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Meditation
By
Alan Schneider
Meditation is the psychological royal road to relaxation, health, self
awareness, and Higher
Consciousness. This single area of activity, when practiced with
regularity for even a few minutes a
day, will eventually correct virtually every imbalance in ones personal
state. This is achieved by establishing a sensory disconnect with the
frequently self defeating daily mental and literal routines
practiced in our lives, while simultaneously turning attention inward
toward the hidden conscious states that determine the awareness of every human mind, and of the
Universal Mind which creates
all knowing and being as well...
The most frequently used posture for meditating is the cross legged Lotus
position seen in
many Eastern religious systems, This is a very effective
physical position, but the full application, in
which the legs are interlocked at the ankles with both feet facing
upward, can be very difficult to
attain, particularly for beginning students. The half Lotus, in which
only one leg is interlocked with
the respective foot directed upward, is also effective, as is the
traditional non-interlocked cross
legged "Indian" style seated position. In fact, the most important
condition of the Lotus Posture is
the requirement that the spine be held straight and erect. If this
cannot be done for several minutes,
then another position which will permit sufficient detachment to focus
on the meditation technique
used should be chosen. This can include sitting upright in a chair, or
even lying on the floor.
Find a quiet, secure location. Attain your posture of choice, and close
your eyes. Allow the
body to become as relaxed and comfortable as possible. Note and release any
residual areas of tension
or distraction which may persist in your awareness, and begin to focus
attention on your breathing.
Do not attempt to modify your breathing in any sense other than to permit
the most natural, complete
inhalation and exhalation attainable. Simply continue to note the action
of the breath in your
awareness. As any additional thoughts or distractions occur within or
around you, note and release
these as they come to your attention. Continue this practice as
relaxation and the meditative state
deepens. This may allow the occurrence of internal mental visions and
experiences. Again, simply
note these experiences and release them. Continue this technique for
several minutes, until you
naturally begin to return to external sensory awareness, and open your
eyes.
After regaining external awareness, take a few minutes to refocus in the
senses, and then
resume your customary activities. That is the sum and substance of the
technique! The attainment of
the meditative state becomes a matter of great ease with practice.
However, if the full resumption
of competent personal functioning following meditation ever becomes
questionable for any reason
the practice should be discontinued immediately. But
dysfunction related to basic breath meditation
is rare, and I invite you to try this technique at your earliest convenience. Aware breathing is
effective not only in meditative practice, but in the support of any
conceptual goal orientation for the
successful outcome of any activity. Breathing and breath control are
critical features of every school
of self development, from the most introspective practices of Yoga and
Zen, to the extremely
disciplined forms seen in the martial arts studio, and constitute keys to
successful living!
-
from Alan with Love -
_______________________________________________________________
- A
Modified Solar Meditation Technique -
I have used this technique to
attain full Kundalini Ascension into the highest state of consciousness
humanly perceptible to my knowledge Samadhi directly into the Heart
of the Divine Lotus of Sahasrara, and offer it here in the hope that
others may replicate my experience!
First, an interval of spiritual preparation is needed. I my
case, this involved a prolonged period (weeks) of meditation,
reflection, and spiritual study of several Holy books, in particular
focusing on the Tetragrammaton, the so-called unpronounceable name of God
in Kabala, the mysticism of the Jews. This name is analyzed in detail in
my website, The Universal Light, at
www.searchlightforyou.com,
under the Doors/Samadhi link.
When successfully completed, this period of preparation will induce a
heightened state of sensitivity to spiritual themes and awareness.
Then, a further period of free time, unencumbered by social
obligations such as work, family, friends, etc. is needed. I used my
extended Christmas vacation (appx. one month in December) as this
opportunity. The month of December is very significant in spiritual
terms, because it coincides with the ancient Pagan holiday of Yule, a
time when the veil between the worlds of perception is traditionally
described in Pagan lore as at its thinnest, meaning that the press of
worldly, material concerns tends to abate during this time, allowing the
mind to relax and focus on spiritual matters more fully.
I spent most of the interval of this vacation in altered
states of consciousness induced by the aforementioned meditation and
refection, at times quite deeply so, particularly on Christmas Eve and
Day. The attainment of this state of mind is very important for
general health, relaxation, and heightened spiritual perception. The
Ego, the taskmaster of the Mind, needs to be as completely inactive as
possible for this technique to succeed.
A tranquil environment is also very important the presence
of loud people and activities can interfere significantly in the
attainment and maintenance of the required altered state of
consciousness. I was fortunate at the time to be living in such an
environment, beside a large artificial lake, directly on the waterfront.
This lake served as an excellent reflecting pool for the early morning
sunlight natural light is also an important requirement cloudy days
and darkness can prevent the full manifestation of Samadhi. The time of
day also matters, with early morning around sunrise being the most
conducive period.
Probably the most critical feature of this technique involves
the use of horizontal Venetian blinds to carefully
calibrate the intensity of the light being gazed upon. The sunlight
reflecting off of the calm lake into my home would have been too intense
to view directly without the use of the blinds to diminish it to not
just a comfortable level, but to the optimum level endurable to boost
the experience to the highest stage attainable. I was able to achieve
such an adjustment, which, in combination with all of the aforementioned
measures, enabled my experience of Samadhi as I gazed directly into the
morning sunlight through the blinds. (I have described this experience
at length in my website, and see no need to further do so here.) Linear
time has no relevance on the higher Planes of Manifestation thus I had
no accurate estimate of how long the experience lasted one has no
sense of time in such a mental state but I would guess it could not
have been more than several minutes on the Physical Plane. That was long
enough to sustain full Samadhi, and permanently elevate my awareness on
all the Planes thereafter, including the Physical Plane!
Solar Meditation is a powerful technique when practiced
in this fashion I offer it to the reader in the hope that it will be
used as successfully as it was by me!
CR2023/Alan Schneider
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