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Meditation
- Spirituality -Cosmic Consciousness
Meditation
Meditation is inner astronomy.
You discover the stars, the moon, and the sun are all inside
you.
What is Meditation?
Most dictionaries define
the Western (Jewish, Christian, Islamic) meaning of the word
'meditation,' but usually do not describe the Eastern (Hindu,
Buddhist, Taoist) concept of meditation. The most appropriate
dictionary definition I could find reads as follows: "If
you meditate, you give your attention to one thing, and do
not think about anything else, usually as a religious activity
or as way of calming or relaxing your mind." This definition
implies that meditation means thinking about something, be
it religious or mystical in nature, and that a constant thought
process goes on while one meditates. The purest Eastern definition
of the word 'meditation' means not thinking at all, but rather
focusing the consciousness on the cosmic whole, "the
all and the everything" as George Gurdjieff called it,
without thought, judgment, or distraction.
We define the word 'meditation'
here as the art of consciousness becoming aware of itself
on the grand and cosmic scale. Meditation cannot honestly
be called a science because any real science requires objective
testing, which is not currently possible for the practice
of meditation. The real art of meditation is beyond thought,
beyond society, and beyond time.
Why meditate?
Meditation brings a sense
of fullness and completion and is the only permanent source
of tranquility available to human beings. All other forms
of serenity are temporary and dissolve into conflict and chaos
over time. The euphoria of drugs quickly lead to misery and
self-destruction. The wholesomeness of love, so beautiful
and ethereal, is a relatively short lived and fleeting experience.
As J. Krishnamurti said, meditation brings order and "That
order is the order of the universe. It is irrevocable and
doesn't depend on anything." Meditation is the eternal
essence of nature taking on conscious form within the mortal
human frame.
Meditation is an adventure
of self-discovery. How can you live without knowing who or
what you are? If someone asks you who you are during the day
you may state your name, as if a temporary label actually
means something important. Ask yourself who you are when you
are in deep sleep, unconscious and without even a dream to
prove that you exist at all. Ask yourself who you were ten
months before you were born and who you will be just one moment
after your body dies. Meditation increases awareness of the
natural phenomena that is actually going on behind your own
eyes. Self-knowledge has intrinsic value, even without the
indescribable bliss nature generously unleashes in those who
practice meditation with sincerity and patience.
Sitting Meditation
Classic sitting meditation
is a vital part of all meditation traditions and has taken
many forms, some more effective than others. Some traditional
approaches demand that the student sit motionless for hours
on end, as if becoming a human statue is the only key to enlightenment.
A more scientific approach does not make the human body our
enemy, but rather works with our natural physiology to allow
more intense meditation with less effort and discomfort. Masochism
is not an effective path to self-realization.
Begin by finding a relatively
quiet place to meditate where you will not be disturbed. All
forms of classic sitting meditation should be done in silence
with no background music. You can sit cross legged Asian style
on a meditation pillow on the floor or use the recliner chair
method described below. Eyes may be fully open, half open,
or slightly open, letting in just two small slits of light.
Meditating with eyes fully closed is fine as long as the room
remains brightly lit so that enough light passes through the
eyelids to keep your brain alert. Meditating with eyes closed
in a darkened room presents fundamental physiological problems.
When you sit quietly with
your eyes closed in darkness your brain interprets this situation
as a signal to start shutting itself down for sleep. Sleep
inducing hormones such as melatonin are released at the same
time your circulation and heart rate are reduced due to lack
of movement. You feel swept away on a sea of quiet relaxation.
This pleasant experience may be light sleep state hypnosis,
not meditation at all, and thus do you no more good than taking
a nap. Meditation means that you are relaxed as if sleeping
but your consciousness is fully and intensely awake. Therefore,
as previously stated, if you meditate with your eyes closed
the room must remain very brightly lit so that a significant
amount of light passes through the eyelids.
The sit-stand method
Another defense against sleepiness
is to break up your meditation into three fifteen minute sessions
that are easy for your body to tolerate. Sit quietly for fifteen
minutes, then stand for two minutes, then sit for another
fifteen minutes, then stand for two minutes, then sit for
a final fifteen minute session. This 49 minute technique can
be done once, twice, or three times a day for intense practice.
You can time yourself by making a tape recording with the
sound of a bell or a gong to let you known when to stand up,
sit down, and begin and end the meditation.
This technique largely eliminates
the problem of cramps, soreness, and numbness in legs often
experienced by students attempting to sit for longer periods
of time than the body was naturally made to sit. The standing
breaks increase blood circulation which helps wakefulness.
Comfort is maintained and we avoid the light sleep state hypnosis
problem mentioned earlier.
The transitions between sitting
and standing in this method are an opportunity to practice
meditation in action. Normally, unless we are physically ill,
our waking lives are spent in motion and activity. Meditation
must not be thought of as something that is done only in a
physically rigid state far removed from the world of work
and play. The goal is to become meditative continuously so
that your very being becomes cosmically conscious, permanently
and irrevocably. When you stand up and sit down during these
meditation sessions, feel the inner flow of meditation continue.
Observe that your body is moving but your basic existential
identity remains the same.
The recliner chair
method
As previously mentioned,
sitting for long periods of time in the traditional Asian
cross legged position is uncomfortable for most Western students
of meditation. This physical discomfort, which does nothing
in itself to aid meditation, can be entirely eliminated through
the use of a recliner chair. The recliner chair method is
actually the most healthful method of sitting as it avoids
blocking vital blood circulation to the legs, yet has 100%
of the benefits of sitting on the floor in the full lotus
position with back held rigidly straight. I highly recommend
the recliner chair method as the first choice sitting method
for all Western students of meditation. Through its use people
who cannot comfortably sit for 20 minutes on the floor are
often able to sit a full hour or even longer without back
pain, numbness, or leg cramps.
Energy in the second body
is constantly being washed out through our hands and feet.
This loss can be stopped by locking the hands and feet together,
thus creating a closed loop of energy that builds up over
time. The conserved etheric energy is needed to strengthen
the subtle body and push you higher into meditation. Contrary
to popular belief, sitting with the back rigidly straight
does nothing to aid meditation. The energy that rises up the
back during meditation sessions is like water in a garden
hose. If you gently bend the hose into a mild arch the flow
of water will not be affected in any perceptible way.
With this method you sit
in a recliner chair with the soles of your feet pressed against
each other and your legs relaxed, knees pointed out to the
sides of the chair. Shoes must be removed. You can practice
this method barefoot or wear socks for warmth. A better alternative
to socks is to drape a towel or light blanket over your feet
to keep them warm, which allows direct skin to skin contact.
Hands can be locked together, laying comfortably in your lap,
or pressed against the center of your chest, one on top of
the other, on the center of the emotional heart. This method
of sitting can be used in conjunction with any of the sitting
meditation techniques described on this Web page and usually
eliminates the need for the sit-stand method described earlier.
What do you do while
sitting?
The most basic approach to
meditation is to relax, let go, and do nothing. Surrender
to the moment and watch yourself as a silent witness. If thoughts
come to mind, then observe the thoughts without adding to
them by your active participation. Be a detached and passive
observer and simply feel your most basic fundamental being.
This inherently immense being has been respectfully called
the ground of being.
The enlightened teacher J.
Krishnamurti used the term "choiceless awareness"
to describe his own meditation method. This means being conscious
without the thought process choosing something smaller than
your vast fundamental being to focus on. Consciousness is
like a glass ball floating in the depth of space. Light and
sensory input flows into the field of consciousness from all
directions. When you think, you focus your attention on just
one area of sensory input or you create a thought from memory
stored within the brain. With choiceless awareness you are
not thinking or remembering, just floating and letting sensory
input flow through you from all directions without manipulating
that input with the thought process. You live in the moment
and become totally open. This openness attracts energy from
all sides of the universe which pushes you even higher.
Krishnamurti's choiceless
awareness is the same "methodless method" that Zen
monks call "mindfulness." Hindu yogis sometimes
call it "one pointed vision." A more accurate term
might be one object vision. This means that you observe yourself,
the sky, the trees, and the entire universe as one object.
You no longer see the world as a multitude of parts and disconnected
events. Instead, you accurately perceive the observer and
the observed as exactly the same thing, with no artificial
wall of separation blocking the limits of consciousness. This
singular entity becomes acutely aware of itself in all its
vastness. The one cosmic being, as Krishnamurti said, is "beyond
time" and is "untouched by thought." The revered
sage Ramana Maharshi described it as "infinite"
and "bigger than the human race."
Another useful method is
to lend special awareness to the breathing process felt in
the belly. Just behind and below your navel (belly button)
lies the hara, which is felt as an ethereal ball of energy.
The hara is a natural balancing point of your consciousness
that can be thought of as the center of your subtle body.
Subjectively and poetically speaking, the hara is where man
and universe meet. It is the gateway where we merge and become
man-universe and universe-man. No one really knows what the
hara actually is, but we can use it to our full advantage.
Consciously developing a powerful hara center is the most
important secret to meditation.
When your consciousness is
centered in the hara instead of the head, your thinking process
slows down and you can relax in the expanded world of pure
being. Trying to stop distracting thoughts through will power
leads to more thoughts and a self-defeating inner struggle.
By transferring your center of awareness to the hara, thoughts
gradually disappear on their own without inner conflict. That
is why you see Buddha statues with a big belly. It is an esoteric
message that the hara is the key to meditation.
Sit quietly and focus on
your belly as it moves in and out as you breathe. Over time
the hara point will become more noticeable as your meditation
grows stronger. We all feel the hara when startled or in intense
danger. Sudden emergencies, such as near collisions on the
highway, tend to activate the hara center. You get a gut reaction
from sudden danger. You can nourish the feeling of the hara
simply by paying passive attention to it. This relaxed concentration
is very close to doing nothing, yet it is still a subtle effort.
Drinking herb tea or hot water before meditation sessions
relaxes the gut and facilitates awareness of the hara. Overeating
and consuming cold drinks tends to make hara awareness more
difficult.
Note Here is a picture of
Ramana Maharshi. If you look deeply into the photograph you
can sense his hara point. Energy from all corners of the universe
is flooding into his powerful hara center. Observe the look
of sublime contentment on his face. Those interested in the
phenomena of the hara may be amused by My Unproven Theory
About the Hara.
WARNING Avoid
the use of mantras and long repetitive chanting. Repeating
the same words over and over is a method of forgetfulness
which will bore the mind and leads to the light sleep state
hypnosis problem mentioned earlier. I would define a mantra
as the repetition of words, usually meaningless, for a period
of two minutes or more. Mantras have traditionally been used
for hours on end by students who become mentally calmed and
dulled by their use.
Mantras have proven to be
medically helpful for some because they can unleash hormones
that temporarily calm the mind. Mantras are healthier than
taking tranquilizers, but are fundamentally different from
meditation, which relies on the purifying fire of self-observation.
Self-observation is a difficult task that requires courage
and an endurance of character and spirit. Real meditation
has the real payoff of leading to a naturally calm and expanded
state of consciousness, not just an artificially silenced
mind that remains fundamentally shallow.
A self-inquiry incantation
The use of meaningful incantations
is quite different than mantras use and can help bring consciousness
to greater clarity. Words can help because our minds are organic
analog computers that process symbols, and words are symbols.
The words that deepen meditation form a strategic questioning,
not a mantra.
Ramana Maharshi was a beloved
Indian teacher who reached enlightenment through self-inquiry,
by asking the most fundamental question "Who am I?"
Here is a self-inquiry technique that expands Ramana Maharshi's
method to make it even more powerful. Speak out loud the following
incantation with total intensity before and/or during formal
sitting meditation sessions. By the term "total intensity"
I mean the same level of intensity you would feel if you were
just told that you only had one hour left to live. Be emotional,
be Italian, use your hands and body language if it helps.
Plead with the universe the following question.
What is this ball of consciousness?
What is this ball of consciousness? What is this ball of consciousness?
- You can repeat this question more than three times if the
spirit moves you. Go with the flow.
I am not this library of memories.
I have no history. I have no biography.
I am the space. I have always
been the space, and I crush these bonds of attachment now!
When speaking the words,
"I crush these bonds of attachment now!," make your
right hand into a fist and hit your upturned left palm with
it like a hammer hitting an anvil upon saying the word "now!"
Reverse hands if you are lefthanded. Do not overdo it and
hurt your hand. Just hit forcefully enough to produce a cracking
sound which adds drama and helps wake up the central nervous
system.
Resonate the words deep inside
you without thinking of intellectual explanations of who you
are. Just asking this question is purifying and ennobling.
Self-inquiry is an innocent and fundamental endeavor and you
need an innocent mind to see reality directly without the
distortions of memory and thought. You can use this questioning
technique only at the beginning of formal sitting meditation
sessions or you can repeat the incantation every ten minutes
during the session itself to help keep yourself focused. Combining
this self-inquiry incantation with the mirror gazing technique
described below creates a super-method of great power and
intensity.
Over time you will find the
words become a trigger mechanism which allows you to instantly
drop all peripheral involvement and come home to your cosmic
being. We all have the same essential being and that being
is cosmic. No one is left out of this universe. If you are
a part of the universe, you are all of the universe! The small
'I' is dropped and only the big 'I' remains. Then you can
have a good belly laugh and that is the way I end most of
my own meditation sessions. I meditate until I start laughing
from the hara center. Then I know I am cooked!
A gentler, less rigorous
approach to this method is to simply repeat the rhetorical
question, "What is this ball of consciousness?,"
over about a dozen times. This small amount of repetition
will enhance and center your consciousness rather than dull
it. For some students a softer approach works best.
Word exercises are not for
all students of meditation. If you try them and feel nothing
then concentrate on other methods first. As you slowly change
your methods will change with you. A method that is unusable
now may be of great help to you in the future.
Mirror Gazing
Some students find the use
of a mirror virtually doubles the power of their meditation
sessions. Sit in front of a mirror and gaze into the reflected
image, setting your focus just above the head so that you
view the wall behind you. Looking directly at the face or
eyes may be too intense an experience for many students and
may lead to silly concern about personal appearance. Using
this technique one only views the physical body as a shadowy
peripheral silhouette. Continue gazing for twenty minutes,
allowing the eyes to deeply relax their focus.
Enjoy the mirror gazing for
twenty minutes, then stand for two minutes, maintaining the
heightened awareness as you change position. Then resume sitting
in quiet meditation for a further twenty minutes with eyes
almost totally closed, allowing in just two slits of light.
This mirror gazing technique takes forty two minutes, but
may be extended to one full hour if desired, with eyes open
and eyes closed sections remaining equal.
Please practice this mirror
gazing method no more than once a day to avoid eye strain.
Strong meditation techniques are medicine and you should not
overdose on any one particular method. Combining the mirror
gazing technique with the self-inquiry incantation previously
detailed can increase its effectiveness tremendously, creating
a super-method.
Mirror gazing is a form of
tratak, the ancient yogic practice of fixing one's gaze at
an object with total intensity. You may practice tratak by
staring at a candle's flame, a distant tree, the picture of
an enlightened teacher, or any object that is pleasant to
view. While practicing tratak one must be motionless and allow
yourself to become totally absorbed in the object you are
viewing.
Eye Gazing
To do this technique you
must have a partner of the opposite sex, preferably someone
you love. It is similar to the mirror gazing technique described
above except you that look into the eyes of your loved one.
Sit together, staring softly into your partners eyes for twenty
minutes. Then stand silently for two minutes. Then sit in
quiet meditation with eyes almost totally closed for a further
twenty minutes. This technique can readily lead to romantic
intimacy so pick your partner carefully.
Cathartic Dancing
Meditation
Cathartic Dancing Meditation
is a cosmic powerhouse that can be used by students in good
health with a normal cardiovascular system. As it is a physically
strenuous exercise, one should get a complete physical examination
by a competent doctor before experimenting with this technique.
Explain the method to your doctor and ask if it would be physically
dangerous for you to do. He won't understand your motives
for wanting to do it but he can tell you if he thinks your
body and heart can safely handle it. As with jogging or mountain
climbing, you must practice this method at your own risk.
Cathartic Dancing Meditation
is similar to Rajneesh Dynamic Meditation but is simpler,
easier to do, and is more likely to keep you interested month
after month, year after year. Neither method is really new.
Sufis, Druids, and countless other esoteric and tribal cultures
have used similar techniques for centuries. Most students
will benefit from doing Cathartic Dancing Meditation daily
for a period of between one and five years. After five years
it has usually done its job and the student can then concentrate
on the more subtle methods.
Cathartic Dancing Meditation
changes you from head to toe and benefits all the other meditation
methods you practice. It also helps develop a powerful hara
center. I am reluctant to bring up the subject of kundalini
(see definition near the bottom of the page) because of the
common misrepresentations of its manifestations. I feel compelled
to inform you, however, that this physically vigorous meditation
method is the most powerful kundalini awakening technique
I know of. Cathartic Dancing Meditation has three stages and
lasts for forty minutes.
Stage #1
(ten minutes) Start by standing with your eyes closed and
breathe deep and fast through your nose continuously. If you
are only physically capable of doing deep breathing for five
minutes, then reduce the length of the first stage without
feeling guilty. Remember that you are doing this method to
help your meditation, not to physically injure yourself. Allow
your body to move freely as you breathe. You can jump up and
down, sway back and forth, or use any physical motion that
helps you pump more oxygen into your lungs.
Stage #2
(twenty minutes) The second stage is a celebration of catharsis
and wild and spontaneous dancing. Totally let go and act as
an ancient human being dancing in tribal celebration. Energetic,
nonverbal background music is recommended. African tribal
drum music works especially well. You may roll on the ground
and do strange spontaneous body movements. Allow the body
to move within the limits of not hurting yourself or others.
For once in your life screaming is encouraged. You must act
out any anger you may have in a safe way, such as beating
the earth with your hands. All the suppressed emotions from
your subconscious mind are to be released. If at anytime during
the second stage you feel that your energy level is starting
to decline, you can resume deep and fast breathing to give
yourself a boost.
Stage #3
(ten minutes) This stage is complete quiet and relaxation.
Flop down on your back, get comfortable, and just let go.
Be as if a dead man totally surrendered to the cosmos. Enjoy
the tremendous energy you have unleashed in the first two
stages and be a silent witness to it. Observe the feeling
of the ocean flowing into the drop. Become the ocean.
This spontaneous dancing
meditation technique is intended to grow with the student
and change as the student changes. After a few years of vigorously
practicing this method, the first two stages of the meditation
may drop away spontaneously. You may then begin the meditation
by taking a few deep breaths and immediately go deep into
the ecstasy of the third stage. If practiced correctly this
method is health giving and fun.
Almost all Westerners are
head oriented and emotionally repressed. For us a chaotic,
spontaneous, and emotionally cleansing technique like Cathartic
Dancing Meditation is vital for serious progress to be made
quickly. The physical benefits of this technique obviate any
need for hatha yoga or traditional kundalini yoga methods.
Cathartic Dancing Meditation is so multidimensional in its
effects and benefits that it deserves the designation of a
super-method.
I strongly recommend that
Cathartic Dancing Meditation and/or Rajneesh Dynamic Meditation
techniques only be used in combination with traditional quiet
sitting meditation methods. While the active meditation methods
can be very helpful, they are not complete systems in themselves.
If you rely on active meditation techniques alone you will
only be doing half of the internal work that needs to be done.
WARNING:
Obviously one must practice Cathartic Dancing Meditation in
a safe location and not near the edge of a cliff or on a hard
surface where one might fall and break one's skull. A large
room or hall with thick carpeting is good. Outdoors in the
early morning on a soft and well tended lawn with group participation
is best. Do it on an empty stomach and avoid falling into
dangerous objects such as windows. It is allowable to briefly
open one's eyes occasionally to maintain your location. Create
a safety zone around your dancing and spontaneous body movements.
Be courteous to neighbors and delete the screaming if it will
be heard by others.
Soul Awareness
This method is recommended
for those students who have practiced the other described
techniques long enough to gain a feeling of floating bodilessness.
If you cannot feel your subtle body you cannot practice this
method effectively. In the beginning, it should only be used
during formal sitting meditation sessions. Latter on, after
you have gained some progress with this method, you can use
an evolved version of this meditation while engaged in any
activity that does not require thinking or your full attention.
For example, you can practice it while walking in a safe location
away from highway traffic.
Begin this method by sitting
with eyes fully open. Softly gaze at a blank wall, or more
preferably, look out a window at a distant vista. With the
mind's eye (the eye of consciousness behind your body's purely
physical eyes) define your field of visual consciousness as
a circle. Imagine the top of your field of consciousness as
the 12 o'clock position on a clock and the bottom of your
field of consciousness as the 6 o'clock position. With your
mind's eye, not your physical eyes, slowly sweep your attention
clockwise from the top 12 o'clock position down to the 6 o'clock
position, then on to the 9 o'clock position and then back
up to the 12 o'clock position. Repeat this process in the
counterclockwise direction. Mentally strain to observe the
very outer edges of your visual field of consciousness where
the light of consciousness turns into the darkness of empty
space. Go on repeating this process until you feel you have
had enough.
This is a soul awareness
exercise, not an eye exam, and that is why it is recommended
only for students with a number of years of experience in
meditation. After practicing this method for some time one
can begin to transform the method into one of sudden expansion
of awareness. You can gain the ability to perceive the complete
360 degrees of the outer edges of your consciousness in one
jump. This feels like stepping back, literally out of your
own mind, and looking back into your mind from a close and
friendly distance. You become identified with the void and
space around the flame of consciousness and this makes the
flame grow even brighter. This truly esoteric method is difficult
to fully explain and there are aspects of it that you will
have to learn on your own through practice.
One discovers from this technique
that our visual field of consciousness is roughly football
shaped with greater width than height. This is because our
brains evolved out of a need to look for food and danger more
on the horizontal axis than on the vertically axis. To survive
you need to be aware of what is on your right and left more
than what is directly below your feet or above your head.
This soul awareness method has a deprogramming effect that
allows one to appreciate the play of existence as an ever
changing drama. You feel as if you are in it but also out
of it and beyond it.
Sweeping House
This easy technique is designed
to quickly sweep the clutter of thoughts from your mind. It
is one of my most favorite and enduring techniques and I am
continually amazed at how much it helps with so little effort.
It can be used just at the start of formal sitting meditation
sessions or you can continue repeating the method every ten
minutes during the meditation session itself to help keep
yourself properly focused.
Begin by placing both hands
behind your head with fingers interlocked. Rest your hands
at the point where the neck and head meet. Then quickly sweep
your hands over the top of your head. Imagine that your hands
are gathering up all your thoughts as they move across the
top of your skull. When your hands reach just below your forehead,
use a flicking motion as you simultaneously unlock your fingers
and throw your hands away from your face. Feel as if all of
your thoughts are being swept out of your head and thrown
out into empty space. Do this between ten and thirty times
as needed. While accomplishing the sweeping motion, feel that
your center of consciousness is dropping down from your head
to the hara center in your belly. Rest in your hara center
as you continue to meditate.
Sweeping House with
a Kicker
A variation of the sweeping
house technique is to add a breathing stage after the sweeping
stage is complete. Place your right palm (reverse hands if
you are lefthanded) on your forehead and place your left palm
on the back of the right hand. Now take 4 to 7 deep breaths
through the nose and feel as if you are drawing the air all
the way down to your belly. Fully exhale in a normal and relaxed
fashion after each breath. This breathing technique is not
yoga bastrika. It is ordinary deep breathing done with intensity
and fullness. After exhaling the last breath, sit motionless
a few moments with your hands still on your forehead. Cooperate
with any upward flow of energy you may feel. This energetic
method can be done every 10 minutes during an hour long sitting
meditation session to create a safe and effective kundalini
technique.
You can be creative
After you have become comfortable
with the meditation techniques individually you can learn
to incorporate them simultaneously to multiply their effectiveness.
For example, combining mirror gazing, hara awareness, the
soul awareness technique, and the use of the self-inquiry
incantation can be an extremely powerful super-method. There
are no rigid one size fits all meditation techniques. Follow
your intuition and let the methods evolve to fit your own
individuality. Don't take the time suggestions for methods
as rigid limits. If you desire to extend your meditation sessions
then go with the flow.
The wanting mechanism
What is one of the most important
factors in keeping us diverted from meditation in the here
and now? Look inside your mind and find the wanting mechanism.
The wanting mechanism continuously constructs images of new
experiences the mind desires, derived from memories of the
past. The mind becomes enamored with these new fantasy images
and is diverted from what actually is, here and now. The eternal
cosmic consciousness exists here and now, never in the future
and never in the past. Future and past are illusory and do
not exist in any real physical form outside of projections
of the mind. What exists now is everything, and you already
have it. You only need to become conscious of your own wealth.
Wanting is part of life,
creativity, family building, wealth creation, and the survival
instinct. In the sense of preserving the human race on planet
earth, wanting is a very good thing. In the sense of an individual
becoming an awakened Buddha, wanting is a hindrance. Wanting
creates duality, the wanter and that which is desired.
Not wanting means not wanting
anything, not just dropping the desire for sex, money, and
power, but also dropping the desire for truth, justice, family,
and nation. It is not what you want that matters, it is the
wanting mechanism itself that is the barrier. Deep meditation
is a giant leap beyond logic and the norms of society. It
is dissolving into infinity and oblivion and not coming back.
Very few humans have been able to manage that radical transformation
totally and that is why enlightenment will always be an extremely
rare phenomena.
If everyone in the world
suddenly became enlightened, in my opinion, the human race
would come to an end. There would be a lack of sufficient
desire to keep people motivated enough to have families, raise
children, grow crops, and protect society from all the natural
threats, from disease to ecological disaster. That said, I
certainly believe that enlightenment is a desirable goal for
those who really want it. But you can see the impossibility
of the situation. When you "want" enlightenment
your wanting mechanism is still active and enlightenment will
not happen to you. So we can breathe easy that everyone in
the world will not become enlightened, all at the same time,
anytime soon.
The need for meditation many
people feel is beyond normal logic and beyond the scope of
words to fully express. I can tell you that a key to experiencing
superconsciousness, from the moment you wake up in the morning
until the moment you fall asleep at night, is to step back
from the wanting mechanism. This stepping back is only possible
for those who have reached at least the fourth stage. Otherwise
you will not have the energy and clarity to see the wanting
mechanism and realize what is involved in turning it off.
You will suppress desires and live a false life because you
have not yet found the inner key, which is an intense form
of self-observation, not suppression. Therefore, in a way,
I am stating publicly that which should remain unspoken. If
you try to artificially stop wanting when you are in the first
body you will never reach the second body. Even in the third
body this method of not wanting will only slow your progress
because it will be a false effort.
I do not know how long it
takes for this process of stepping back from the wanting mechanism
to become 100% effective. As an ordinary student, I am only
now, after decades of effort, beginning to make any real progress
with it. I felt obligated to mention this esoteric topic because
this Web page was constructed to convey all of the best methods
and the most usable of the secret teachings. Ending the wanting
mechanism had to be mentioned and those who are ready for
that step will find that it brings time to a halt, annihilates
the future and the past, and expands consciousness to the
far reaches of the universe. It is a silent, inner explosion.
Ask yourself these questions.
1) If you want something,
how can you stop thinking about it?
2) If you don't want anything,
what is there to think about?
3) If you don't want anything,
is there anything to be angry about?
4) If you don't want anything,
is there anything to make you unhappy?
5) Rocks and other inanimate
objects do not want and do not suffer, but they are unconscious
and dead. How does a living human being enter a no-wanting
state while fully conscious and filled to the brim with life
energy? That is the incredible contradiction and difficulty
in becoming enlightened.
At some point on your own
noble path you will see very clearly that wanting is a barrier.
That realization may hit you suddenly like a freight train
(my blood is still on the tracks) or gradually creep into
your consciousness over time. Only when you see it clearly
on your own should you try to step back from the wanting mechanism.
Until that right time occurs you will be needed to save this
beautiful planet earth, to raise families, and to be good
citizens. Take meditation one step at a time. Do not try to
imitate the final steps into the abyss while you are still
at the foot of the mountain.
How long should I
meditate?
The time a person needs to
spend in formal meditation sessions to gain maximum benefit
depends on ever-changing individual circumstances. If you
are meditating with a group you will gain from the group energy
and go further with less effort. If you are fortunate enough
to be living close to an enlightened teacher you may be able
to absorb some of his high energy without any effort at all.
If you are meditating alone, without support from others,
you will have to do all the heavy lifting yourself.
My general recommendation
is that a single one hour long meditation session every day
is a minimum effort. Meditation only works for those who are
hungry for it and if you cannot spare that small amount of
time for meditation, you will probably not gain substantial
results. Most people will be helped significantly by meditating
just once a day. If you wish to go faster, with clearly recognizable
progress, then I suggest two or three formal meditation sessions
every day. A specific recommendation for young, physically
fit beginners would be to practice Cathartic Dancing Meditation
in the morning and one of the quiet sitting meditations at
night.
It is of paramount important
to practice mindfulness throughout the day. To be of any real
value meditation must become a full-time way of living rather
than a strictly segregated activity. Choose methods that make
you feel more positive. Meditation should be a form of cosmic
hedonism, not a penance one must perform as an obligation.
How long does it take
to become enlightened?
I have no idea how to answer
that question as I am just a fellow student myself. I do not
believe the old scriptures nor do I trust the word of pundits
and self-proclaimed “masters.” It may take 1 lifetimes
or 1,000,000 lifetimes.
Meditation is a pleasure
in itself and the healthiest approach is to enjoy the journey
without thoughts of gaining a pot of gold at the end of some
distant rainbow. Ask yourself who or what will reach that
imagined goal? If our petty little minds reach enlightenment,
then will we be enlightened at all? Thinking about goals takes
us further away from choiceless awareness, relaxation, and
ecstasy, and is thus counterproductive. It is best to fully
enjoy the journey of meditation without seeking any title,
credentials, or an ultimate brass ring that we can selfishly
own and brag about to others.
Things to do, things
to avoid, and things to consider
* Work in groups when possible
as group energy can multiply the energy of an individual many
times over.
* Remember that meditation is an escape to
reality, not an escape from reality. Avoid
any guru or group that asks you to deny truth.
* Don't limit yourself to just one teacher.
The single guru approach can lead to cult thinking
with its small mindedness and us
vs. them syndrome.
* Hatha yoga can make you more energetic and fit for long
meditation sessions, but do not take it too seriously or become
obsessed with extreme gymnastics. The easy and basic hatha
yoga exercises work best. Extreme kundalini yoga exercises
that involve fast breathing in bizarre positions may be dangerous
and are not recommended. Men should never sit with their heels
pressed behind the testicles, as some yogis instruct, as this
practice is unhealthful and can cause sterility.
* Having a separate room used exclusively for meditation can
be very helpful. It is possible to build up a vibration in
a room so that the moment you enter it your mind becomes silent
and ready to go deeper.
* Avoid fads and complicated philosophies that give your mind
more to think about. Meditation is a step beyond the thought
process. No philosophy can adequately describe man's place
in the universe. Concentrate on meditation in this moment
and not on ancient scriptures. Many old scriptures were written
by madmen and fools and have gained respect from society simply
because they are so old and dusty.
* It is essential to maintain a nutritionally adequate diet
without becoming a food fanatic. Most people find that a semi-vegetarian
diet supplemented with dairy products and eggs is generally
best for meditation, but not essential. If you have a medical
problem like hypoglycemia, you may have to eat meat just to
survive. Even the Atkins high fat, high protein diet is perfectly
compatible with meditation.
* Food should not be made the fundamental basis of your spiritual
practice. Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian yet his diet did not
save his soul or make him nonviolent. Most Tibetan lamas and
Asian Zen monks eat meat, so obviously meat consumption is
not a serious obstacle to cosmic consciousness. There is no
scientific evidence to suggest that a vegetarian diet extends
lifespan or improves health. To the contrary, nations with
the highest longevity rates, such as Japan, Sweden, and Australia,
are all populated by avid meat eaters.
Fasting is a waste of time and will weaken you physically.
Like taking LSD, fasting creates strangely entertaining short
term experiences, but produces no long term benefits and can
cause permanent neurological damage. When you fast your body
literally feeds upon itself. If your brain needs protein for
repair work, your body will be directed to eat away its own
own muscles, or worse, your own peripheral nerve cells. People
fast because their heads feel cluttered with thoughts and
they hope planned starvation will purify their minds. The
human body is made of mud, water and dirt, so the idea of
a perfect, spiritually purified physical body is misguided.
The way to end the cluttered feeling is to change the way
your brain and subtle body function, and this can only be
accomplished through real meditation techniques.
* I do not recommend solitary meditation retreats of longer
than 7 days duration. To maintain health one must eat a balanced
diet and get rigorous physical exercise every day. To maintain
full brain function one must also get mental exercise through
interaction with other human beings and through problem solving.
If you meditate in isolation for months or years your body
and brain will become deconditioned and atrophy. You may develop
strange hallucinations and delusions and come back physically
weaker, with a measurably lower IQ.
* Avoid drugs and alcohol. Carlos Castaneda was a talented
fiction writer who misled many people. Drugs are not an effective
path to enlightenment, but they are a quick path to misery
and insanity.
* Have sex when you wish and do not force
celibacy upon yourself in the hopes it will lead to enlightenment.
To meditate one must be in a very natural and relaxed state
of mind without repression or tension. Celibacy can only be
of value if it occurs spontaneously without effort or thought.
The majority of famous Eastern gurus who have claimed celibacy
publicly have practiced intercourse privately. Why make sex
a big secret and why have two faces? Many fully enlightened
humans have had sexual relations even after enlightenment.
There is no direct relationship between abstinence and spirituality.
* Do practice choiceless awareness (one object vision, mindfulness
etc.) throughout the day. Meditation must become as continuous
and spontaneous as breathing.
* Don't make meditation a competition and drop any hidden
agenda you may have to use it to control others. Legitimate
motives for meditation are the desire for tranquility and
ecstasy, freedom from suffering, and the pure adventure of
self-exploration.
* Don't turn your meditation into a business.
People who make a profit from intercourse have turned something
beautiful into something ugly. Those who make money from meditation
have transformed a noble path into a sordid back alley. Whether
you are a sexual prostitute or a spiritual prostitute, the
fundamental quality of your mind is the same.
* Be completely honest and have just one face, not
two.
* Meditation methods put direct pressure on the false self,
the ego. If you continue patient practice at some point that
false self will implode under the pressure, without warning
and without apparent and obvious method. 99.99% of people
who drop methods stop far too soon, thus bringing their progress
to an early end.
* For every action there is a reaction, not just in theoretical
physics but in ordinary human life as well. When you create
positive actions you will eventually reap positive reactions
for yourself and for others. In this way what we call ethics
and morality are woven into the very fabric of the universe
right down to the subatomic level.
Enlightenment
The fastest meditation method
is to live in the company of an enlightened human being. Enlightened
teachers can expand your consciousness without the slightest
effort on your part. All you need to do is to be open to the
spontaneous transfer of energy. Fully enlightened human are
very rare. There may have been as few as seven fully enlightened
teachers in the now past 20th century. I do not know of any
fully enlightened teachers still living today, but that does
not mean they do not exist. More enlightened souls will be
coming in the future and it is your challenge to find them
while avoiding the many fakes.
When it comes to teachers,
even fully enlightened teachers, take the best and leave the
rest. No human being has ever been perfect and without major
flaws and limitations. Only myths can give the illusion of
perfection and that is why most of society continues to worship
invented myths rather than accepting reality as it is, warts
and all. Enlightened humans are vastly expanded human beings,
not perfect human beings.
It is my educated opinion
that the traditional guru-disciple relationship is now passé
and inappropriate for Western students of meditation. The
East has always had an imperial and authoritarian model for
the teacher-student relationship. The West must develop its
own Jeffersonian model based on science and fact, not on myth
and tradition. Be a devoted disciple, but make your ultimate
guru the total cosmos itself, not just a single human teacher.
Use human teachers as temporary tools on your path to self-realization,
but do not allow yourself to become the captive servant of
one fallible human mind.
* Definition: kundalini (k¢n´de-lê´nê)
noun of Hindu origin. Physical and sexual energy that lies
dormant at the base of the spine is activated through esoteric
kundalini practice. This energy is directed through the kundalini
channel in the etheric body upward to the top of the head.
~ Christopher Calder
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Important
Note:
Opinions
expressed on this page must be viewed as the ideas of an ordinary
student of meditation. While I truly believe
everything I say, you should not believe anything unless you
see it, feel it, and know it for yourself. I make no claims
of infallibility. In fact I absolutely claim fallibility.
*
Remember that meditation is an escape to
reality, not an escape from reality. Avoid
any guru or group that asks you to deny truth. Take the best
and leave the rest.
* Don't limit yourself to just one teacher. It will always
be better to know different ideas before reaching any conclusion
or that what we call bilateral thinking,
always see things from different angle, different perspective.
The single guru approach can lead to cult thinking with its
small mindedness and us vs. them syndrome.
It
is a mind that is unprejudiced by religion, philosophy, and
cultural conditioning. It is going naked in the stars.
|
Cosmos
of Happiness
