from a background in mainstream media both in Australia and his native UK, Rory had a realisation in his mid-thirties that there must be more to life than the corporate grind and the highs and lows of living for the weekend.
During an early-midlife crisis at age 35, he embarked on a journey of self-development that saw him run marathons, write a novel, study Neuro Linguistic Programming and experiment with various types of meditation until he discovered Vedic Meditation in 2014.
Rory saying cheers to five years alcohol-free with a delicious glass of... water!Â
Meditation you can look forward to
Unlike concentrative and focus-based meditations, this simple mantra-based technique provided Rory all the benefits of other styles of meditation with none of the hardships.
He loved being able to sit comfortably rather than contorting himself into lotus pose or sitting without back support.
He looked forward to meditating and gladly did it twice a day. It had such a profound and positive effect that he quickly knew he wanted to teach this ancient wisdom to others.
The quickly-fading desire to drink
The other key benefit was how it drastically reduced his desire to drink alcohol, even though this wasn’t a conscious goal at the time. Within the first few days of learning to moderate, Rory was able to significantly reduce his drinking, cutting out what he calls "crappy midweek drinking".
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The moderation years
Between learning to meditate in 2014 and quitting drinking in 2017, he had three years trying to moderate his drinking.
He had some success and some spectacular failures – like his very messy 40th birthday party – and uses this experience to empathise and support people going through this often necessary step.
Meditation teacher training graduation in India with Tim Brown in October 2016.
Who Rory loves to work with
Coming from a successful corporate career and a family of academics (he’s the only one without a PhD!) Rory specialises in working with high-achievers – what he calls high-functioning professionals.
High-functioning professionals are successful in their chosen professions and are used to success but come unstuck when it comes to alcohol.
Their perfectionist tendencies have helped them get good results, but also drive them to drink to take the edge off.
They are switched on enough to know the widely-publicised benefits of meditation, but have likely struggled with it in the past.
Their perfectionism may have brought them up against a brick wall in a letting-go practice that rewards the opposite of perfectionism.
Rory had a successful, 20-year career in the media working for Channel 4 in London and Channel 9 in Sydney, first as a journalist then a product manager and head of product.
As a meditation teacher, he has taught meditation at some of Australia’s biggest companies.
Rory giving a corporate meditation seminar at Bank of Queensland HQ in Sydney
Some of the companies where Rory has taught meditation
The Wise Monkey vs The Wine Monkey
- When we're rested and centred through meditation, our Wise Monkey is in charge.
- When we're stressed and tired, the Wine Monkey takes over – and we know the vicious cycle that leads to.
- The Wise Monkey Way is about making mindset and lifestyle changes to keep the Wise Monkey part of yourself in charge more of the time, which leads to better decision making in all areas, including how much you drink.
Rory in the media
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As a former journalist, Rory heavily documented his early success in quitting alcohol. And the huge response these articles generated spurred him on to creating programs to offer the same benefits to other people.
(Click images to read stories)
In 2020, Rory appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald and the story was so popular it stayed at the top of the website homepage for nine hours as COVID news came and went around it.
The 100 days story that started everything!
In 2018, Rory wrote about what he learned from his first 100 days alcohol free for the nine.com.au website – the story was a hit, with over 100k people reading it. Â
What programs are on offer?
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The main program is our 30 Day Challenge, which includes guided meditation and short instructional videos on how to update your mindset around alcohol.
Find out more about the 30 Day program here.
Rory also offers one on one sober coaching to a limited number of people who would like professional accountability and support.
Find out more about one on one coaching here.
Other ways to feed the Wise Monkey
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As well as meditation, Rory recommends prioritising exercise and other habits and hobbies that will inspire you and give you something else to do when you’re not drinking.
Rory is a keen musician and has played bass in bands for over 30 years. Here is a clip of a career highlight playing on Chilean TV with his band The Ramsgates in 2019.Â
Links
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Rory teaches in-person Vedic Meditation classes in Sydney and Canberra in Australia.
Rory recorded eight episodes of a podcast called Not-Quite Alcoholics in 2021.
He was also co-host of The Vedic Conversation podcast.
Follow him on Instagram here.
Find him on Insight Timer here.
Listen to his meditation for hangovers and hangxiety on YouTube here.Â
Read blog posts here.
WHATÂ PEOPLE SAY
(Full names withheld to maintain privacy)
"I was sceptical when I came across Wise Monkey Way"
Over the years, I’ve done some research and meditation was noted on quite a few of the things that I was following.
I tried minimalist drinking which started out well and then was a slippery slope to my normal drinking intake.
I tried AA which was definitely not for me. I was a little sceptical when I came across Wise Monkey Way.
The course was quite a big outlay, but I was very interested in the meditation side of it, so I gave it to go and actually it has been the saviour of me. I’ve got my life back, I’m more present, less anxious, much calmer and I see things more clearly. I meditate and it helps.
I don’t know how it works, but it works for me. It quietens my mind and the cravings. I am no longer hostage to my habit.
Karen, Director, UK
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"A pivotal moment"
There was a pivotal moment at 70 or 80 days alcohol free. I had an event with some of my closest friends who get together once every three months for a lunch that’s centred on food and wine.
The last event was just before the hundred days and when it came around again, I spent two weeks negotiating with myself about whether I would drink – maybe I'll just have one or two glasses, maybe I'll do this or that. I wasted so much mental energy on it for two weeks.
And then eventually I got the strength about a week before and had a one on one with Rory and he helped me on how to get through it. Then when I went to the lunch, I didn't even want a glass of wine. I didn't even notice the wine being poured!
It was a huge pivotal moment. I just went straight through and was like – I can do this now.
Steve, VP Sales, MelbourneÂ
"I took half the month off and had my best revenue month ever”
I’ve got more mental clarity, better thinking – everything's going better.
This has been my biggest revenue month in the history of my agency, which is crazy.
And I attribute it to this. I don't know if there were other things I was doing and I literally took half the month off – so something is going on.
I've always worked hard – maybe I'm working more efficiently or it's better quality work.
Less anxiety has really helped and allowed me to take more risks and push things a little bit more than I usually do. Jumping out there with imperfect action – that's what I call it.
I didn't think I could go a hundred days without drinking, – it was definitely empowering to know that I could.
Lindsey, Marketing Agency Owner, Los Angeles
Fake meditating for Instagram in Chile in 2019 – don't worry, we'll be meditating comfortably in chairs.