Meditation

Meditation is a technique for creating a centre of stillness within you from which you can then allow the centre to grow as though becoming more and more imbued with light. People describe the source of the light in various ways, some say it is accessing the true self, or the higher self, or describe it as 'the source', accessing higher planes, or God. The essence is that you experience being at one with everything - or simply 'being'.
Although little is known to our logical Western minds on the subject yet, it seems there could be a link between the light sensed in meditation, and chi, vital energy or life force. Chi is similar under different names in many traditions - such as prana - Hindu; neutrinos - Tesler; mana - Polynesian; baraka - Islam; orenda - Iroquois; sa - Egyptian. There is also burgeoning evidence that it is linked to the light experienced in near death experiences.
Allowing Peace within
If you can, meditate regularly, the discipline of giving yourself 15 minutes once a day to begin with, developing to up to 30 minutes in the morning and evening helps to make it part of your life.
To evolve and expand we must seek peace. Meditation relaxes tension and the love we experience is redirected out into our environment - making us more capable, contented, joyful, peaceful - it can improve health and develop the capacity to receive guidance and help.
And best of all, something of all these qualities can be contagious and transmitted to the people we work with and live with.
There are many routes to accessing the light of peace, though most involve inner stilling and opening of the centres of light, below is a starting exercise.

Meditation to find inner contact with external being

• Preparation
  If working on your own, find a time when you have privacy and quite. Working with a group can increase the effects of meditation quite considerably. Make sure you are comfortable, any awareness of aches or pins and needles will detract you from your focus, but be aware that it is fine to move to a more comfortable position.
• Relax
  Close your eyes and sit in absolute stillness. Maintain an upright posture and straight spine - this allows for the sense of the energy flow up the spine. Relax the body, consciously relax each part of your body starting with the head, face and neck, and moving down.
• Ground and Protect
  As you relax more, feel your connection with the earth. Feel it through your feet to the base of your spine. If you like you can imagine roots descending from your root chakra at the base of your spine, finely growing and searching downwards, feeding from the goodness and stability of the earth. Imagine them growing stronger and wider as they reach further and further down to the centre of the earth to the nourishment of the deepest water and crystals there. And as your mind moves back up your roots, you find yourself surrounded by a beautiful blue cloak of protection, this cloak allows only the purest of light energies through, any others will be barred.
• Breathe
  Be aware of breathing the gentle rhythm in and out; in and out. Take 3 - 5 deep slow breaths exhaling steadily and fully. The deeper breath helps to change the rhythm of thinking, still s the self and allows the body to function on a good flow of oxygen. This increases efficiency of all the organs and calms the mind.
  Then watch the breathing happening on its own. It may grow more and more gentle. As the shift to stillness progresses and your mood becomes still, the deep meditation will lead you to cease to be aware of any breathing at all.
  If thoughts should come in, just let them come and let them go. Watch them float by - they only take hold if we respond to them - so watch them as though a bird had just flown into this private temple of yours, and having no place to rest, glides straight on by. Perhaps you can say to yourself "Calm ..." gently in your head with each breath that you breath out. Gradually you may want to add "Peace ..." for each breath that you breathe in.
• Stillness
  You are stilling your mind as you are stilling your breathe. There's no need to struggle with your thoughts, to do so gives them strength. With detachment just withhold response and watch them fade like smoke passing through the window.
  Continue to watch the breathing, (not doing the breathing), this gives you a positive alternative to the unwanted thought. You can view your breath watch as a positive affirmation, re-affirming life and bringing you into the present. There is no strenuous effort to force the mind to emptiness.
  Allow the stillness to rise through feet and limbs and through the body. You may sense, as the stillness enters your body, your connection with the earth where you can melt into stillness.
  Experience stillness, "Calm ... ", .... "Peace..." Then from the stillness there is a subtle shift to the experience of tranquillity.
• Tranquillity
  This tranquillity is associated with the heart and emotions, a soul experience as your heart centre opens and melts into tranquillity. Feeling the gentle rhythm of the breathing flowing through it, as if the heart itself were drawing in and giving out the life force.
• Peace
  Then we experience profound peace permeating the head, the thinking. Stillness - tranquillity - peace. Body - heart - mind. This is your creation of a temple of silence in the heart. The longer you can sustain this disengagement from mundanity, the greater will be your joy - it can approach "bliss consciousness", which leads the soul towards absolute being, beyond all events in our world.
• Light
  And now, you are ready to open yourself to other planes of light - to open yourself to the light from above. These other planes are of higher frequency or vibration, or spirit. The light of spirit is behind all physical forms, so this light will fill the space you have created through your inner stillness. And gently you can allow light to fill the dome of your inner temple - the top of your head, and flow down into the heart. A shaft of light flowing down the straight spine into the earth. And as the light passes the heart it is transformed and given out as love for all life. An outflow of love - the heart centre itself is breathing light.
• Expanded consciousness
  From your temple, brimming with light and love, you can, if you wish, begin to sense yourself rising. Rise gently, lighter than air, up through clouds and as you rise higher the clouds are thinner wisps, until you break through to clear sunshine with endless blue above. You have risen above all earthly concerns and bask in the radiance of beautiful sunlight. Here is wonderful peace. Here you can experience expanded consciousness. Your imagination is a wonderful tool that can lead you into contact with other, divine worlds.
• Healing
  From this space you can ask for healing for yourself or others, sending out light from four directions from the heart centre, north, south, east and west, as well as from above and below. Allow the light to flow through the room or the group, and spread. Allow healing and peace to be expanded in whichever way is of the highest intention and for the highest good. Stay in this space for a few moments.
• Return
  When you are ready, gently fall back into your body, carrying in your heart the glowing light and warmth of the spiritual sun. Close down the centres of light - these will have opened as you entered your stillness. Gently consider these centres, particularly your heart centre, brow, and crown, as though they were flowers closing to a bud.
  Now imagine yourself clothed in a robe of light, which protects you from unwanted thoughts and energies, this robe covers you from the top of your head to beneath your feet, encompasses the whole of your body, and the hood covers your face. Feel again the sensation in your body, the natural tension of the day and awaken to the room when you are ready.

This exercise can be downloaded.

Books that have helped with the writing of this page include: A Dictionary of Mind and Spirit - Donald Watson;
A Vision of the Aquarian Age - George Trevelyan

Next - The experience of meditation