An Easy Guide to Meditation (3 page)

•If you need healing of any kind, see through limiting circumstances to conditions which are more ideal, and accept them in your mind and consciousness as being real. Follow through with nurturing actions and behaviors, if necessary. First, be established in the conviction of wholeness and freedom.

•If you want to pray for someone, be inwardly established in awareness of the Presence of God, knowing for yourself that, as God’s grace can and will meet your every need, so it can and will meet every need for those with whom you share this interlude of intercessory prayer. Continue in silent, inner work until you feel soul-content and thankful.

Always, when engaged in inner work, first be established in awareness of the Presence of God. The
Presence
of God
is,
as being. The
Power
of God
acts
to make possible expression and effects. When you are established in awareness of the Presence of God, It thinks through your mind, Its inclination is your will, Its impulses impel you to action or inspire you to be still and wait.

The soul, being an individualized unit, ray, or aspect of God’s consciousness, has within it all of the characteristics and capacities of God. It would not be accurate to say that we are God, for we are not. What is true is that “God is us.” Our role is to consciously know ourselves as we really are, as spiritual beings in relationship to God. When we are fully conscious of what we essentially are, and what our true relationship with God is, we are Self-realized. The word
Self
with an upper case
S
is used in spiritual literature to refer to the soul, the changeless essence, in contrast to an egocentric sense of self-identity.

In many religious traditions much emphasis is placed on the value of being Self-realized while, often, it is also taught that Self-realization is difficult to “attain.” The very idea that this ideal state is to be attained or acquired is a delusion, an invalid belief. Self-realization is not a state or condition to earn or possess. It is a realization to which we awaken, to discover that, at our core, we have always been enlightened, knowledgeable, and free.

CHAPTER THREE

Meditation Techniques and Routines

to Use for Satisfying Results

Meditation techniques are like tools we use to accomplish specific purposes. When we no longer need our tools we can put them away. Use meditation techniques to elicit the relaxation response and to facilitate adjustments of states of consciousness, then discard them and let meditation flow.

The purpose of using a meditation technique is to improve concentration and facilitate adjustments of states of consciousness. They are not magical processes; they involve our attention and regulate mental and physical states so that our awareness, removed from distracting influences, becomes clear. The key to effective use of a meditation technique is to give attention to it without trying to force results. We cannot successfully create clear states of consciousness; we can only be instrumental in removing obstacles to awakening and unfoldment.

The clear states of consciousness we aspire to experience are not caused by our endeavors. They naturally unfold when conditions are most suitable for them to do so. We should not attempt to induce moods which make us feel good and thus lull us into a complacent emotional state, or to use self-suggestion or controlled visualization processes to create imaginary mental states. Our meditation aim should be higher than merely an improved state of conditioned consciousness; we should aspire to have awareness removed from mental processes by awakening to superconscious states, which transcend them.

While it is helpful to be personally instructed in meditation procedures by someone who is proficient in practice, the basic techniques described here can be learned and used with benefit by carefully reading the explanations and experimenting with them. The recommended way to proceed is to use them routinely without expectation of dramatic results, patiently allowing sequential meditation practice sessions to afford you time and opportunity to learn. The following meditation techniques have been used for centuries because experience has proven their usefulness.

1.Relaxation Technique: Suitable for anyone, to elicit the relaxation response for the purpose of experiencing the restorative, enlivening effects of mental calm and physiological rest. Sit for at least 20 minutes, mentally listening to a chosen word or word-phrase. Choose an agreeable word, such as peace, light, love, joy—any word with which you feel comfortable and has inspirational value to you. Or a word-phrase, such as, “I am peace,” “I am light,” “I am love,” “I am joy”—or any words agreeable to you. In the latter instance, do not use the word-phrase as a self-suggestion for the purpose of trying to condition the mind or induce an emotional state. Use it only to focus your attention.

When using a single word, sitting upright and still, with eyes closed and attention flowing to the higher brain, mentally repeat the word a few times, slowly and gently. Then, recalling the “sound” of the mentally spoken word, “listen” to that sound repeating itself in your field of awareness. That is, instead of continuing to mentally speak the word, let the word resonate in your field of awareness. Just give yourself to the listening process. Do this until your attention is internalized and still. Then, ignore the word and rest in the stillness until you feel inclined to conclude your practice session.

A word-phrase is used the same way. With it, as a preliminary stage of practice, you can begin by listening to the words synchronized with your breathing rhythm. To do this, sitting relaxed and alert, let breathing flow naturally. When inhalation occurs, mentally listen to “I am.” When exhalation occurs, mentally listen to the second part of the word-phase. Continue for a while until you are relaxed and attention is somewhat internalized, then disregard the body’s breathing process and give your attention only to the word-phrase which repeats in your field of awareness. As practice progresses, eventually disregard the word-phrase and rest in the deep silence until you feel inclined to conclude your practice session.

2.Devotional Meditation Technique: Used as above, with more devotional intention. Use the word “God” or the word-phase “Om God” as your mantra. (See schedule number four, below, for more information about
Om
.) Proceed as with the basic relaxation technique, while more obviously letting your ego-sense (the learned or acquired sense of independent selfhood) dissolve, being open to apprehending and experiencing an awareness of the Presence and Reality of God. When the mantra falls away, feel yourself to be merged in God.

Extensive inquiry reveals that many individuals, who practice the relaxation meditation technique primarily for psychological and physiological benefits, tend to discontinue their practice after some improvement is experienced or because of losing interest. Those who include meditation in their daily devotional, religious, or spiritual routine, tend to maintain a regular meditation schedule.

3.Sanskrit Mantras: These mantras have the added value of their unique sound-frequency potency which can beneficially influence the mind and nervous system. They are used as are the words or word-phrases described above. Although it is usually more helpful to learn Sanskrit mantras during an occasion of personal instruction—to be sure you know what the mantras sound like and how to use them— you can experiment with them to see if they serve your purposes.

Begin with
hong sau
(hong-saw). Let the first syllable float in your field of awareness when you breathe in; let the second syllable float in your field of awareness when you breathe out. Feel that the sounds are emerging from the boundless field of pure consciousness into your field of awareness. As your practice progresses, disregard the breathing process, listening to the mantra until awareness of it ceases or you go beyond it into the deep silence.

Or use
so ham
(so-hum) just as
hong sau
is used. With
so ham
you can, if you want to, also contemplate the meaning of the mantra as it flows: “Pure Consciousness–am I.” When the mantra drops away, continue to contemplate pure, existence-being as your essential nature.

4.Om Mantra Technique: All mantras derive their potency from
Om
because from this primordial energy-force all things come into expression. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was (is) God. All things were made by it, and without it was not anything made that was made.” (New Testament,
Gospel of St. John
: 1:1 & 3). Also, Patanjali’s
Yoga Sutras,
(1:27-29): “The manifesting symbol (evidential aspect) of God is
Om
. One should meditate on this Word, contemplating and surrendering to it. Meditation on
Om
results in cosmic consciousness and the removal of all mental and physical obstacles to success on the spiritual path.”

This technique can be used after preliminary techniques have been used or it can be used alone. The easy way is to assume your meditation posture and begin with your usual preliminary procedure (settling down, prayer and/or invocation of God). Then proceed in five progressive stages. 1) Chant
Om
(
O-o-o-o-o-m-mn
). Let it flow out easily, concluding with a slight nasalization sound, a blending of
m
and
n
. Chant it quietly several times, medium-slow and steady. 2) Continue to chant, but more softly. 3) Chant in a whisper, going more within. 4) Mentally chant, going still more deeply within and listening in the inner ear canals to any subtle sound that might be discerned. 5) Cease mental chanting while continuing to “listen” to the mental sound resonating in your field of awareness. If you can actually hear a subtle, continuous sound in your ears or as though pervading your field of awareness, give your attention to that. Know
Om
to be all-pervading, emanating from the field of God’s omnipresent consciousness, the substratum, the supporting essence, of everything in the field of creation. Feel yourself dissolving in
Om
. Expand your awareness in
Om
. Lose your sense of independent selfhood while being aware of your existence as
Om
. Know that the source of
Om
is the field of God. Contemplate the reality of God. Go beyond all ideas and concepts of God to the transcendental reality of God: to absolute, pure, existence-being. There, rest.

5.Inner Light Technique: Look within, with awareness focused in the spiritual eye and upper brain. Gaze beyond the spiritual eye, looking steadily into the distance of inner space. Feel that your awareness is not confined to the skull, that you exist in boundless space. Do this when you are very calm, when breathing is slow and thoughts are minimal. Be aware, without effort, as an observer, and wait. If you perceive light at the spiritual eye or become aware of it in the higher brain, experience it. Merge in it, gently contemplate its origin—and what is behind it. You can contemplate inner light exclusively, or you can contemplate it along with practice of the
Om
technique. Light perception may be the result of stimulation of the optic nerves, so don’t presume it to be a supernatural event. Just use the technique to focus attention and further internalize it. Eventually transcend light perception, to experience pure being.

Remember that meditation techniques are preparatory procedures: preliminary practices to use until spontaneous unfoldments of refined states of consciousness occur—as they can and will when inner restrictions to their flows are weakened or removed. Because our innate, soul urge is to have awareness restored to wholeness, this impulse will direct the meditation process when our preparation allows it to be influential. All obstacles to successful practice of meditation can be noted and overcome by patient practice. After the practice of a meditation technique, sit for a long time in the silence. Sometimes, just sitting in the silence with an alert, watchful attitude, is more effective than using a specific meditation technique. Use techniques to calm physical and mental processes and to internalize attention, then let meditation unfold without conscious effort on your part. Some disturbing factors are:

•
Environmental Disturbances
– Noise, excessive heat or cold, and other conditions which may interfere with meditation practice should be avoided.

•
Lack of Knowledge About the Process
– This obstacle to successful practice is easily overcome by acquiring knowledge and applying it correctly. Even right knowledge, if incorrectly applied, is not useful. Meditation techniques vary, but the inner way to soul awakening is the same for everyone. Don’t be mislead by anyone who tries to tell you that their mantra or special technique is better than the ones you are learning here. All valid techniques serve the same purpose: that of improving powers of concentration and nurturing awakened spiritual consciousness.