With my departure on a 10 day meditation retreat I thought I would write a blog on why I meditate. When I began I had intended a single entry. By the time I was done I realized that I had significantly more words than would comfortably fit in a single entry. So with that in mind I’ve prepared a series of blog entries where I explore the question of why I meditate. And with technology empowering me to schedule posts when I am not even at a computer I shall leave you to read while I spend time in my metaphysical cave.
If you’ve done much reading (or listening to masters) about meditation you’ll have likely been confronted with something along the lines of, you don’t strive to become One, you let go and surrender. For many years I kept coming across this sort of statement. And it may strike you as obvious to read this, but I’m not talking about the white-flag kind of surrender either.
At first I wanted to understand what that meant. What do you mean, let go? Let go of what? Surrender to what? Surrender to the moment? What’s the ‘moment’? And then one day, during a meditation I began to discover what all those questions were pointing toward.
It turned out that for many meditations until that point I had been improvising. I had taken an intellectual idea, assumed it as my truth, and had gone along with it. I hadn’t fully experienced surrender and only had an intellectual grasp of what it meant to let go of something I couldn’t physically touch.
In that moment I directly experienced what it was to let go. I found myself experiencing Oneness and in an instant I knew that one didn’t try to surrender – when I was confronted with Oneness I couldn’t help myself. It was as if that part of me that was Truth, individualized aspect of Spirit, was completely revealed. But this had only been made possible because I had been improvising in spiritual practice. And somehow those parts of me that had been getting in the way, like clouds in front of the sun, suddenly parted and the magnificence of it all shone through. In the face of those rays of Truth I was home.
Once you’ve glimpsed such Truth suddenly life takes on a new meaning. I wanted to play. I wanted to enjoy. I found myself in situations where people would laugh at what I would say. Suddenly, I was funny (just ask my wife – she’ll you how un-funny I used to be). The urge to be so serious about life suddenly dissolved, years of earnestness now a fading memory. Having glimpsed the Truth, the creative nature of it All had become so apparent. Spontaneity became a habit, release a pleasure – faith had been transcended by knowing and I was becoming. From that moment on I realized that I was seeing through apparent reality and surrendering to the Eternal Reality.
And once I had experienced this for myself, the yearning that had been so subtle for so many years shifted. It was grosser, more obvious. Priorities changed. Suddenly I didn’t need to ‘convince’ others with my intellectual passion and my philosophy. I stopped drinking. I became vegetarian and then vegan. It was not that I was trying to do these things, rather that old habits no longer did me. Drinking wine would not feel good and the sensations of getting drunk were far less interesting that those evoked through being fully and completely present. Meat in my stomach would feel heavy and I felt a lightness through a new approach to food that felt great. I discovered cooking. It turns out that I love to cook!
In that moment, recognizing the combined effects of meditation to this point, I knew that I was both nothing and yet everything. I had leapt into the Great Oneness and knew that logic and reasoning were insignificant. The dissolution of old habits that no longer served me began to accelerate. My whole outlook and participation in life had begun to irrevocably shift.
Through practices we purify and pacify the objective mind. We gain control of the objective mind. There was a time when I believed that the monkey mind was a derogatory term, suggesting a mischievous critter jumping through the trees, like the objective mind moves from thought to thought. With practice the objective mind becomes a tool. Like mental scientist I had discovered an instrument at my disposal. Suddenly I was beginning to realize that I could be a metaphysical surgeon, cutting away at the dis-eases of life. With practice my objective mind was starting to become more like a finely tuned instrument for life. I was struck by the effortlessness in making decisions, in somehow knowing what to do without knowing why. Indeed, the process of shifting from faith to knowing and then becoming is truly a marvel.
The objective mind offers so much potential. It is in its nature to move around. And why not – as a facilitator between the apparent reality (which is always in movement) and the Subjective Mind we need its ability to move so freely and translate this experience of space and time. Renouncing the nature of our objective mind is to set aside a part of us that we created through will, and thus to denounce something that was in actuality an expression of the One Mind.
Suddenly, the secret was laid bare. And once you have glimpsed this secret you will never be able to fully let the realization go. The secret is actually profoundly simple. It is laid bare by the wisdom to neither deny nor be tempted to forget the True Self. And the only explanation I have for this knowing and profound transformation is my practice of meditation.
Showing posts with label REP Meditation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label REP Meditation. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Why Do I Medtiate? (Part II)
With my departure on a 10 day meditation retreat I thought I would write a blog on why I meditate. When I began I had intended a single entry. By the time I was done I realized that I had significantly more words than would comfortably fit in a single entry. So with that in mind I’ve prepared a series of blog entries where I explore the question of why I meditate. And with technology empowering me to schedule posts when I am not even at a computer I shall leave you to read while I spend time in my metaphysical cave.
The more I have meditated the more often I have experienced mystical moments. Trying to describe the indescribable is futile. But the closest I’ve come to articulating words for this Infinite subject is to say that such moments are sublime. There’s an expansiveness and weightlessness that transcends words. Sometimes it feels like a faded awareness of where my body ends and the air around me starts. It is as if I am expanding, and yet this expansiveness of I am is actually a re-joining. My soul’s choice to wear this garment I call a body is suddenly exposed, and with a mental and emotional gasp I sit in wonder at how beautifully peaceful, still and loving the eternal moment is. Time stops, ideas and thoughts evaporate.
And yet with experience of such moments I have come to realize that this is not the goal. Such blissful moments of expansiveness, whilst entrancing, are merely something to be enjoyed along the way, just like the apparent reality. However, the key with both is to en-joy without losing the sense of the truth; to be in the world without being seduced by it.
A question that has emerged through practice is; “Well this is nice. I wonder what will happen next.”
This question is an important one. When we do not lose ourselves to mystical, blissful moments we can continue a rich journey of discovery and development. And the journey is about experience and choice. By acknowledging the pleasure of the moment whilst reminding myself that there is yet more to seek I am not ceasing my development. If anything I am cultivating a grounded-ness that will serve me well as I continue. For I am convinced that the moment we start thinking we’ve made it is the very same moment we have succumbed to the ego’s desire. The ego wants the experience to be unchanging. And it would like nothing better, after all these years of having its duties as a prison guard being eroded, to return to as the gaoler, only in this case I would be the one handing it the keys.
The part of us that is soul, individualized incarnation of Oneness, will truly only be satisfied by a full and complete return to the One. This yearning is what drives us, and has driven so many masters and seekers to aspire and explore as the enlightened mystic. Yet, my experience, and the spiritual texts of note that I have read, has made it clear that it is only through practice that I will find my way.
I am not one of those avatars that came to earth and decided that I would be enlightened through an instant of awakening. I, like so many others, have chosen to delve deeply into the journey of discovery and will awaken gradually, sequentially and inevitably.
So far my journey of spiritual practice has taught me that the intellect alone is a poor judge at how best to spend time. My philosophical wanderings, debates, and intellectual reasoning have never brought me to dwell upon what my True Self actually is. Certainly, I’ve spun a fine series of words at times. But experience has taught me that entering into practice has done more to reveal that yearning for Self Realization than any number of steps along the path of the intellect.
I will confess that I aspire to be awakened. I wish to be in this world but not of it. My desire is to show up in every moment, armed with unconditionally loving thoughts, words and deeds.
The irony as I write this is that I know that there was a time when I thought I understood what such an aspiration meant. And in this moment I understand more than I did, and will in the future know more than I do now. What I do know in this moment is that I am yet to reveal what this fully means. But without a shadow of a doubt I know that my aspiration to be an enlightened mystic will only be realized through practice.
Over the course of my life I have made many choices and reacted to many sensations. As a child in a dysfunctional home it was not 5 years before social services placed me under a care order. In my earliest years of a being exposed to heroin (my birth father was an addict), alcohol and violence I got to experience impressions of apparent reality that were beyond my ability to process. I know what it is to be a vulnerable child. I know that the first 10 years of my life were filled with much blood, shouting, angst and abuse. And yet, regardless of how innocent and helpless I was, I reacted in those moments and in turn agreed to the expressed beliefs around me that this world worked a certain way. Over the course of the next 15 years I played these beliefs out, carved more grooves in my reservoir of memories, and so enforced the earlier memories. In short, I spent the first 25 years of my life completely lost to this world and my mind. It had me, and I was heart-brokenly seduced by it.
Spiritual practice has been necessary to counter my early years. The fears and desires of so many years needed a rebuttal. Meditation has been central to this righting of the scales. And now after many years of slowly working my way toward balance I have become very clear upon a simple truth revealed through my direct experience – meditation as a practice is serving the purpose of smoothing away the old grooves of separation and polishing in grooves of love. When my spiritual practices have served their purpose, when I have been liberated and freed from every last vestige of the pain, fear and separation I so often felt they will no longer be needed.
Before I became intimately partnered with meditation as a practice I was occupied with whatever sensations surfaced. My objective mind would analyze what arose from the depths, and like a slave I would stumble through life not even feeling the chafing of the shackles. I would wallow in emotion, lose myself to anger and act out the stories that had been passionately played for me as a child. I would see boredom as a cue to find something to do, to keep me busy. I would act upon impulses of lack, inherited from a childhood of poverty, and buy toys to support my need to be kept busy.
Meditation is a practice that cleanses the mind. I have glimpsed moments beyond description that have validated that yearning I felt so long ago. My mind feels purity more than it feels deprivation these days. When I feel a sensation of boredom I meditate or read a spiritual book. When I get done with meditation I pray. My meditation practice has inspired me to aspire for more.
The more I have meditated the more often I have experienced mystical moments. Trying to describe the indescribable is futile. But the closest I’ve come to articulating words for this Infinite subject is to say that such moments are sublime. There’s an expansiveness and weightlessness that transcends words. Sometimes it feels like a faded awareness of where my body ends and the air around me starts. It is as if I am expanding, and yet this expansiveness of I am is actually a re-joining. My soul’s choice to wear this garment I call a body is suddenly exposed, and with a mental and emotional gasp I sit in wonder at how beautifully peaceful, still and loving the eternal moment is. Time stops, ideas and thoughts evaporate.
And yet with experience of such moments I have come to realize that this is not the goal. Such blissful moments of expansiveness, whilst entrancing, are merely something to be enjoyed along the way, just like the apparent reality. However, the key with both is to en-joy without losing the sense of the truth; to be in the world without being seduced by it.
A question that has emerged through practice is; “Well this is nice. I wonder what will happen next.”
This question is an important one. When we do not lose ourselves to mystical, blissful moments we can continue a rich journey of discovery and development. And the journey is about experience and choice. By acknowledging the pleasure of the moment whilst reminding myself that there is yet more to seek I am not ceasing my development. If anything I am cultivating a grounded-ness that will serve me well as I continue. For I am convinced that the moment we start thinking we’ve made it is the very same moment we have succumbed to the ego’s desire. The ego wants the experience to be unchanging. And it would like nothing better, after all these years of having its duties as a prison guard being eroded, to return to as the gaoler, only in this case I would be the one handing it the keys.
The part of us that is soul, individualized incarnation of Oneness, will truly only be satisfied by a full and complete return to the One. This yearning is what drives us, and has driven so many masters and seekers to aspire and explore as the enlightened mystic. Yet, my experience, and the spiritual texts of note that I have read, has made it clear that it is only through practice that I will find my way.
I am not one of those avatars that came to earth and decided that I would be enlightened through an instant of awakening. I, like so many others, have chosen to delve deeply into the journey of discovery and will awaken gradually, sequentially and inevitably.
So far my journey of spiritual practice has taught me that the intellect alone is a poor judge at how best to spend time. My philosophical wanderings, debates, and intellectual reasoning have never brought me to dwell upon what my True Self actually is. Certainly, I’ve spun a fine series of words at times. But experience has taught me that entering into practice has done more to reveal that yearning for Self Realization than any number of steps along the path of the intellect.
I will confess that I aspire to be awakened. I wish to be in this world but not of it. My desire is to show up in every moment, armed with unconditionally loving thoughts, words and deeds.
The irony as I write this is that I know that there was a time when I thought I understood what such an aspiration meant. And in this moment I understand more than I did, and will in the future know more than I do now. What I do know in this moment is that I am yet to reveal what this fully means. But without a shadow of a doubt I know that my aspiration to be an enlightened mystic will only be realized through practice.
Over the course of my life I have made many choices and reacted to many sensations. As a child in a dysfunctional home it was not 5 years before social services placed me under a care order. In my earliest years of a being exposed to heroin (my birth father was an addict), alcohol and violence I got to experience impressions of apparent reality that were beyond my ability to process. I know what it is to be a vulnerable child. I know that the first 10 years of my life were filled with much blood, shouting, angst and abuse. And yet, regardless of how innocent and helpless I was, I reacted in those moments and in turn agreed to the expressed beliefs around me that this world worked a certain way. Over the course of the next 15 years I played these beliefs out, carved more grooves in my reservoir of memories, and so enforced the earlier memories. In short, I spent the first 25 years of my life completely lost to this world and my mind. It had me, and I was heart-brokenly seduced by it.
Spiritual practice has been necessary to counter my early years. The fears and desires of so many years needed a rebuttal. Meditation has been central to this righting of the scales. And now after many years of slowly working my way toward balance I have become very clear upon a simple truth revealed through my direct experience – meditation as a practice is serving the purpose of smoothing away the old grooves of separation and polishing in grooves of love. When my spiritual practices have served their purpose, when I have been liberated and freed from every last vestige of the pain, fear and separation I so often felt they will no longer be needed.
Before I became intimately partnered with meditation as a practice I was occupied with whatever sensations surfaced. My objective mind would analyze what arose from the depths, and like a slave I would stumble through life not even feeling the chafing of the shackles. I would wallow in emotion, lose myself to anger and act out the stories that had been passionately played for me as a child. I would see boredom as a cue to find something to do, to keep me busy. I would act upon impulses of lack, inherited from a childhood of poverty, and buy toys to support my need to be kept busy.
Meditation is a practice that cleanses the mind. I have glimpsed moments beyond description that have validated that yearning I felt so long ago. My mind feels purity more than it feels deprivation these days. When I feel a sensation of boredom I meditate or read a spiritual book. When I get done with meditation I pray. My meditation practice has inspired me to aspire for more.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Why Do I Meditate? (Part I)
With my departure on a 10 day meditation retreat I thought I would write a blog on why I meditate. When I began I had intended a single entry. By the time I was done I realized that I had significantly more words than would comfortably fit in a single entry. So with that in mind I’ve prepared a series of blog entries where I explore the question of why I meditate. And with technology empowering me to schedule posts when I am not even at a computer I invite you to read while I spend time in my metaphysical cave.
As I continue on my spiritual journey I'm becoming clearer about some essential realizations. The first and foremost is that the practice of meditation is the most important component of what I aspire to.
Meditation has empowered me to re-train and re-culture my mind. It has been central in my quest to uncover more about myself, which in turn has helped me to clarify my aspirations. The perseverance and determination to thrive with the practice of meditation has been a platform from which I have been able to consciously redesign my circumstances.
Those of you familiar with the spiritual practice of Affirmative Prayer (also known as Spiritual Mind Treatment) may point to that practice as a tool for conscious creation. And as someone who has spent years learning about crafting prayers I would have to agree with you. However, through meditation I have established a profound clarity, expansiveness and a direct sense of love. Combining meditation and prayer is like adding jet fuel to a moped. When I pray following meditation it always has a feel that cannot be compared to prayer alone.
Central to the Buddha's teaching on meditation was the idea that we should strive for mastery of the mind. I have rephrased this as ‘mastery of the objective mind’. The more I've delved into this practice the more I've come to realize that mastery of the objective mind is actually a skill. The more I practice using this skill the better I become at it. Over time I've gotten better at being the one that directs my objective mind, not the other way around (which used to so often be the case).
The objective mind (the analyst, critic, linear planner, and judge) is a tool and a facilitator. That part of me that is subjective mind (true self, soul, etc.) created the objective mind with will. Every time I use operate through my objective mind without awareness of the true self I blindly imprint memories, mental conditions, values and agreements beneath the surface of my consciousness.
The Buddha talked about the carving of grooves, or in the Pali language Saṅkhāra, beneath the surface of our conscious awareness. I explain it thus:
The great gift of meditation to me has been a way for me to re-train my objective mind. I've spent many hours refining such skills as focus, concentration and harmonious awareness. And the deeper I've travelled along this path the more indescribably beautiful the journey with this practice has become. Old grooves have been smoothed away (a process for which I will explain more about at a later entry in this series) and I have found an increase in my ability to concentrate. A direct effect of meditation for me has shown up in my being able to maintain a harmonious and loving awareness so much more than I used to be able to. Meditation has yielded great mental discipline for me. And because it has changed my thinking it has literally changed my life.
As I continue on my spiritual journey I'm becoming clearer about some essential realizations. The first and foremost is that the practice of meditation is the most important component of what I aspire to.
Meditation has empowered me to re-train and re-culture my mind. It has been central in my quest to uncover more about myself, which in turn has helped me to clarify my aspirations. The perseverance and determination to thrive with the practice of meditation has been a platform from which I have been able to consciously redesign my circumstances.
Those of you familiar with the spiritual practice of Affirmative Prayer (also known as Spiritual Mind Treatment) may point to that practice as a tool for conscious creation. And as someone who has spent years learning about crafting prayers I would have to agree with you. However, through meditation I have established a profound clarity, expansiveness and a direct sense of love. Combining meditation and prayer is like adding jet fuel to a moped. When I pray following meditation it always has a feel that cannot be compared to prayer alone.
Central to the Buddha's teaching on meditation was the idea that we should strive for mastery of the mind. I have rephrased this as ‘mastery of the objective mind’. The more I've delved into this practice the more I've come to realize that mastery of the objective mind is actually a skill. The more I practice using this skill the better I become at it. Over time I've gotten better at being the one that directs my objective mind, not the other way around (which used to so often be the case).
The objective mind (the analyst, critic, linear planner, and judge) is a tool and a facilitator. That part of me that is subjective mind (true self, soul, etc.) created the objective mind with will. Every time I use operate through my objective mind without awareness of the true self I blindly imprint memories, mental conditions, values and agreements beneath the surface of my consciousness.
The Buddha talked about the carving of grooves, or in the Pali language Saṅkhāra, beneath the surface of our conscious awareness. I explain it thus:
About the soul is a reservoir of memories. Each emotionally charged reaction, mental-conditioning, value, agreement, belief or attitude I dwell upon is carved like a groove upon my reservoir of memories. We have grooves that align with our aspirations and grooves that align with reactions to belief in separation. The more intense the emotional experience with that moment the deeper the groove my reactions carve.When we go through life without an awareness of what is going on beneath the surface we get caught up in the same old thing. We experience boredom. We get into a rut. The idea of feeling invigorated or renewed becomes more challenging.
The great gift of meditation to me has been a way for me to re-train my objective mind. I've spent many hours refining such skills as focus, concentration and harmonious awareness. And the deeper I've travelled along this path the more indescribably beautiful the journey with this practice has become. Old grooves have been smoothed away (a process for which I will explain more about at a later entry in this series) and I have found an increase in my ability to concentrate. A direct effect of meditation for me has shown up in my being able to maintain a harmonious and loving awareness so much more than I used to be able to. Meditation has yielded great mental discipline for me. And because it has changed my thinking it has literally changed my life.
Monday, August 1, 2011
An Interim Home for Meditation Recordings
I was speaking with a web designer friend in Second Life earlier today and he pointed out that I do not need to wait for the newly designed webpage being available before sharing the meditations I've begun to record. If you look to the right hand side of this page you will see a new set of links with the title Meditation Recordings.
The 30 minute meditation is an abridged version of the first 60 minute session and is designed for convenience. I have also shared the first two stages of the Revealing Eternal Presence Meditation practice. My guidance is to listen to the 60 minute meditation I before proceeding to II. If you meditate for 1 hour a day I would suggest working with stage I for approximately 2 weeks before using stage II.
I hope you enjoy these meditations. Over time I will be sharing more of this meditation practice as well as providing them in Podcast format so that you can more easily transfer them to mobile devices.
The 30 minute meditation is an abridged version of the first 60 minute session and is designed for convenience. I have also shared the first two stages of the Revealing Eternal Presence Meditation practice. My guidance is to listen to the 60 minute meditation I before proceeding to II. If you meditate for 1 hour a day I would suggest working with stage I for approximately 2 weeks before using stage II.
I hope you enjoy these meditations. Over time I will be sharing more of this meditation practice as well as providing them in Podcast format so that you can more easily transfer them to mobile devices.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
A Message of Hope - it is Time to Meditate
A dear friend of mine sent me a facebook message yesterday. She asked me, if I wanted to use a video at our meditation gathering on July 19th. After watching it, I could only say yes. We'll be watching this after our meditation.
Produced by James Newton Howard, this short film is relating Truth, in a clear and accessible way. We really do have enough books on peace - it really is time to be peace. We really are a part of nature - it is time to take responsibility for what we each need to do. And one of the most powerful practices I know to accomplish this is to meditate - every day.
Meditation really is simple. It is about being present, harmoniously retreating from the past and future, into a perfect Now. When I reveal Eternal Presence I am connecting with my heart. When I connect with the moment, when I shift my focus into that space in between craving and aversion, pure acceptance, I connect with the pure essence of who I am. I connect with Oneness.
These words cannot really convey the truth of what this means to you. I can write about meditation and you can read these words, but it really is for you to embrace this for yourself. Perhaps I write these words out of a calling to invite you, to entice you? Perhaps Mr. Howard was driven in a much more profound way by producing this film? What whatever the vehicle, we must be the drivers.
It is indeed time to remember, who we truly are. The more I practice connecting with Love, with my heart, the more old ideas of fear, forgetting and separation dissolve. It has taken time to wash away old remnants of the world. And it will take time to dissolve the old values, attitudes, beliefs and agreements within that have kept us imprisoned. There is no one way to do this. But my experience has taught me that meditation is a most exquisite method for dissolution.
And when we dissolve the old prison walls of beliefs and prejudice all sorts of wonderful qualities are revealed. Forgiveness, harmony, acceptance, joy and so much more result from choosing Love.
If you are not meditating every day then something has yet to shift for you. If you do not dance through the rhythms of love, gasping at the miracles of every moment, then only you can make that choice. So many teachers are saying so many similar things. We can choose love. We can choose to see that every one, beyond their choices, ignorance and moments of forgetfulness are beings of Love.
You are a great Spirit. If you have experienced resistance to meditation this is really a result of that part of you that is mediocre opposing the Truth of who you are. You are one. All are one. There is no time like the present to realize that now is the time to awaken.
Don't believe a word you hear,
Don't believe a word you read,
Don't believe a thing that you see.
But learn how to observe,
How to directly experience the Truth for yourself.
And from this place of direct experience you will know the Truth contained,
Within every word, sight, and event.
Know the Flow and be happy.
Produced by James Newton Howard, this short film is relating Truth, in a clear and accessible way. We really do have enough books on peace - it really is time to be peace. We really are a part of nature - it is time to take responsibility for what we each need to do. And one of the most powerful practices I know to accomplish this is to meditate - every day.
Meditation really is simple. It is about being present, harmoniously retreating from the past and future, into a perfect Now. When I reveal Eternal Presence I am connecting with my heart. When I connect with the moment, when I shift my focus into that space in between craving and aversion, pure acceptance, I connect with the pure essence of who I am. I connect with Oneness.
These words cannot really convey the truth of what this means to you. I can write about meditation and you can read these words, but it really is for you to embrace this for yourself. Perhaps I write these words out of a calling to invite you, to entice you? Perhaps Mr. Howard was driven in a much more profound way by producing this film? What whatever the vehicle, we must be the drivers.
It is indeed time to remember, who we truly are. The more I practice connecting with Love, with my heart, the more old ideas of fear, forgetting and separation dissolve. It has taken time to wash away old remnants of the world. And it will take time to dissolve the old values, attitudes, beliefs and agreements within that have kept us imprisoned. There is no one way to do this. But my experience has taught me that meditation is a most exquisite method for dissolution.
And when we dissolve the old prison walls of beliefs and prejudice all sorts of wonderful qualities are revealed. Forgiveness, harmony, acceptance, joy and so much more result from choosing Love.
If you are not meditating every day then something has yet to shift for you. If you do not dance through the rhythms of love, gasping at the miracles of every moment, then only you can make that choice. So many teachers are saying so many similar things. We can choose love. We can choose to see that every one, beyond their choices, ignorance and moments of forgetfulness are beings of Love.
You are a great Spirit. If you have experienced resistance to meditation this is really a result of that part of you that is mediocre opposing the Truth of who you are. You are one. All are one. There is no time like the present to realize that now is the time to awaken.
Don't believe a word you hear,
Don't believe a word you read,
Don't believe a thing that you see.
But learn how to observe,
How to directly experience the Truth for yourself.
And from this place of direct experience you will know the Truth contained,
Within every word, sight, and event.
Know the Flow and be happy.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
What is Your Meditation Practice?
You cannot become harmony while focusing on self. It is my experience that meditation ultimately requires that we surrender ourselves to that place between craving and aversion, between like and dislike, and simply become present. Meditation can be a constant practice of sitting in harmony and allowing the revealing of Eternal Presence. There should be no doubts about the present moment, no hesitation to fully allow the embrace of the moment. Any resistances that surface are of themselves opportunities.
This morning I was speaking to some friends about Revealing Eternal Presence meditation. We were in discourse about the nature of meditation. The truth as I see it is that any meditation can be good for you. There is no 'one way' nor is there a way that is perfect for everyone.
The outer way of meditation, where we contemplate something in our imagination or an object of nature, such as a stone, can be a very good practice for refining concentration. It can result in an increase of mental efficiency and the ability to make decisions.
With the inner way of meditation one contemplates questions along the lines of, 'How am I Love? How well do I accept Love?" This can be very good for raising emotional awareness and is particularly good if you are ready to improve your emotional awareness and empathy.
The middle way, such as Revealing Eternal Presence meditation, works beneath the surface. I liken it to deep surgery where, through a process of observing in a state of harmony, we get to witness the Law of Cause and Effect dissolve old beliefs and mental conditionings from the Reservoir of Memories. This process of release is powerful since it gets to the root-cause of all the emotions and thought-patterns we experience on the surface. And so when I was asked if the middle way works at all levels, I answered that yes it does.
Any experienced gardener will tell you that if you simply pull a weed out of the ground you can expect a weed to sprout again in the same place. They will tell you that the reason for this is that unless you completely eradicate the root the plant will not truly be gone. This is the same with thought patterns and emotions. What we experience on the surface, the emotions, thought patterns, are all the result of previous thought-patterns that have carved themselves deep in the Subjective Mind, the unconscious. The Buddha called these Sankhara (in the Pali language) or mental conditionings. Not only do our conscious thoughts influence our conditions but our unconscious, or subjective, thoughts are also creating.
However, the roots of our experience really can be dissolved with meaningful practice. I am not proposing that Revealing Eternal Presence meditation is the only spiritual practice to accomplish the dissolving of such roots. But it is my experience that if one is diligent and perserveres that this indeed will be the effect.
Whatever meditation practice you undertake you should ensure the following:
Ultimately, meditation should lead you to seeing past the apparent reality and identity to Eternal Presence. We should feel a total and absolute offering of ourselves to a sense of unconditional Love. Concentration, awareness, the ability to watch oneself is a skill. The more we practice the better we become.
What is your meditation practice? If you are becoming curious and are looking for a practice to pursue then you should know that with the release of the new Know the Flow website I will also be publishing a series of meditation podcasts to take the meditator through the process that has worked so well for me. After all, this blog is just words. And no matter how much sense these words may make, it is only when we experience something for ourselves that we can truly make it ours.
Know the Flow and be happy my friends
This morning I was speaking to some friends about Revealing Eternal Presence meditation. We were in discourse about the nature of meditation. The truth as I see it is that any meditation can be good for you. There is no 'one way' nor is there a way that is perfect for everyone.
The outer way of meditation, where we contemplate something in our imagination or an object of nature, such as a stone, can be a very good practice for refining concentration. It can result in an increase of mental efficiency and the ability to make decisions.
With the inner way of meditation one contemplates questions along the lines of, 'How am I Love? How well do I accept Love?" This can be very good for raising emotional awareness and is particularly good if you are ready to improve your emotional awareness and empathy.
The middle way, such as Revealing Eternal Presence meditation, works beneath the surface. I liken it to deep surgery where, through a process of observing in a state of harmony, we get to witness the Law of Cause and Effect dissolve old beliefs and mental conditionings from the Reservoir of Memories. This process of release is powerful since it gets to the root-cause of all the emotions and thought-patterns we experience on the surface. And so when I was asked if the middle way works at all levels, I answered that yes it does.
Any experienced gardener will tell you that if you simply pull a weed out of the ground you can expect a weed to sprout again in the same place. They will tell you that the reason for this is that unless you completely eradicate the root the plant will not truly be gone. This is the same with thought patterns and emotions. What we experience on the surface, the emotions, thought patterns, are all the result of previous thought-patterns that have carved themselves deep in the Subjective Mind, the unconscious. The Buddha called these Sankhara (in the Pali language) or mental conditionings. Not only do our conscious thoughts influence our conditions but our unconscious, or subjective, thoughts are also creating.
However, the roots of our experience really can be dissolved with meaningful practice. I am not proposing that Revealing Eternal Presence meditation is the only spiritual practice to accomplish the dissolving of such roots. But it is my experience that if one is diligent and perserveres that this indeed will be the effect.
Whatever meditation practice you undertake you should ensure the following:
- You feel better when you are done with the meditation than when you sat down
- You feel drawn to meditate more and more, to the point that the meditation calls you to sit
- You experience an increased perception of radiance and illumination in your life
- In those moments you experience fear your reaction is one of recognition and observation (not suppression). The moments of ignorance, when observed with balanced and harmonious awareness, are wonderful opportunities for growth, release, and constitute work at the deepest level of experiential wisdom
Ultimately, meditation should lead you to seeing past the apparent reality and identity to Eternal Presence. We should feel a total and absolute offering of ourselves to a sense of unconditional Love. Concentration, awareness, the ability to watch oneself is a skill. The more we practice the better we become.
What is your meditation practice? If you are becoming curious and are looking for a practice to pursue then you should know that with the release of the new Know the Flow website I will also be publishing a series of meditation podcasts to take the meditator through the process that has worked so well for me. After all, this blog is just words. And no matter how much sense these words may make, it is only when we experience something for ourselves that we can truly make it ours.
Know the Flow and be happy my friends
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
You Have to Walk the Path Yourself
As I continue to explore the expressions of spirituality online I am struck by the abundance of quotes, texts and written discourses. Many quotes I read provide something for us to contemplate. Yet, as Krishnamurti once said, 'most of us live as mere technicians.' For all the technical understanding of how to live consciously, even when someone points the way, we must be the ones who make the journey. You have to walk the path yourself.
I once heard a story of a wise man that taught classes for seekers of Truth. Every day a young man would come to hear the master's discourses. He had listened dutifully for a couple of years. One day this same man came a little early and found the wise man alone. He approached him and spoke aloud a question that had been been forming for sometime.
"Master, I have a question that keeps arising in my mind, raising doubts."
"Oh? There should not be any doubts on the path; have them clarified. What is your question?"
"Master, for a couple of years now I have been coming to your classes, and I have noticed there are many different students, older and younger, who come to listen to you. Some of them, I can see, have certainly reached enlightenment or close to it. I can see that many experience change in their lives. They are better than they were before, although I cannot say they are fully enlightened. But I also notice that a large number of students, including myself, are as they were, or sometimes they are even worse. They have not changed at all, or have not changed for the better. Why should this be, master? People come to you, such a great man and clearly a master of Truth, with such compassion. Why don't you use your power and compassion to guide them to enlightenment?"
The master smiled and said, "Young man, where do you come from?"
"Master, I was born in Bombay, India."
"I would imagine that you have thought about returning there. And if asked could tell people the best way to travel to Bombay?"
"Yes Master. I am sure I could."
"And having come from Bombay, having travelled and thought about this path many times, you must know it well?"
"Oh yes Master. I know the path very well. I might almost say that if I were blindfolded I could find it on a map."
"And your friends, those who know you well, certainly they must know you are from Bombay, or at least from India?"
"Definitely. I have even discussed my hometown with other students. And there's no doubt that in between my memory and research I can describe it as well as anyone else, perhaps better."
"Then I've no doubts that others have asked you about the path from here to Bombay. Do you hide anything or do you explain the path to them clearly?"
"What is there to hide, master? I explain it to them as clearly as I can. Very plainly, master."
"And these people to whom you give such a clear explanation, do all of them reach Bombay?"
"How can that be, master? Only those who travel the entire distance to its end, only they will reach Bombay."
"This is what I want to explain to you, young man. People keep coming to me knowing that this is someone who has walked the path from here to enlightenment and so knows it perfectly. They come to me and ask, 'What is the path to englightenment?' And what is there to hide? I explain it to them clearly: 'This is the path.' If somebody just nods his head and says, 'Well said, well said, a very good path, but I won't take a step on it; a wonderful path, but I won't take the trouble to travel it,' then how can such a person reach the final goal? I do not carry anyone on my shoulders to take him to the final goal. Nobody can carry anyone else on his shoulders to the final goal. At most, with love and compassion one can say, 'Well, this is the path, and this is how I have walked on it. You also work and you will reach the final goal.' But each person has to travel themselves, has to take every step, travel every step on the path himself. He who has taken one step on the path is one step nearer the goal. He who has taken a hundred steps is a hundred steps nearer the goal. He who has taken all the steps on the path has reached the final goal. You have to walk the path yourself."
The message of this story is obvious. No one can quiet our mind for us. We have to learn what is necessary to quiet the active mind. No one can reveal Eternal Presence within us, we must reveal it within ourselves. In my experience revealing Eternal Presence "comes only when the thinker and the thought are one, when there is no duality such as the thinker controlling thought."
I will continue to explore such ideas over the coming months. And yet I know that this blog, filled with words as it is, is a limited vehicle for such ideas. And regardless of the eloquence of words, it is only when we walk the path ourselves that we can possibly hope to reach the destination. Otherwise, all we will be is a technician of Love, not a Lover.
With the realization of the limitations of words alone to inspire and support you I have an exciting announcement. As you may already know I have been working with a web designer to create a new home for this blog (currently planned for before the end of July). When the new site is released meditation podcasts will be available.
I have already begun recording guided meditations. For those who prefer a shorter time in sitting I shall be publishing two to three 30 minute meditations. However, I am most excited about the series of 1 hour guided Revealing Eternal Presence Meditations, designed to be followed in order and guiding you from the very first steps of this approach through to a fully established meditation practice. You will be able to download these audio files for yourself and be guided by me in the technique of Revealing Eternal Presence Meditation (an e-mail subscription option will allow you to be automatically notified when a new podcast has been published to KnowTheFlow). These meditation podcasts will be yet one more instance of someone pointing the way. However, maintaining a daily meditation practice is a very meaningful step in making your own way toward the destination. More details will be provided once the site is launched.
The goal of making these meditations available freely on this site is to offer you an opportunity to be guided in practicing quieting your mind. Whilst these blog entries are intended to inspire and support you, it is my experience that sharing my meditation practice is a more a more significant contribution than words alone. It is my deepest hope that you are inspired by such offerings and if the time is right embark upon a most wonderful journey with me.
Know the Flow and be happy my friends.
I once heard a story of a wise man that taught classes for seekers of Truth. Every day a young man would come to hear the master's discourses. He had listened dutifully for a couple of years. One day this same man came a little early and found the wise man alone. He approached him and spoke aloud a question that had been been forming for sometime.
"Master, I have a question that keeps arising in my mind, raising doubts."
"Oh? There should not be any doubts on the path; have them clarified. What is your question?"
"Master, for a couple of years now I have been coming to your classes, and I have noticed there are many different students, older and younger, who come to listen to you. Some of them, I can see, have certainly reached enlightenment or close to it. I can see that many experience change in their lives. They are better than they were before, although I cannot say they are fully enlightened. But I also notice that a large number of students, including myself, are as they were, or sometimes they are even worse. They have not changed at all, or have not changed for the better. Why should this be, master? People come to you, such a great man and clearly a master of Truth, with such compassion. Why don't you use your power and compassion to guide them to enlightenment?"
The master smiled and said, "Young man, where do you come from?"
"Master, I was born in Bombay, India."
"I would imagine that you have thought about returning there. And if asked could tell people the best way to travel to Bombay?"
"Yes Master. I am sure I could."
"And having come from Bombay, having travelled and thought about this path many times, you must know it well?"
"Oh yes Master. I know the path very well. I might almost say that if I were blindfolded I could find it on a map."
"And your friends, those who know you well, certainly they must know you are from Bombay, or at least from India?"
"Definitely. I have even discussed my hometown with other students. And there's no doubt that in between my memory and research I can describe it as well as anyone else, perhaps better."
"Then I've no doubts that others have asked you about the path from here to Bombay. Do you hide anything or do you explain the path to them clearly?"
"What is there to hide, master? I explain it to them as clearly as I can. Very plainly, master."
"And these people to whom you give such a clear explanation, do all of them reach Bombay?"
"How can that be, master? Only those who travel the entire distance to its end, only they will reach Bombay."
"This is what I want to explain to you, young man. People keep coming to me knowing that this is someone who has walked the path from here to enlightenment and so knows it perfectly. They come to me and ask, 'What is the path to englightenment?' And what is there to hide? I explain it to them clearly: 'This is the path.' If somebody just nods his head and says, 'Well said, well said, a very good path, but I won't take a step on it; a wonderful path, but I won't take the trouble to travel it,' then how can such a person reach the final goal? I do not carry anyone on my shoulders to take him to the final goal. Nobody can carry anyone else on his shoulders to the final goal. At most, with love and compassion one can say, 'Well, this is the path, and this is how I have walked on it. You also work and you will reach the final goal.' But each person has to travel themselves, has to take every step, travel every step on the path himself. He who has taken one step on the path is one step nearer the goal. He who has taken a hundred steps is a hundred steps nearer the goal. He who has taken all the steps on the path has reached the final goal. You have to walk the path yourself."
***
The message of this story is obvious. No one can quiet our mind for us. We have to learn what is necessary to quiet the active mind. No one can reveal Eternal Presence within us, we must reveal it within ourselves. In my experience revealing Eternal Presence "comes only when the thinker and the thought are one, when there is no duality such as the thinker controlling thought."
I will continue to explore such ideas over the coming months. And yet I know that this blog, filled with words as it is, is a limited vehicle for such ideas. And regardless of the eloquence of words, it is only when we walk the path ourselves that we can possibly hope to reach the destination. Otherwise, all we will be is a technician of Love, not a Lover.
With the realization of the limitations of words alone to inspire and support you I have an exciting announcement. As you may already know I have been working with a web designer to create a new home for this blog (currently planned for before the end of July). When the new site is released meditation podcasts will be available.
I have already begun recording guided meditations. For those who prefer a shorter time in sitting I shall be publishing two to three 30 minute meditations. However, I am most excited about the series of 1 hour guided Revealing Eternal Presence Meditations, designed to be followed in order and guiding you from the very first steps of this approach through to a fully established meditation practice. You will be able to download these audio files for yourself and be guided by me in the technique of Revealing Eternal Presence Meditation (an e-mail subscription option will allow you to be automatically notified when a new podcast has been published to KnowTheFlow). These meditation podcasts will be yet one more instance of someone pointing the way. However, maintaining a daily meditation practice is a very meaningful step in making your own way toward the destination. More details will be provided once the site is launched.
The goal of making these meditations available freely on this site is to offer you an opportunity to be guided in practicing quieting your mind. Whilst these blog entries are intended to inspire and support you, it is my experience that sharing my meditation practice is a more a more significant contribution than words alone. It is my deepest hope that you are inspired by such offerings and if the time is right embark upon a most wonderful journey with me.
Know the Flow and be happy my friends.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Meditation - Neutralizing Negative Reactions
When we are ready to hear (or read) a message it will make itself apparent. When the student is ready the teacher will appear.
I am going to assume you've heard these cliché’s before. Before I get to an announcement I'd like to make, I wanted to share a story I heard on Sunday while at a party. A friend of mine was on a cruise with her husband and two daughters. During the trip she had the opportunity to hear Dr. Michael Beckwith speak. Apparently, during this talk Dr. Beckwith suddenly went on a tangent of topic and started talking about what drinking soda does to your body. My friend's perception was that it was clear that Dr. Beckwith was obviously channeling truth, and even though the tangent lasted some 10 minutes or so it had a profound impact. So much so that her daughters got out the 'soda tokens' they had purchased and gave them to their mother, indicating that they had no use for them. Their mother's smile shifted when a woman behind her, obviously present to the very same message, asked if she could have those soda tokens since her children could use them.
Obviously, there were different levels of awareness unfolding in that exchange. Her daughters were ready to hear Dr. Beckwith's message and make a choice accordingly. The mother sat behind them was not. This is not to pass judgment, rather to provide a concrete example that relates how our present level of awareness has a great influence on our choices. And when I consider my own personal experience I am often struck by how much my awareness, and consequently the theme of my choices, has changed over the years.
As a part of being a Teaching Assistant for the Centre's current Spiritual Practices class for these past 10 weeks I've been re-reading, 'Can we Talk to God?' by Dr. Ernest Holmes. I've read this book before (or at least, thought I had read it before). However, this time around the experience has been substantially different. Apparently, I am now ready to appreciate messages that passed me by before. How do I know? Well, not only am I highlighting new sections but there are some instances where it takes me several days to get through a page or two. It's taken me about a week to get from page 85 to 91!
I wanted to highlight a few passages that have really resonated with my current focus, and with Revealing Eternal Presence Meditation in particular. On page 87 of the 1992 edition, Holmes writes:
And at this time, and during the re-reading, a beautiful yet subtle wisdom is becoming apparent for me. If one looks at mental treatment as being meditation (and not just prayer, of Scientific Mind Treatment) then suddenly what was a mystery to me is decrypted within the passage. What I read in this passage is that Dr. Holmes is telling me to use meditation as a vehicle to neutralize negative reactions to what I experience, both consciously and subconsciously. And he's also advising us that proper teaching will be very important to master this consciously.
It seems like common sense, and yet it took me over two years from reading this passage for the first time to begin to delve into the deeper mysteries of this particular snippet of wisdom. This approach has yielded great illumination for me and requires no coercion. It is no coincidence that after having stepped up to claim a new idea for myself recently that this passage should take on such significance.
A little later he writes:
Dr. Holmes continues:
I want to acknowledge that one of the challenges with communicating such ideas in this blog is that unless you directly experience this for yourself then these are just words. Until you make something your own it cannot become your wisdom.
To that end I am delighted to make a few announcements. I am currently having a new site for http://www.knowtheflow.ca/ built. This will be a new incarnation of this blog, with a much greater degree of organization as well as the ability to subscribe to the content that most appeals. And, perhaps most significantly, I will be incorporating podcasts as a part of this site. What does this mean? Well, I plan on recording some of the Revealing Eternal Presence meditations I lead. If you are unable to meditate with me, either in real or second life, then you will be able to download some of these meditations to play on your iPhone, computer or any other suitable audio device. It is my vision that by recording these meditations that I will be able to support you in discovering one potential of meditation for yourself.
In the meantime, here's the new logo for the site. Know the Flow and be happy, dear friends.
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I am going to assume you've heard these cliché’s before. Before I get to an announcement I'd like to make, I wanted to share a story I heard on Sunday while at a party. A friend of mine was on a cruise with her husband and two daughters. During the trip she had the opportunity to hear Dr. Michael Beckwith speak. Apparently, during this talk Dr. Beckwith suddenly went on a tangent of topic and started talking about what drinking soda does to your body. My friend's perception was that it was clear that Dr. Beckwith was obviously channeling truth, and even though the tangent lasted some 10 minutes or so it had a profound impact. So much so that her daughters got out the 'soda tokens' they had purchased and gave them to their mother, indicating that they had no use for them. Their mother's smile shifted when a woman behind her, obviously present to the very same message, asked if she could have those soda tokens since her children could use them.
Obviously, there were different levels of awareness unfolding in that exchange. Her daughters were ready to hear Dr. Beckwith's message and make a choice accordingly. The mother sat behind them was not. This is not to pass judgment, rather to provide a concrete example that relates how our present level of awareness has a great influence on our choices. And when I consider my own personal experience I am often struck by how much my awareness, and consequently the theme of my choices, has changed over the years.
As a part of being a Teaching Assistant for the Centre's current Spiritual Practices class for these past 10 weeks I've been re-reading, 'Can we Talk to God?' by Dr. Ernest Holmes. I've read this book before (or at least, thought I had read it before). However, this time around the experience has been substantially different. Apparently, I am now ready to appreciate messages that passed me by before. How do I know? Well, not only am I highlighting new sections but there are some instances where it takes me several days to get through a page or two. It's taken me about a week to get from page 85 to 91!
I wanted to highlight a few passages that have really resonated with my current focus, and with Revealing Eternal Presence Meditation in particular. On page 87 of the 1992 edition, Holmes writes:
"It is not our spirit that needs to be made whole; it is our mental reactions to life that need healing. These mental reactions are both conscious and subjective. Successful mental treatment must neutralize negative reactions on both the conscious and subjective planes. Proper teaching does this for the conscious mind, and proper mental treatment will do it on the subjective side of thought.This passage jumped out me because I have decided at some point to grow at that inner level of Intelligence. I wasn't ready for that passage a couple of years ago. But as I read it now it jumps off the page. How we react to life, to the sensations that surface from beneath the surface of our consciousness, is central to our experience. Every reaction is a thought. Every thought is a prayer. The Buddha taught that the blind reaction to a sensation is how we condition the unconscious (or what I call subjective) mind. In my experience meditation is the ideal vehicle to practice being aware of sensations and practicing not reacting blindly to them. During meditation if I have an itch, I do not scratch it. If I have a pleasant memory, I do not crave it residing. If I have a pain I objectively observe it, not wishing it would go away. And so on, until I have practiced such a balanced reaction to the point that equanimity (or balance of the mind) becomes a habit.
Mental healing is not accomplished through a coercion of the consciousness, but through it's illumination."
And at this time, and during the re-reading, a beautiful yet subtle wisdom is becoming apparent for me. If one looks at mental treatment as being meditation (and not just prayer, of Scientific Mind Treatment) then suddenly what was a mystery to me is decrypted within the passage. What I read in this passage is that Dr. Holmes is telling me to use meditation as a vehicle to neutralize negative reactions to what I experience, both consciously and subconsciously. And he's also advising us that proper teaching will be very important to master this consciously.
It seems like common sense, and yet it took me over two years from reading this passage for the first time to begin to delve into the deeper mysteries of this particular snippet of wisdom. This approach has yielded great illumination for me and requires no coercion. It is no coincidence that after having stepped up to claim a new idea for myself recently that this passage should take on such significance.
A little later he writes:
"There is a subtle element here - that of knowing the truth and then letting go so that the truth may demonstrate itself. Perhaps this is one of the most difficult things to understand in spiritual work. Our thought is creative, but we do not make it so; it was so before we realized it - not will but willingness; not coercion but conclusion."The theme for meditation continues. We must let go of any knowing we think we have of the truth and allow the truth to demonstrate itself. Certainly, we must aspire and be ready to hear the message, but we must not crave hearing a message either. And this is indeed one of the most difficult things to understand in our spiritual work. Truly letting go, neither craving nor averting, is to surrender. Yet, how hard is it to fully surrender? Think of something you care deeply for. Now consider that if the object of your caring is a thing or relationship that exists in this apparent reality then how ready are you to surrender should it pass away? And as you contemplate this consider that the Buddha taught that, suffering results when we wish things to remain unchanging in the constantly changing apparent reality.
Dr. Holmes continues:
"Conviction compels the attention of the intellect; it is Reality which floods it...The Originating Power descends into the consciousness that meditates upon It and receives It."And with those two sentences I knew I had to blog about this. One of the central purposes of Meditation for me is to practice being aware of Eternal Presence, or 'Reality'. It is inspiring to hear Dr. Holmes confirm in his experience that, if I meditate upon the Eternal Presence, then I will reveal Eternal Presence.
I want to acknowledge that one of the challenges with communicating such ideas in this blog is that unless you directly experience this for yourself then these are just words. Until you make something your own it cannot become your wisdom.
To that end I am delighted to make a few announcements. I am currently having a new site for http://www.knowtheflow.ca/ built. This will be a new incarnation of this blog, with a much greater degree of organization as well as the ability to subscribe to the content that most appeals. And, perhaps most significantly, I will be incorporating podcasts as a part of this site. What does this mean? Well, I plan on recording some of the Revealing Eternal Presence meditations I lead. If you are unable to meditate with me, either in real or second life, then you will be able to download some of these meditations to play on your iPhone, computer or any other suitable audio device. It is my vision that by recording these meditations that I will be able to support you in discovering one potential of meditation for yourself.
In the meantime, here's the new logo for the site. Know the Flow and be happy, dear friends.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Revealing Eternal Presence Meditation: A Practical, Relevant and Simple Spiritual Practice
It is my experience that I am surrounded by people with intelligent and enquiring minds. It is also my experience that there is a growing realization that simple faith and worship are no longer enough in this day and age. There is an increasing intensity of enquiry when it comes to spiritual teachings that are relevant to daily life. The typical process of enquiry for me runs along the lines of: Is it relevant, is it practical, is it simple? If these three questions of enquiry yield a 'yes' for me then I will invariably dig deeper into said teaching. And I suspect that, even if many people are not aware of this kind of process going on within their minds, any teaching that is relevant, practical and simple will find significant appeal to our present-day society.
And so like many others in this world that have encountered a personal moment of profound spiritual transformation, I've been seeking teachings to help me understand what is going on and what my purpose in life is. I've been a seeker of Truth for about 15 years now. I wanted to use this blog to introduce an idea that has come to mind that I have called, the Revealing Eternal Presence (REP) Meditation. But before I share more about REP Meditation I will provide the necessary context for this idea that comes in the form of two teachings that I've been working with for a while.
The first of these teachings is one I've been studying for the past 6 years. Arguably the most notable of Dr. Ernest Holmes prolific writings was a book he authored in 1926 called, the Science of Mind. The Science of Mind is both a philosophy and a way of life. After much contemplation, reading of spiritual texts, and building upon the ideas of great thinkers before him, Dr. Holmes presented us with a number of significant ideas, a few of which I would like to introduce.
Firstly, he proposed that there is a Power for Good in the Universe that is always contemplating and expressing. You might call this Power God, Spirit, the Cosmos, Oneness, or whatever label that best defines the idea of Creator to you. Secondly, that within this Infinite expression known as Spirit is the Creative Medium, or Soul. And Thirdly, that Form results when an idea is impressed upon Soul by Spirit. One of the more common analogies is that when I think or feel, I plant a seed (thought) in the soil (Soul), which in turn manifests as a sprouting plant (Form).
To put it more simply, Dr. Holmes proposed that effects are what we see around us. Thoughts and feelings are what cause effects, and because we are an individualized aspect of God our thoughts and feelings are the cause of effects. And the Law is always obeying us by making manifest our thoughts and feelings as forms. The idea of Spirit, Soul and Form were not new, but what Holmes did do was to get very clear about a process called the Affirmative Prayer, that one can use to repeatably manifest through conscious and intelligent use of Soul, or as he called it, the Law.
The second teaching I've been enquiring about of late concerns the Buddha. Specifically, I've been studying Vipassana meditation. It is argued that the Buddha had no interest in a religion (that would go on to be called Buddhism) but focused on a process for enlightenment, that he called Vipassana. Vipassana is about observing the sensations that arise in our body. The central idea of Vipassana meditation is that if we can learn to observe sensations, know them for what they truly are and neither crave or avert those sensations we will become liberated. In other words, we come to know true peace, where we are liberated from attachment to sensations and break the cycle of suffering. This is what the Buddha meant by the 'middle way', neither craving nor averting sensations, being liberated from the apparent reality and thus being able to know the Ultimate Reality. I like to think that this is what Jesus meant by, being in the world but not of the world.
Obviously, both the teachings of Ernest Holmes and the Buddha go well beyond what is practical to cover in this blog but I did want to share my experience around them. When I discovered the Science of Mind it struck me as practical, relevant and simple. If I can change my thinking I can change my conditions. So much so that through the use of a tool called Affirmative Prayer, I can repeatably demonstrate changes in my conditions. This is extremely relevant and practical (although not, in my experience, always simple).
When I discovered Vipassana meditation I was immediately struck by how compatible the Buddha's ideas were with the Science of Mind. I was deeply moved by the idea that by observing sensations that arise in my body, old mental conditionings (or Sankhara as they are known) would be released. And Vipassana meditation is also a repeatable process that is simple and realistic (although going on a 10 day course to discover this is not necessarily practical). I realized that the potential of this idea given the creative process of Affirmative Prayer was huge. In short, a repeatable process that will inevitably help one clear away the old stock of conditionings (or what I consider to be beliefs, values, attitudes that no longer serve me) would be invaluble, particularly to a Practitioner of Affirmative Prayer.
For you see, after some 6 years of study of the Science of Mind and its related teachings I had never encountered any reference to a repeatable process for clearing the old 'stuff' out of the way. Of course, through various techniques and tools for self-enquiry we could reveal old causal beliefs but the process is lengthy. It is not simple. And there's certainly no page or chapter in any book that I've read that has really shown me how to shift into a feeling of complete and total peace. That is until I discovered Vipassana.
And what is the idea I promised to write about earlier? Well, it goes along these lines. We can use meditation to be aware of the effects, the sensations, that arise in our experience. At the same time we must be aware that they are caused by the Eternal Presence, Spirit (this is where my idea begins to diverge from Vipassana). In this state of awareness we can know that effects pass away because they are effects in the changable, apparent reality. We must be aware that effects are the product of the Law and ultimately of the Causal Spirit that created them. In short, we can use meditation to practice being aware of both the Cause (Spirit) and the Effect (sensations and feelings). This approach results in a most complete Revealing of Eternal Presence.
What stands out for me is that every effect, every sensation is a product of contemplation. In becoming aware of the Cause and Effect we liberate ourselves from effects, of attachment to them, particularly when we see Spirit as their Cause. When we tie together this realization we can more fully experience the Cause, we are practicing being attuned to Spirit and liberate ourselves from changing nature of Effect. It is my experience that this approach to meditation empowers Affirmative Prayer because, as a repeatable process, it clears the baggage beneath the surface that impacts our affirmation work.
As you can imagine one blog entry is nowhere near enough space to fully explore this idea with you. I will be using future blogs to continue sharing my contemplations and enquiries about Revealing Eternal Presence. However, if you are in Edmonton this Thursday June 16 at 7pm, then I would like to invite you to come to an evening of meditation where I will be exploring this idea through guided meditation and discourse. If you would like more information then please email me at carmien_owen@shaw.ca. You can also check out the event on Facebook event.
Ultimately, writing about Revealing Eternal Presence Meditation is like someone telling you the food is good. Practicing this technique, like any spiritual practice, is where you get to know for yourself that the food is good. If you can't make this event you can connect with me on Second Life where I lead meditation every morning and evening. Alternatively you can connect with me and enquire further with me through Facebook. So what are you waiting for? Don't take my word for it; connect with me and experience this meditation for yourself!
Know the Flow and be happy.
And so like many others in this world that have encountered a personal moment of profound spiritual transformation, I've been seeking teachings to help me understand what is going on and what my purpose in life is. I've been a seeker of Truth for about 15 years now. I wanted to use this blog to introduce an idea that has come to mind that I have called, the Revealing Eternal Presence (REP) Meditation. But before I share more about REP Meditation I will provide the necessary context for this idea that comes in the form of two teachings that I've been working with for a while.
The first of these teachings is one I've been studying for the past 6 years. Arguably the most notable of Dr. Ernest Holmes prolific writings was a book he authored in 1926 called, the Science of Mind. The Science of Mind is both a philosophy and a way of life. After much contemplation, reading of spiritual texts, and building upon the ideas of great thinkers before him, Dr. Holmes presented us with a number of significant ideas, a few of which I would like to introduce.
Firstly, he proposed that there is a Power for Good in the Universe that is always contemplating and expressing. You might call this Power God, Spirit, the Cosmos, Oneness, or whatever label that best defines the idea of Creator to you. Secondly, that within this Infinite expression known as Spirit is the Creative Medium, or Soul. And Thirdly, that Form results when an idea is impressed upon Soul by Spirit. One of the more common analogies is that when I think or feel, I plant a seed (thought) in the soil (Soul), which in turn manifests as a sprouting plant (Form).
To put it more simply, Dr. Holmes proposed that effects are what we see around us. Thoughts and feelings are what cause effects, and because we are an individualized aspect of God our thoughts and feelings are the cause of effects. And the Law is always obeying us by making manifest our thoughts and feelings as forms. The idea of Spirit, Soul and Form were not new, but what Holmes did do was to get very clear about a process called the Affirmative Prayer, that one can use to repeatably manifest through conscious and intelligent use of Soul, or as he called it, the Law.
The second teaching I've been enquiring about of late concerns the Buddha. Specifically, I've been studying Vipassana meditation. It is argued that the Buddha had no interest in a religion (that would go on to be called Buddhism) but focused on a process for enlightenment, that he called Vipassana. Vipassana is about observing the sensations that arise in our body. The central idea of Vipassana meditation is that if we can learn to observe sensations, know them for what they truly are and neither crave or avert those sensations we will become liberated. In other words, we come to know true peace, where we are liberated from attachment to sensations and break the cycle of suffering. This is what the Buddha meant by the 'middle way', neither craving nor averting sensations, being liberated from the apparent reality and thus being able to know the Ultimate Reality. I like to think that this is what Jesus meant by, being in the world but not of the world.
Obviously, both the teachings of Ernest Holmes and the Buddha go well beyond what is practical to cover in this blog but I did want to share my experience around them. When I discovered the Science of Mind it struck me as practical, relevant and simple. If I can change my thinking I can change my conditions. So much so that through the use of a tool called Affirmative Prayer, I can repeatably demonstrate changes in my conditions. This is extremely relevant and practical (although not, in my experience, always simple).
When I discovered Vipassana meditation I was immediately struck by how compatible the Buddha's ideas were with the Science of Mind. I was deeply moved by the idea that by observing sensations that arise in my body, old mental conditionings (or Sankhara as they are known) would be released. And Vipassana meditation is also a repeatable process that is simple and realistic (although going on a 10 day course to discover this is not necessarily practical). I realized that the potential of this idea given the creative process of Affirmative Prayer was huge. In short, a repeatable process that will inevitably help one clear away the old stock of conditionings (or what I consider to be beliefs, values, attitudes that no longer serve me) would be invaluble, particularly to a Practitioner of Affirmative Prayer.
For you see, after some 6 years of study of the Science of Mind and its related teachings I had never encountered any reference to a repeatable process for clearing the old 'stuff' out of the way. Of course, through various techniques and tools for self-enquiry we could reveal old causal beliefs but the process is lengthy. It is not simple. And there's certainly no page or chapter in any book that I've read that has really shown me how to shift into a feeling of complete and total peace. That is until I discovered Vipassana.
And what is the idea I promised to write about earlier? Well, it goes along these lines. We can use meditation to be aware of the effects, the sensations, that arise in our experience. At the same time we must be aware that they are caused by the Eternal Presence, Spirit (this is where my idea begins to diverge from Vipassana). In this state of awareness we can know that effects pass away because they are effects in the changable, apparent reality. We must be aware that effects are the product of the Law and ultimately of the Causal Spirit that created them. In short, we can use meditation to practice being aware of both the Cause (Spirit) and the Effect (sensations and feelings). This approach results in a most complete Revealing of Eternal Presence.
What stands out for me is that every effect, every sensation is a product of contemplation. In becoming aware of the Cause and Effect we liberate ourselves from effects, of attachment to them, particularly when we see Spirit as their Cause. When we tie together this realization we can more fully experience the Cause, we are practicing being attuned to Spirit and liberate ourselves from changing nature of Effect. It is my experience that this approach to meditation empowers Affirmative Prayer because, as a repeatable process, it clears the baggage beneath the surface that impacts our affirmation work.
As you can imagine one blog entry is nowhere near enough space to fully explore this idea with you. I will be using future blogs to continue sharing my contemplations and enquiries about Revealing Eternal Presence. However, if you are in Edmonton this Thursday June 16 at 7pm, then I would like to invite you to come to an evening of meditation where I will be exploring this idea through guided meditation and discourse. If you would like more information then please email me at carmien_owen@shaw.ca. You can also check out the event on Facebook event.
Ultimately, writing about Revealing Eternal Presence Meditation is like someone telling you the food is good. Practicing this technique, like any spiritual practice, is where you get to know for yourself that the food is good. If you can't make this event you can connect with me on Second Life where I lead meditation every morning and evening. Alternatively you can connect with me and enquire further with me through Facebook. So what are you waiting for? Don't take my word for it; connect with me and experience this meditation for yourself!
Know the Flow and be happy.
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