(i) Meditation General Principles
Meditation General Principles : Meditation is the process of learning to be still.This article is an introduction to meditation & will go through some simple concepts about this subject. There are a lot of techniques on how to meditate but in following a technique we are actually doing an activity ,whether it be repeating a mantra or visualising something or even meditating on the breath. However, these techniques can be useful in getting us to slowly still down when sitting in pure silence may be too big a step for us . I have some meditation videos on my YouTube channel which can be found under the following links which introduce breath meditation, visualisation and the use of mantras.
(i) Guided Meditation Using Breath, Visualisation & Mantras
(ii) Breath Meditation
(ii) Meditation and Scripture
In the book ‘The Cloud of Unknowing’ written by an English Catholic Priest who lived during the latter half of the 14th century, it states that we can only enter the divine if we let ourselves go into the nothingness of spirit. The mind cannot ultimately be involved in pure meditation.
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Here Jesus says take no thought 5 times & this is important – see notes on Numerology below – he is talking about the 5 senses and the sacrifice of the flesh.
27.Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Raiment = clothes. This is a beautiful passage in which he is saying we identify with our minds for who we are. Our thoughts ‘clothe’ us in false beliefs, so they cannot be relied on.
The lilies are spoken of to show that they are part of nature and they just ‘be themselves’ going with the flow of life without preconception.
34. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Meditate into the stillness so we receive instructions from the higher self.
Here we look at numerology. The mystics of the East gave meaning to the numbers
e.g. 5 = sacrifice, also the 5 senses, Jesus taking the 5 wounds, because when we shut down the 5 senses in meditation we crucify the flesh.
Meditation is the Centre and it depends on us being centred.
(iii) Introduction to Meditation : The Three Circles
The dot = our centre or stillness in meditation. The first circle adjacent to the dot =our emotions, so when we associate with our feelings in meditation (e.g. happiness, sadness, anxiety, and excitement) we are taken away from our centre.
The middle circle = our mind or thoughts.
The outer circle = activity.
So in learning to meditate we have to move in from the outer ‘activity’ circle and find the motivation to sit still in a comfortable position. Sitting silently moves us away from the outer circle and towards the next circle. Buddha sat in the lotus position with the spine therefore upright. If our hands are together in this position then energy moves in a circle. It becomes an inner electrical circuit for energy to move throughout the body. This is the purpose of the lotus posture and why people use it. However, many people cannot manage this at it does require considerable flexibility so either sitting cross-legged or in a chair with a straight back will suffice.
Ultimately brain waves need to move down from beta – alpha – theta – delta as they progressively slow. The journey to God realisation is a deep private spiritual journey you undertake. It is not a social event such as attending church.
Luke 17:21 “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Once we are sat still our mind is pulling at the door because it wants to get in. By watching our thoughts and accepting them rather than fighting them we can lessen their influence. My saying we are not our thoughts we can just let the mind do what it does and let it go more effectively.
Buddha called this UPEKSHA meaning indifference or non-attachment. The thoughts from the left side of the brain or the senses have nothing to do with our meditation goals or contacting spirit so we need to become indifferent to them and just let them be.
Meditation should give us the strength to help us with practical situations in the world.
Feelings are very subtle but also very changeable but feelings need to be addressed in meditation the same way as thoughts are addressed. When we become one with our spirit we can expect many changes in the way we live our lives and of our values.
In understanding the 3 circles we can use them instead of them using us. In having the discipline to meditate deeply we can change our present and future for the better. We can master the three circles so thinking, feeling and activity all become meditations.
Isaiah 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
When we are sitting still in meditation the eternal OM sound can be heard. This has many frequencies and can sound like anything from bells to running water. It is focussed on at the back of the head. It is the eternal ‘word’ or ‘sound’ from behind as spoken of in the above passage.
Nature understands us people don’t. By being guided by the light of the third eye we can change or lives profoundly.
Matthew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
This is the third eye that we can contact when our minds are still enough to see the spiritual light that comes from it.
So hopefully this post will give some people some meditation tips. For those wanting learn more about Light and Sound Meditation you can use the link below.
www.lightandsoundmeditation.com
(iv) Bill Donahue’s YouTube Video
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