MEDITATION - Ian's method.

Meditation Everyone benefits from meditation. Even those who practice it solely for physical and/or mental reasons benefit by the positive changes that occur in attitudes and emotions.

There are many different types and methods of meditation and aspirants should select what best suits them or what attracts them most. The important thing is to start and then persist. One may be progressively 'self-guided' to what is most suitable according to one's need and degree of vibration i.e. degree of enlightenment. Some meditation focuses on attaining peace of mind and bodily health; some call for focusing the mind on some specific problem, thought or aspect of something; part of Buddhist meditation is to keep the focus at all times on what one is doing in the moment; and another calls for completely clearing the mind of everything and "entering the void". As I see it, the last mentioned is the 'deepest' meditation, the one that opens the practitioner to his or her greatest potential, whatever that may be in accordance with the individual's state of being and state of mind.

Meditation is not an end in itself, it is a disciplinary process that clears the mind of all the mind's creations, thus opening the way to Absolute Reality, the Truth, or the Great Spirit - all the same. One may say that Absolute Reality is where all is known, but this would be incorrect because, firstly, 'where' suggests a place or point and it is neither; and secondly, "all is known" suggests a quantifiable sum of knowledge which it is not. ψ One way to achieve deep meditation The best time is at around dawn, when there is stillness in the air. The best environment is solitude and quiet. However, where the time is concerned, it is not always possible to do this at dawn or at the same time each day but, whatever the time, it is best if the meditation is done each time at the same point in the habitual sequence of events. Best results are obtained when one meditates when the body and mind are conditioned by a habitual pattern leading up to meditation and at a time before the commencement of the day’s main mental and physical activities.

1. Choose a place, by trial and error if necessary, which meets the above criteria, a comfortable chair, or bed to sit on, or a place on the floor. You may sit cross-legged or, in the chair, with the legs extended on a support, or with the legs flexed. It is important to keep your back straight (but not stiff); you may support it if you wish. Place your hands loosely and comfortably in your lap with the fingers of one hand inside those of the other.

2. Get comfortable and relax. Loosen tight garments if any.

3. To assist relaxation, inhale deeply through the nose and exhale fully through the mouth. Do this three times, with the inhaling and exhaling being at moderate speed. Wiggle shoulders and neck if required to relax the muscles.

4. Close your eyes lightly but fully.

5. It helps if you have a sequence of prayers, an affirmation or a sequential visualization at this point. This will help you drift away from worldly thoughts.

6. Try to do your 'seeing' through the "third eye" (6th chakra). You may feel a sensation between, and just above, the eyebrows - this is normal, and indicates the effectiveness of what you are doing.

If you see colours, or swirling coloured clouds, moving pinpoints of light etc. watch them peacefully for a bit and then 'take yourself behind them’, as if you were moving through a screen on which they were playing.

You have to move beyond, or behind at some point.

7. If thoughts keep flitting across your mind or try to get your attention - the purpose of meditation is to still the mind - do not fight them, just gently 'see yourself' gently picking them up and putting them away outside your 'area of vision', or give them to your god or Master, or put them gently into a golden box; any symbolic receptacle - keep on 'looking' beyond what is in front of you, going deeper and deeper - you may be aware of thoughts around you at the edge of where you are; gently ignore them - eventually, there will be 'nothing', 'stillness' - the void. Do not stress.

8. Stay in the void for as long as happens. With practice this period will get longer. Let it take its course.

9. Next you will 'wake up', perhaps slowly, and time has passed although it felt like a few minutes, if that.

You have been meditating!

Ω

(i) Do not look for results because that is negative and counterproductive - just let changes occur.

You will soon notice them.

(ii) One's motive in meditating should be pure and the activity free of expectation as expectation is a creation of the mind and a movement in the opposite direction to meditation. Purity in motive means being devoid of seeking power over others, self aggrandizement, monetary gain, curiosity, expectation - anything negative. In other words one's purpose should be to humbly seek spiritual growth. Impure motivation blocks the channels of access available through meditation. (iii) It is said that twenty minutes of meditation is equivalent to eighty minutes of sleep. I certainly never felt deprived of sleep when I got up early to meditate. (iv) A word of caution - it is dangerous to attempt this activity without the proper attitude. One should be serious about it and not attempt it as a playful experiment or with the assistance of drugs. As has been said earlier we are a tripartite entity of electromagnetic energy and a frivolous approach that releases the kundalini force is like plugging a 240-volt appliance into a high voltage power source; mental and/or physical burnout can occur. Be respectful.

Notes: 1. Use the same place and position for each meditation and, if you are away somewhere, visualise your usual place and position so as to minimize the effects of the change.

2. Keeping the eyes open is possible but this could be too distracting.

3. Provided you are comfortable with it you may use this affirmation whilst visualizing each line: "As the droplet is to the ocean, I am.

As the lick of flame is to the fire, I am.

As the sunbeam is to sunlight, I am.

As the Great Spirit is, I am."

As you silently state each of these four sub-affirmations, visualise and understand the description and affirm it with the "I am."

The three sub-affirmations illustrate symbolically our oneness with The Great Spirit - the droplet, lick of flame and sunbeam are each separate, but part of, the ocean, fire and sunlight; and the three illustrations are in ascending order in terms of density, or vibration, and lead 'up' to the last sub-affirmation of "As the Great Spirit is, I am."

4. Sequential Visualisation: For example - You are in a beautiful garden and you move yourself through it, going deeper and deeper into it. Or, you are in a boat at the shore and move further and further out towards, and even beyond, the horizon.