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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 -

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- 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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