Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Meditaion

All of the harm, fear and suffering in the world are caused by attachment to the self: why should I hold on to this great demon?
~ Shantideva
On my journey, I determined that I was not my emotions. I realized that I was not my body, either. The question still remained, “Who am I?” The purpose of meditation is to train the mind so that we may see clearly through the layers of our own ignorance until the truth of who we are can be revealed.
If we look to The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, we find:
Remember these teachings, remember the clear light, the pure bright shining white light of your nature. It is deathless.
If we look to the Holy Bible in Luke 17:20, we find Jesus saying:
The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is’ or ‘There it is’, for behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

In Corinthians 3:16:
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

The following are basic beginning steps to meditation. If you explore, you will find that there are many approaches and depths to meditation. I encourage you to explore and practice as much as you can. Meditation practice is the vehicle that accelerated my journey on the path of knowing the truth of who I am, why I am here, and how I should live. I have taught the following techniques to many beginners, including my own teenage son. They have all reported great success.
Start by having a goal for your meditation. Focus the mind on being empty. It has been said that prayer is our way of talking to God and meditation is allowing God to talk to us. How many times were you told by your parents or teachers that you cannot receive new information or direction if you are talking or not paying attention?
Once you are able to maintain a quiet state of mind, then you can start working on other goals, such as clearing the mind of current or past negative emotions. Meditation is also the way to create affirmations for your future desires and goals.
Begin by selecting a quiet, calming space. Be sure to silence your phone, turn off your music, and dim the lights if you can. You may sit in a strait back chair or use a cushion and sit on the floor. The important thing is to use good posture. You must be able to comfortably keep the neck and spine in line for at least 15 minutes to start. If you are currently challenged with an injury that does not allow this, then lie down on the floor instead. Your back should be flat, and you should be facing up.
Begin breathing deeply. Take deep breaths in through the nose. Count slowly to nine as you inhale, pause for a count of one, exhale through the nose for a count of nine, pause for one, and then continue with the inhale. Continue this rhythm as you empty the mind of any thoughts except for the counting of the breath.
When you feel calm and relaxed and your mind is clear, start a visualization that applies to your meditation goal. For example, if I want to affirm my goal to be thinner, I would imagine myself thinner. First, question your intention. Do you wish to be thinner for the sake of your health? Do you wish to be thinner because you think people will like you better? What is your reason for desiring to be thinner? Your intention should be correct and truly for the good of yourself and/or all beings.
The visualization needs to be as strong as possible. Imagine every detail of your body and how it will look. You can even use an old picture of yourself when you were thinner to help support this work. On the other hand, your meditation goal might be to heal a part of your body that is ill. In this case, visualize a white light from within you going to the sick part of your body. Imagine this part of your body healing.
Empower your visualization with emotion. To illustrate this technique, I will use the meditation goals already mentioned. If I were doing the first meditation, I would evoke the emotions that I would be feeling if I were already thin. Basically, I am tying an emotion to the visualization. This is much like when we watch images on a movie screen that create emotional responses within us. If I were doing the second meditation, I might imagine feeling pain-free and the joy of being able to live a healthy life.
End your meditation with a feeling of thankfulness. Be thankful and know that your energy has taken root. Soon, with your nurturing, this energy will grow and be realized. The soil, the sun, and the water all nurture and support whatever seed is sown. If a gardener plants tomato seeds but prays day and night to the sun and earth to give him beautiful roses, his efforts will be in vain. Likewise, we can wish and hope and pray for a better life tomorrow, but we must plant the seeds for that new life today.
Once you have filled yourself with thankfulness, release your desire to a higher power. Do not feel that you have to hold onto it and think about it all the time to make it happen. This is attachment. It is like a child running to his mother crying because his shoe laces are knotted and he cannot untie them. He asks his mother to untie the laces. Of course the mother is happy to do this. All the child must do is give her the shoes. Instead, the child clutches the shoes tighter to his chest and drops to his knees crying louder and begging for her help. How ridiculous must that child look to his mother? So, like the child, we must let our desires go and have faith that the work is being done. Only revisit your desire in the time that you have set aside for your next meditation.
BASIC MEDITATION TECHNIQUE
1. Have a goal.
2. Create or find a quite space.
3. Use good posture.
4. Practice rhythmic, diaphragmic breathing in order to calm and clear the mind. The mind must be clear before you go any further.
5. Begin your visualization.
6. Empower the visualization with emotion.
7. Be thankful and surrender the meditation to a higher power.

Meditation led me to the truth of who I am. This truth is painfully difficult to express in words since they become limited and bound in the mind of the reader. How does one capture a sunbeam and give it as a gift? My true nature is energy and has the vibrational quality of pure love. This is simple enough, but I will try to elaborate for those that do not have the wisdom of this direct experience.
Our bodies are made up of billions of cells that are being created or dying each second. How do we feel about that? Most of us are pretty indifferent since it is the natural healthy process of the body. How do our cells feel about it? I have come to understand that my entire physical body is no different in the scope of all manifested material creation than the single cell within it.
No worries, though, because I am not my physical body. Instead, I am a spiritual ball of energy that is a "cell in the body" of the omnipresent energy consciousness. Sages and saints have given the omnipresent energy consciousness many different names. Some call it God. Others call it Allah. The yogis call it Om, and there are many more.
Whatever we call it, this energy cannot be created or destroyed. It was perfect in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Energy is present in all creation. So, since this is true, I understand that I am also a part of you, and we cannot be separated. We experience and test ourselves through one another and all creation.

3 Comments:

At August 30, 2007 at 12:28 PM , Blogger Carol said...

Padma: You are a breath of fresh air, and this is a wonderful way to get your message in circulation. Thank you for sharing your experiences and your insight. I look forward to reading the little jewels of wisdom you have to pass along. Carol

 
At May 19, 2012 at 10:04 AM , Blogger kenneth said...

made my day to meet you at whole foods~! kenneth a 240-421-2211 manygoodpeople@gmail.com

 
At May 19, 2012 at 10:04 AM , Blogger kenneth said...

made my day to meet you at whole foods~! kenneth a 240-421-2211 manygoodpeople@gmail.com

 

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