"I have recognized my Self and have gathered my Self from the + Four Quarters.
I have forsaken all darkness and am delivered from delusion.
O Child of Wisdom and Compassion!
You gather my members that once were scattered abroad,
and have led me to YOU --
THE ONLY ONE I AM."

- From The Yoga of the Christos

MEDITATION is helpful to many, and most every spiritual tradition and path teaches some form of meditation.

The purpose of meditation is to take us beyond our limited and limiting self-concepts and fixed ideas, and to re-link us to who and what we really are -- to our "true self" which is also "not-self". Meditation gathers together our scattered and fragmented selves and restores a sense of unity or oneness, and so has been described as the practice of "oneing".

Circle Bishop MarkAelred can suggest one or another method to get in touch with inner stillness, simplicity, and contentment. Some of them are described below.

Basic forms of meditation usually include an object of focus -- an image, a sound, or other sensation -- to redirect our attention away from our internal soap-operas. The most common sensation is that of one's own breathing.

MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING (From the Zen Buddhist Tradition)

Sit upright and relaxed. Close your eyes lightly, or keep them half-open gazing slightly downward with no particular focus. Instead, pay attention to your breathing. Breath normally. Breath in without thinking anything in particular, simply notice the breath. Breath out and count silently to yourself "one". Breath in, breath out "two". Breath in, breath out "three". Continue until you get to "ten", then start again at "one". When you lose count, simply start again at "one". Continue for 15 to 20 minutes. Allow the breath to change naturally, do not force any particular style of breathing. If you experience discomfort or difficulty, do not force the practice. Stop and resume when it is comfortable. After the practice, take two or three minutes to open your eyes, and ease glently into activity. (This is but one of many variations of the mindfulness of breathing.)

MANTRA MEDITATION

A sound used in meditation may be a word or phrase with or without conceptual meaning. In Buddhism and Hinduism, such sounds or words are often called mantras. They may be chanted out loud, or silently within one's mind and heart. Silent meditation on a mantra may also involve meditation on the breath, although one may meditate on a mantra without the breath, or on the breath without a mantra. Here are some examples:

Christian Meditation (as taught by Benedictine monks John Main and Laurence Freeman)

"Sit down. Sit still and upright. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed but alert. Silently, interiorly begin to say a single word. We recommend the prayer-phrase 'maranatha'. Recite it as four syllables of equal length. Listen to it as you say it, genetly but continuously. Do not think or imagine anything -- spiritual or otherwise. If thoughts and images come, these are distractions at the time of meditation, so keep returning to simply saying the word. Meditate each morning and evening for between twenty and thirty minutes." (From The Way of Unknowing, by John Main. HIghly recommended.)

Mantra Meditation with the Breath (Found in various traditions)

Sit upright and relaxed. Close your eyes lightly. Breath normally. Breath in without thinking anything in particular, simply notice the breath. Breath out and think your mantra*. Continue this way for 15 to 20 minutes. Allow the breath and the mantra to change naturally, do not force any particular style of breathing or thinking of the mantra. If you experience discomfort or difficulty, do not force the practice. Stop and resume when it is comfortable. After the practice, take two or three minutes to open your eyes, and ease glently into activity.

*When thinking your mantra, listen to it as you say it within the silence of your heart. Don't block out other thoughts, sounds, or sensations. Simply keep returning faithfully to your mantra when you notice you are not thinking it. You may need to try out several mantras before finding one that is best for you. Once you do, try to stay with this same mantra. The longer you stay with the same mantra, the deeper it takes root in you, and the deeper will be your meditations. Although a mantra may have a conceptual menaing, dwell more on (or in) the sound or feeling of your chosen mantra.

Most traditions recommend that you never change your mantra. Although it is good advice to not keep switching from one mantra to another, each person must judge for themselves what is best for them. Like the Sabbath, mantras "are made for humanity", not the other way around. Here is a list of some traditional mantras (spelled phonetically where necessary):

"AH-DOH-NAI" (Qabala tradition -- meaning "Lord")

"YOD-HEA-VAU-HEA" (Qabala tradition -- Divine name, "I Am That I Am")

"MA-RA-NA-THA" (Christian tradition, Aramaic, meaning "Lord, come")

"JE-SUS" or 'YE-HO-SHU-AH" (Christian tradition. Divine name, esoteric meaning "I Am Liberates")

"LOVE" or "ONE" (Universal mantras; shown here in English)

"RAM" (Vedic Yoga tradition -- primal sound refers to the element Fire, the True Self, the Point or singularity of creation, also the Vishnu Avatar of active goodness. "RAM is one, and only one." -- The Orange Book, by Swami Shantinand Saraswati)

"OM-MA-NI-PA-DME-HUM" (Tibetan Buddhist tradition -- refers to the Jewel in the Lotus, and to the
Bodhisattva of Compassion)

"SO-HUM" (Yoga tradition -- the natural mantra of breathing; also meaning "That I Am" or short for "Sivo-Hum" or "Shiva I am"); described below.

"SO-HUM" Meditation (Vedic Yoga tradition):

Sit upright and relaxed. Close your eyes lightly. Breath normally. On the in-breath think the sound "so", on the out-breath think the sound "hum". Continue this way for 15 to 20 minutes. Allow the breath to change naturally, do not force any particular style of breathing. If you experience discomfort or difficulty, do not force the practice. Stop and resume when it is comfortable. After the practice, take two or three minutes to open your eyes, and ease glently into activity.

AFFIRMATION, PRAYER & VISUALIZATION

The purpose of most meditation pratices is to take you beyond your conditioned ego and emotions on a path of self-emptying, letting-go and "unknowing" -- a via negativa.

Affirmation practice is similar but different. Unlike meditating on the breath or a mantra, one dwells on and internalized the conceptual or verbal meaning of an affirmation. Affirmations are more like a via positiva -- a path that builds up spiritual strength and positive emotions. Affirmation is talking to one's subconscious mind in an attempt to reprogram it. In fact, we are affirming -- sending messages to our subconscous -- all the time. The problem is, we often affirm that which is negative or harmful. We send ourselves thoughts of our own or others' unworthiness. Affirmation practice includes becoming conscious of what we tell ourselves, in order to begin to send ourselves, and others, suggestions and messages that increase positive emotions like happiness, contentment, and generosity.

There are many books on affirmations. New Thought and New Age philosophies and movements, including Unity and the Science of Mind, are known for their use of affirmations.

Prayer, as commonly understood, involves individuals talking to a God or a Higher or Other Power outside themselves. The creature petitions the Creator, for example. The devotee sings praises of a divine avatar or holy figure, whether Krishna or Christ, Mary or Isis. Or one pays homage to a Buddha or Bodhisattva, like Kuan Yin, the Bodhisattva or Goddess of Compassion.

Prayer is a relationship, and so takes place on the level of duality -- but it is a duality of love that leads to Unity. Like affirmation, prayer uses, rather than abandons, the emotions to arrive at the same place of self-emptying and transcendence. Prayer can affirm and connect us to the universe that surrounds us andto the higher self within us. People often pray for material benefits, and perhaps this may even be effective. But a well-know saying admonishes us to be careful what we pray for -- we might get it. The Gnostic way is to pray for wisdom and compassion. Ultimately, all else is vanity.

A few simple prayers and affirmations are:

"God is -- I Am" or "I Am -- God Is" (divided between the in-breath and the out-breath, as taught by Unity minister Eric Butterworth)

"May I be well and happy. May all beings be all beings be well and happy." (Buddhist)

"Lord Jesus Christ have Mercy on me" or simply "Jesus Mercy" (Christian)

"Namo Amida Buddha" or "Namu Amida Butsu" (Japanese Pure Land tradition, meaning: Homage to the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life)

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done!" (Christian. The prayer of Jesus)

"Lord, make me an instrument of Your Peace..." (Christian. The prayer of Saint Francis)

Visualization may be used in conjunction with affirmations, prayers, and mantras. It is found in many traditions, including the Western Esoteric and Hermetic traditions, Qabala, and New Age religions.

A simple practice is to visualize or imagine the movement of light in connection with the breathing. More complex practices, such as are found in Tibetan Buddhism, involve imagining a particular Buddha or bodhisattva and ultimately dissolving the image within the space of the mind.

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, by Sogyal Rinpoche and Andrew Harvey, describes the use of visualization with mantra and breathing meditation, and suggests that Christians visualize images from their own tradition.

Gnostic and Christian Qabalistic meditation and visualization practices may be found in The Gnosis of the Cosmic Christ by Tau Malachi and at the website of the Sophian Fellowship: www.sophian.org

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Our regular Gnostic Study Group gets together to explore ancient Christian and Gnostic traditions and their relevance today.

All sincere seekers of Gnosis and Sophia are welcome!

GNOSTIC STUDY GROUP
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