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1Meditation

“The eternal question that runs through life is this: What is truly valuable in thought, in activity, and in experience? Only from within can come a stable estimate of what is worthwhile.”

That which is valuable or worthwhile to us depends upon the direction in which we are growing. As that sense of direction changes, our values change. In the readings this life direction is referred to as an ideal, and a subsequent lesson in the Search for God material explores this concept in much greater depth.

An important statement from the readings is that we all have ideals even if we haven’t consciously set them. We judge certain thoughts, acts and experiences to be valuable because we have particular ideals.

Each individual entity, whether aware of same or not, sets before self an ideal in the material world, in the mental world, in the spiritual world.

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If we set our ideal in spiritual principles, we have a source of inner direction that is stronger than any outside influence. It is not that we refuse to listen to the ideas of others, but that our final decisions in life are based upon a standard that comes from within. The ideal becomes a measuring stick by which we are able to determine how we want to focus our energy and attention (physically, mentally and emotionally).

As a preliminary step to actually setting a spiritual ideal, it is helpful to many people to formulate a clear notion of what their ideals and life directions have been. An understanding of the past and present makes it more likely that we will choose an effective direction for the future. Even though you may never have carefully thought through what your ideals are, it will begin to be obvious to you if you complete the following exercise each day for a week: Before going to bed, write down those things that you did, thought or experienced during the day that you feel were valuable. For example:

1. I finished a report at work for which I was praised;

2. I was able to obtain two tickets to a play I’ve been wanting to see;

3. I had a good, leisurely dinner with my family;

4. I had a good prayer and meditation period.

At the end of a week you will likely see certain patterns in the items you have recorded. These patterns or recurrent themes will give you a clue as to the ideal you are living. If it doesn’t measure up to the highest that you know, it may be time to specify a spiritual ideal more in keeping with the direction in which you want your life to unfold.

Experiment: Take time at the end of each day to write down that which you thought, did or experienced during the past 24 hours which you feel was especially valuable.

“Prayer is the concerted effort of our physical consciousness to become attuned to the Consciousness of the Creator.”

Prayer and meditation go hand in hand. In fact, it might be said that one must learn to pray effectively before one can meditate effectively. The reason for this is found in an understanding of meditation as a twofold process. The first stage of the meditative process is the effort to awaken within the conscious mind an awareness that corresponds to the superconscious. The following diagram illustrates this:

In this diagram, the cross has been chosen as one symbol that can represent the awareness of our oneness with God. It has always existed as a pattern within the superconscious. In the first stage of meditation, we focus our attention on the spirit of a symbol (such as the words of an affirmation) so as to awaken within the physical, conscious mind that same awareness. This is precisely what we do in prayer: awaken and attune the conscious mind to the divine within. If we cannot pray effectively, if we cannot awaken within the physical consciousness this sense of our highest ideal, then we cannot move to the second stage of the meditative process.

The second stage of meditation is to hold in silence this awareness that has been awakened. In the words of the ancient Chinese book of meditation, The Secret of the Golden Flower, “that is the double method of making fast the enlightenment.”

When we first learn of meditation, our tendency may be to forget about or minimize our prayer life. Yet, if we are unable to awaken and attune the conscious mind to the spirit within, the period of stillness and silence of deep meditation will not bring the promised transformation. A separate time each day to practice sincere and effective prayer can be an important aid to our meditation life.

Experiment: As an activity separate from your meditation period, each day have a period of prayer (thanksgiving, confessional, petitionary, or whatever form you find meaningful that day).

“Individuals have found throughout the ages that preparation is necessary for deep meditation.”

“When we have cleansed ourselves in the manner that is to us the best, there will be no fear that our experiences will become so overpowering as to cause any physical or mental disorder.”

The energies that can be awakened in meditation are very powerful; and, as symbolized in the two-edged sword, these energies can be used for constructive or destructive purposes. Through our preparations for meditation we cleanse and attune the conscious mind and the physical body, making it possible for the energies to heal and uplift consciousness. By experimentation we must find the methods that work best for us. The criterion for judging whether or not to use a specific technique that we have tested should be this: “Does it stimulate within me a greater desire to know and serve God?”

For, each soul must come to know its own influence and that which is the most helpful. And if it calls then for self to cleanse the body without and within with pure water, or to fast, or to burn incense, or to set about self certain odors or colors of influences, then—as has been given—use these for thine own development, but be a seeker and a user of that which thou obtainest. For, not only the hearer but rather the doer gains, in its seeking through to the Infinite forces and influences.

Hence, whether it is desired from the experience to abstain from this, that or the other influence to obtain the better conditions in self, seek to know these—for thou art not dumb, my brother!

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Some individuals were told in their readings that the use of a particular technique or preparatory aid would be very important to their ability to meditate well. For example, one woman was told that she had learned deep meditation in an Egyptian incarnation where incense was used (2823-3). In her meditation life now, the use of incense apparently would recall the training the soul had experienced thousands of years earlier.

As we work with these tools, we must be careful not to become so attached to them that we forget our real purpose for meditation: to be one with God. We have lost the proper spirit if we refuse to meditate because we have lost our favorite record or have run out of our favorite incense.

Q-2. How can I use the astronomical, the numerical, the environs of the creations in the vibrations from metal, from stones, which influence me, to advantage in my present life?

A-2. As these are but lights, but signs in thine experience, they are as but a candle that one stumbles not in the dark. But worship not the light of the candle; rather that to which it may guide thee in thy service. So, whether from the vibrations of numbers, of metals, of stones, these are merely to become the necessary influences to make thee in attune, one with the Creative Forces; just as the pitch of a song of praise is not the song nor the message therein, but is a helpmeet for those that would find strength in the service of the Lord. So, use them to attune self. How, ye ask? As ye apply, ye are given the next step.

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Another potentially dangerous attitude is the belief that we can manipulate God—that if we do a certain regime of preparatory activities we somehow cause God to come to us in meditation. A more fruitful attitude is that the preparation or aid for attunement is an expression of the limited attunement we are already experiencing and of our desire for greater attunement.

You are in a material world. You are subject to the laws of same. When you are moved by full accord, use the intonations, the breathing, the posture; but let this be rather as an outgrowth of attunement than the purpose for attunement.

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Experiment: For your daily meditation period choose a specific aid for attunement or approach to preparation. Let it be something that you have not used in a regular fashion before (e.g., a specific chant, incense, exercise, music, method of cleansing, or abstinence from a particular activity). Complete this activity each day as a part of your meditation period and keep a record of your experiences in using it.

“Through the will we ask the mind of our physical bodies to cease its wanderings and center itself upon the ideal, which will be presented to the higher mind.”

Historically, man’s notion of the location within his body of consciousness and life has changed dramatically. At certain periods the heart was thought of as the focal point of human awareness; in other times, the liver. Medical research in the past one hundred years has shown the tremendous influence that the brain has upon the entire body, and so the tendency now is to localize consciousness within each cell of the body.

Meditate on the fruits of the Spirit in the inner secrets of the consciousness, and the cells in the body become aware of the awakening of the life in their activity through the body. In the mind, the cells of the mind become aware of the life in the spirit.

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Since a portion of the definition of meditation is the attuning of he physical body to its spiritual source, we need to be aware of the way in which the consciousness of every cell of the body can play a part. Every atom of the body can become a seeker and cooperate in the attunement process.

Hence there are those elements which if applied in a material way, if there is the activity with same of the spirit and mind, may bring into the experience of each atom of the body force or cell itself the awareness of the Creative Force or God.

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Experiment: At the beginning of each meditation period take a few moments to become aware that there is consciousness within each cell of your body. Suggest to or ask your body to join the mind and spirit in this period of seeking.

“As we, in meditation, open ourselves to the unseen forces that surround the throne of grace, beauty, and might within ourselves, let us throw around us the protection found in the thought of the Christ.”

In recent years the practice of meditation has become more and more widespread in the West. Many studies have shown the potential benefits of meditation for mental and physical well-being. Yet, one of the major criticisms still directed at meditation is the fear that a person can get in over his head, that demonic or injurious forces within the mind can quickly spring upon the unsuspecting beginner.

It is certainly true that we want to have our physical bodies in the best possible balance if we intend to work with meditation, in order to avoid the possibility of imbalanced experiences. We also would not want to encourage a person with severe mental disturbances to meditate. But assuming that we are relatively normal individuals, are there things we should fear about meditation?

As we begin to move in consciousness in meditation, we are likely to experience an expanded state of awareness. Often that expanded state offers us the chance to focus attention on long-forgotten events or very unusual images (sometimes fascinating, sometimes frightening). Our aim in meditation is to focus not on these things but upon the highest ideal that we have set.

The readings suggest a prayer of protection that we can use at the beginning of meditation. The protection that we seek is from (1) influences outside ourselves that would keep us from our highest ideal (e.g., telepathic influences from others, confusing communications from disincarnates), and (2) contents of our own subconscious minds that might lead us astray. Effective use of this prayer depends upon feeling and experiencing that protective, guiding influence offered by the Christ as we say these words:

Father, as I open myself to the unseen forces that surround the throne of Grace, Beauty and Might, I throw about myself the protection found in the thought of the Christ. (paraphrase of 262-3)

Experiment: Use the prayer of protection given in the readings at the beginning of each meditation period. Make a special point of experiencing the inner meaning of the prayer as you use it and not just saying it by rote.

“Two attitudes are essential: 1. A strong desire to seek truth. 2. A constant, consistent effort to move forward.”

One of the fundamental principles in the readings and in the Bible concerning our spiritual search is “Seek and you shall find.” We cannot expect the pattern of wholeness written within our unconscious selves to emerge in full expression spontaneously. What is required is a strong desire coupled with the use of the will to bring about necessary changes. The definition from the readings of the Christ Consciousness emphasizes the necessity to apply the will if we would have this pattern awaken.

Q-18. Should the Christ Consciousness be described as the awareness within each soul, imprinted in pattern on the mind and waiting to be awakened by the will, of the soul’s oneness with God?

A-18. Correct. That’s the idea exactly!

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The use of the will to bring about such an awakening cannot be a sporadic thing. Our desire to know the truth must include consistent, daily effort. The transformation of consciousness that comes from meditation is usually not a dramatic change but instead involves subtle shifts in awareness of ourselves and others. Like a newborn child, a new awareness is very delicate and requires frequent attention and nurturing if it is to survive and grow. In the words of The Secret of the Golden Flower:

“Children, take heed! If for a day you do not practice meditation, this light streams out, who knows whither? If you only meditate for a quarter of an hour, by it you can do away with the ten thousand aeons and a thousand births. All methods end in quietness. This marvelous magic cannot be fathomed.”

(Wilhelm, The Secret of the Golden Flower. p. 33)

Not only should we keep a meditation period daily, there are good reasons to keep the same time each day. The mind can be quickly trained to make alterations in consciousness at the same time in a daily cycle. Our most frequent experience of this principle is with the alteration of consciousness from sleeping to waking up each morning. By using an alarm clock for as little as a week to awaken at the same time each morning, many people can train themselves to wake up at that time without an alarm (especially if they have the desire to do so). By keeping a regular meditation time we train the mind to make more effectively the transition from normal, waking consciousness to the awareness awakened in deep meditation.

Experiment: Choose a specific time and place for meditation. Keep it each day.

“… for as we do it unto the least of our brethren, we do it unto our Maker. These are not mere words—they can be experiences, if we seek to know Him.”

One of the fundamental concepts in the readings is the unity of all life. We are each spiritual beings in the process of evolving in consciousness. We are all part of a fundamental oneness in which each part is valued.

In time and space we have all built thought patterns and habits that are inconsistent with this law of unity. Consciously we are quick to recognize these patterns and habits. They are frequently the things in others that irritate us, or the things in ourselves for which we feel dislike or shame.

Yet haven’t we all had the experience of seeing through someone’s bothersome characteristic because we loved the person? Love is often blind to the shortcomings of others. What we can awaken is a love that sees the purposefulness behind all that is, that sees the unity of life and appreciates the good (the God) in everyone. One reading says:

Know the first principles: There is good in all that is alive.

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The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung made a special point of emphasizing that it is often a part of ourselves that we find the most difficult to love and bring into this awareness of the wholeness.

“In actual life it requires the greatest art to be simple, and so acceptance of oneself is the essence of the moral problem and the acid test of one’s whole outlook on life. That I feed the beggar, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ—all these are undoubtedly great virtues. What I do unto the least of my brethren, that I do unto Christ. But what if I should discover that the least amongst them all, the poorest of all beggars, the most impudent of all offenders, yea the very fiend himself—that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness, that I myself am the enemy who must be loved—what then?”

(Jung, Collected Works, Vol. 11, p. 339)

Experiment: What people in your life do you think the least of? Write down the names. What parts of yourself do you think the least of? Write down those parts. Work each day on treating these people and these parts of yourself as you would treat God. Pray for these individuals and parts of yourself each day.

“Meditation is the emptying of ourselves of all that hinders the Creative Forces from rising along the natural channels of our physical bodies …”

“We put that desire [to know Him] into activity by purging our bodies and our minds of those things that we know, or even conceive of, as being hindrances.”

One of the most important teachings about man’s effort to know God is found in the analogy of the temple or the tabernacle worship in the Old Testament. The readings indicate that the worship in the temple was merely an outer projection of an inner process. We can think of the outer court of the temple as corresponding to the conscious mind; the inner court (or holy place) to the subconscious mind; and the holy of holies (where God was met face to face) to the superconscious mind. The body is truly the temple where we can meet God.

This analogy demonstrates an order of approach to the divine. We don’t leap directly into the superconscious when we meditate, any more than the entrance to the temple opened directly into the holy of holies. In the words of The Secret of the Golden Flower, “One must not wish to leap over everything and penetrate directly.”

We must first pass through the outer court and holy place within ourselves (the physical conscious mind and the subconscious mind), cleansing and letting go of attitudes and behaviors in these areas that would keep us from contacting that highest sense of life within.

Jesus driving the money changers from the outer court of the temple can be interpreted as a teaching about meditation: Any attempt to meet God within must begin with an effort to cleanse our physical consciousness as best we can. However, we must be careful in such cleansing that we do not merely get rid of something.

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, but he finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation.” (Matt. 12:43-45)

Instead, we want to replace or supplant the hindering condition or state of mind with something that is consistent with the spirit we seek to contact in meditation.

Experiment: Choose and write down one attitude, habit or physical condition which could be eliminated by conscious effort and which you feel may be a hindrance in your spiritual search.

Then decide on a constructive attitude or way of behaving that could replace that hindering one (and write down the replacement). Work each day on manifesting that replacement attitude or behavior. Record situations in which you are successful in manifesting this replacement attitude or behavior.