"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
++++++++++
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
In New York City
Go to EVENTS,
or contact us for details:
Circle of the Free Spirit
Box 230316 Ansonia Station
New York, NY 10023
Bishop + Mark Aelred
MarkAelredCFS@aol.com
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This page: May 26, 2007
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