Knowledge of Immortality

I know there is a universal Spirit of which my own awareness is an integral part. I know this Spirit consists of joy and love. I know these things because I also know my body must die and dissolve, and that part of my consciousness that depends upon support from the physical body must pass away.‏

Knowing my physical mortality allows me to accept the inevitability of physical death and move past it.  It is insane to fear the inevitable.  Still, even calm acceptance of mortality is far from the exuberance of joy and love. If physical existence were all we had, then the sure knowledge that life is limited would be sobering, if not saddening. 

Yet in meditation, and any time that I sense my connection with Spirit, joy and love are all that I feel.  These cannot have their source in the body or the mind that depends upon it. They can only emanate from a Source that is eternal, omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.  That Source is Spirit, God, Life, or Oneness . . . I am, the unnamable.  Mortality does not dampen my enthusiasm for Life because I am an individual manifestation of this universal Spirit.  I am as immortal as God Itself, because God and I are one.

The God In You, the God In Me: Love Without Attachment

The God In You, the God In Me: Love Without Attachment

Focus on Spirit

Place your entire attention on Spirit, and no harm can come to you.

Have you ever noticed that when you are completely absorbed in a thought or an activity, other concerns disappear?  The egoic mind uses this phenomenon to distract us from Spirit.  However, you can turn the tactic around by concentrating on Spirit.  When you do, all worldly fear, pain, and distress vanish.  The bliss that is found in meditation is like a light banishing the darkness.  Mind, body, and soul become attuned to the harmony of the Universe, which naturally expels negative thoughts and attitudes, and the physical and mental ills that they produce.

Banishing Fear and Insecurity

Some people live closely guarded lives, fearful of encountering someone or something that might shatter their insecure spiritual foundation. This attitude, however, is not the fault of religion but of their own limited understanding. True Dharma leads in exactly the opposite direction. It enables one to integrate all the many diverse experiences of life into a meaningful and coherent whole, thereby banishing fear and insecurity completely.

- Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Wisdom Energy"

Defining Prosperity

If you define prosperity as having everything ego wants, you can never be prosperous.  If you define it as having what Spirit needs, you are likely to find you are prosperous already.

Equanimity

Equanimity and mindfulness go hand in hand.  The person who is totally aware of his environment but unable to view it with detachment may go insane.  But equanimity without mindfulness may be no more than avoidance and denial.

By practicing both mindfulness and equanimity, you are able to face your fears and demonstrate that they have no power over you.  You can experience chaotic conditions and view the panicked reactions of others without being infected by that virus yourself, enabling you to deal calmly and successfully with the situation. You can enter into unfamiliar surroundings in full confidence that you will be able to handle anything you encounter. You can refuse to take on other people's problems as if they were your own, and compassionately allow solutions to emerge naturally. You can distinguish between situations requiring action and those that are purely ego-generated distractions. Anxiety fades as you rest in the awareness that you and all beings are perfect and invulnerable children of God.  Your "comfort zone" expands to fill your entire Universe.

Namaste

Illness

Illness is not a demon to be cast out, but a misperception to be lovingly corrected; a darkness to be gently illuminated; an emptiness to be filled with gratitude and Grace.

Love and Self-Love Redux

Some time ago I blogged that Selfless Love Is Self-Love. Yesterday I tweeted that "You cannot love yourself unless you realize that there is no self." Both postings attempt to describe the same truths, but the tweet seems to call for some more explanation.

On the level of human relationships, it is a truism that you cannot fully love another if you are unable to love yourself. People who have not come to terms with their demons and accepted themselves as perfect children of God will prefer to crtiticize and stand off from others, rather than embracing their humanity along with their innate divinity. In the realm of spirituality you must identify and worship the God within yourself in order to be able to see and revere the same animating spirit in other beings. In both realms, as long as you hold back from loving yourself you may experience a sensation that you think is love for others, but is really simply attachment born of insecurity, a felt need to supply from external sources something that is seen to be lacking in yourself. Spiritual love, on the other hand, grows out of the mutual awareness of our essential perfection. The Dalai Lama has been quoted as saying: "The best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other."

At this point yesterday's tweet intersects the other tweet I posted yesterday: "The purpose of yoga is awareness; the purpose of awareness is compassion; and the purpose of compassion is Oneness." Yoga - a term which refers to all forms of spiritual practice - is directed at achieving the recognition of the divine Spirit within yourself. Because it is intensely introspective it may lead the practitioner to isolate himself, sometimes physically (the hermit) and sometimes emotionally, from others. Great teachers caution the student, however, not to allow this self-absorption to be taken over by the ego (when it expresses as narcissism), nor to allow it to become an end in itself. If those things happen, then awareness will not come. Recognition of the God in ourselves is the first step in spiritual rebirth, not the last. The glowing lotus which blossoms at the center of your being at the moment awareness is achieved is not the sole point of light in the Universe. To the contrary, its illumination is cast in all directions and soon unites with the light of infinitely many other souls.

Introspection thus leads to awareness, not just of your own divinity, but also of the divinity of all other beings. Hence awareness leads to compassionate connection, in which the Spirit in you reaches out in yearning to touch and be absorbed in the universal Spirit which is no more nor less than the vibrational energy of the entire Universe, that of which individual souls are manifest. It reaches out, not only to others who have attained the same awareness, but even more so to those who have not. It seeks to cast its cleansing light into the dark places within you and within others where Love has not yet penetrated; to release the phantom demons chained there, and to free every individual manifestation of Spirit from the illusion of separation.Humility is another outgrowth of complete awareness, because the individual recognizes himself as no different from any other.

Inevitably, the continued practice of awareness and compassion lead to the internalized realization that all beings are one; that the entire Universe is a single vibrational energy in which our individual existence is simply a localized illusion. As long as we persist in human form this realization requires constant reinforcement, because our experience seems to deny it and our egos resist it. Reinforcement takes place as we return to the practice of yoga, the source of awareness, and to compassion, the awareness of our coexistence in the Universal Mind of God. Thus, the loss of self is part and parcel of the experience of pure universal Love.

Complementing Meditation with Mindfulness

In the realm of spirituality, Truth is evident to the self-realized individual. For the rest of us, however, the quest for Truth sometimes seems to be a multiple-choice test in which every question has several equally appealing answers. Of course each of us wants to encourage within ourselves thoughts and actions that will guide our footsteps along the way of Truth. But how are we to know which of the infinitely branching paths before us will take us in that direction?

As I blogged yesterday, meditation is one tool we can employ to help us make choices that are consistent with our highest aspirations. However, we can't always take time out to meditate over every decision that life presents us with. Fortunately, we can complement our meditation practice with other practices that are equally conducive to "right action".

The main complement to meditation is mindfulness. Mindfulness is awareness; awareness of one's surroundings, including one's physical body, of the thoughts and actions of others, and of the workings of the mind. Whereas meditation often requires us to isolate ourselves from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, mindfulness flourishes in that environment. Meditation requires stilling the mind and turning within to the Source of all wisdom. Mindfulness, on the other hand, allows us to draw on the store of wisdom accumulated through our meditation practice and put it to work in the active part of our lives. Beyond that, mindfulness permits us to look to other equally valid Sources outside our individual beings. Where meditation involves single-pointed focus on Spirit, mindfulness requires us to perceive Spirit in every object and occurrence within the range of our perception.

I recognize that I -- the essential I -- am an individual manifestation of Spirit, or of Universal Mind, and as such I have access to unlimited Truth at all times and in all places. Yet not all of that Truth is to be found within. Each other person and thing that I encounter in this energetic Universe is a unique manifestation of Spirit equal to myself. We all have the same Source and ultimately, we are the same energy and the same Truth. Yet each of us illustrates Truth in a way that is different and special. If I pay attention only to the wellspring of Spirit at the center of my own being, I will miss the opportunity to access a more complete experience by bathing in the emanations of Spirit that are occurring all around me.

In meditation, I open myself to the direct experience of Spirit at a soul level. By mindfulness, I open myself to experience Spirit through its myriad manifestations in the Universe that surrounds me. Like Arjuna beholding Krishna in his God-form, through mindfulness I stand in awe at the infinitely detailed manifestation of Spirit. This also constitutes focus, but of an entirely different sort - the focus on Oneness as expressed in the manifold phenomena of existence.

Right action implies interaction with the physical Universe and with other individuals. In order for those interactions to contribute to the positive evolution of Spirit in this Universe, I must be aware of many things. I must see my surroundings clearly, free of the haze of ego and the distoring lenses of memory and anticipation; in other words, I must perceive only the present moment. I must accurately assess the thoughts and needs of others as manifested in their own actions. Most importantly, I must keep firmly in mind the principles and guidance I have received in meditation and from the great teachers. I must endeavor to maintain access at all times to that channel of wisdom first opened in meditation, so that when my own powers of observation, reasoning and compassion fail me, I may turn to Spirit to guide me in a positive direction.

Mindfulness, then, extends the awareness of Oneness with All That Is developed through meditation into the sphere of daily life. It is the only practice by which we can keep Spirit always in view while coping with the requirements of secular living. It can be considered meditation by action - the expression in thought and deed of the awareness developed through communion with the Divine.

Where Does This Stuff Come From?

If you asked me where my blog postings come from, I would be hard pressed to give you a satisfying answer. Usually I will have been turning over in my mind some everyday problem or situation that I have faced, or observed in someone close to me. These tend to be issues involving social interactions, the give and take among individuals. I put myself in the place of a student asking a question of his Teacher: What is the right action in this situation? Not "right" in a moral sense, but "right" as the Buddha used the term -- What action will lessen suffering, and bring me closer to the dharma? A Christian might ask the very same question this way: "What would Jesus do?" (I do not consider myself either a Buddhist or a Christian, nor do I identify with any particular set of religious beliefs, believing rather that what is true in any of them arises from a single source and is the same in all.)

I know that when I have formulated a question like this, and then still my thoughts in meditation, the answer will come to me quickly and of its own accord. It is not necessary or even helpful for me to try to puzzle out the solution in my own mind. My mind is just an individual manifestation of Universal Mind, the God-Mind that knows the answers to all questions before they are asked. All that is necessary is for me to be receptive to guidance, and guidance will come. Often it does not come to me at first in words, but as a non-verbal concept, an awareness that the solution has been with me all the time. If I think the question and its resolution will be helpful to others, I will often sit down and try to put in into words. More accurately, I will sit down and allow words to flow through me onto the keyboard or the writing tablet. Most of my blogs are written at a single sitting and in a short time, with only minor editing after the fact. I consider that the words, like the guidance they describe, are provided to me by Universal Mind, of which my own intelligence is only a messenger.

I find myself adopting this approach in more and more situations in everyday life. Every teacher I have found -- from Lao Tsu to Ernest Holmes, Joel Goldsmith and Adyashanti -- emphasizes that Truth is from God, however that Source may be called in that teacher's particular tradition. God knows our needs before we ask; what is the point of asking God for anything? We attract, or channel, into our individual existence those things that occupy our attention. If our desire is to live a God-centered life, then God must be at the center of all that we think and do. Whether I am deciding what to eat for breakfast, driving on the freeway, overhearing office gossip, or watching television, my thoughts and actions must be consistent with God's Will, which is Love. The answer to "what should I do?" in literally every situation is, "Love." If Love is the guiding principle of your existence, then everything else will flow as naturally and clearly as a spring-fed mountain stream.

Evidently, then, the guidance that flows through me is not attributable to some unique source to which only I have access. In fact, that Source is available to anyone, at any time, and in all places. It can be called God, or Spirit, or Love, or by countless other names in countless tongues; but it is simply the Voice that comes to you when you set aside egoic mind -- the small self -- and allow Universal Mind -- the Higher Self -- to speak to you. Blogging serves a purpose for me, because it allows me to formulate in concrete form the nonverbal guidance that I receive. I hope also that it may serve a purpose for others, by reminding them of their own access to the Source of all wisdom, and the means of accessing that Source through Meditation.

Is Life Bittersweet?

A friend recently commented that “life is so bittersweet.” This friend rarely makes such observations casually, so I know it followed some period of reflection on his part. So I had to reflect on whether I agreed with his statement.

Of course everyone experiences moments of joy and moments of sadness in the course of a lifetime. Life taken as a whole has its times of sweetness and of bitterness. But the idea that life itself is bittersweet means more than that. Most of us would think of a bittersweet moment as one in which happiness and sadness are felt simultaneously, and probably from the same cause.

Transitions are often experienced as bittersweet. The passing of an aged relative or good friend causes grief mingled with the reliving of happy times spent with that person. A new job may present an invigorating challenge and the optimism of a fresh start, along with regret for friends left behind, or doors of opportunity left unopened.

We are always at choice in life, even if we are not always aware of it. Every day we make an implicit choice either to continue as we have been, or to move in a different direction. The more mindful the individual, the more choices he or she must make. Sometimes these choices are easy, and sometimes agonizingly difficult. Almost always, a choice requires us to weigh pros and cons, to decide whether the benefits of one course of action outweigh its costs, as well as the net benefits of alternatives. If we decline an opportunity for change, we may later feel that what we held onto was not worth as much as what we might have had. Conversely, if we opt for change, there may be moments when we look back with regret at what we gave up.

Our feelings at these times of reflection on past choices – whether those choices were made consciously or by default – can often be described as bittersweet. These mixed emotions are very much a part of the human condition. They are due to the mind’s ability to remember past events (though not always accurately) and to compare them with present conditions; and even more importantly, to indulge in “what if” fantasies and second-guessing.

Most of this mental activity is pointlessly self-destructive, because it leads to suffering over roads not taken and things that cannot be changed. It can be ascribed to the ego’s insecurity: “I am not good enough, I could have been better (or happier) if I had chosen differently.” Ego can never be satisfied because ego lives in a fantasy world where total and immediate gratification is just tantalizingly out of reach – available to everyone else but not to the ego’s self. Ego believes it is entitled to this gratification without effort, and blaming the past for the lack of gratification in the present is a way of avoiding responsibility for the choice to continue in an unhappy condition rather than to do something about it. This infantile attitude serves the ego’s purpose to keep it’s own needs in the forefront and to divert attention from the open door of the soul.

Buddhism teaches that attachments give rise to suffering. Pleasure leads inevitably to pain, because the ego forms an attachment to the pleasurable experience, and suffers when that experience is withdrawn. We (that is, our egos) also become attached to anticipated pleasures, that we somehow feel are owed to us, and that we rely on like a drug to provide the illusion of present enjoyment. Whether the thought is a memory or an expectation, we dwell on it because it provides an ersatz enjoyment in place of the pleasure that the ego cannot access in the present moment – that is, in reality. Eventually we must endure the suffering that attends the realization that the experience is not real. The observation that life is bittersweet is a description of this process by which pleasure is created, only to be transformed into pain.

The mindful individual knows the difference between now and not-now, and knows that only the now is real. He can experience pleasure without becoming attached to the experience, because he knows that all worldly experiences are transient. He does not daydream about events remembered or anticipated, because he is totally absorbed in the present moment, the experience that is happening now. One who is aware of the now in this way cannot deceive himself that it can remain unchanged, or can be preserved to be called upon at will in the future. He is able to experience genuine happiness in the present. His enjoyment is not curtailed by the fear of loss, because what is inevitable cannot be feared. He may experience sadness, but never regret or despair.

Ultimately, he comes to the realization that there is only one genuine experience, which is the experience of Love. His awareness becomes “one-pointed.” He abandons dualism and sees that “not-Love” is not the opposite of Love, but only its absence; a shallow emptiness that can be obliterated by pouring into it the Love that comes from the inexhaustible Source of All That Is, leaving no trace of its passing but only the irreducible Truth of Oneness.

By experiencing the Allness of Love – its “isness” as the primordial essence of which the Universe is formed – he is able to perceive and participate in the Love that is present behind each of its individual manifestations. Then he will no longer experience bitterness, and only sweetness will remain: the calm satisfying sweetness of resting in the pure awareness of universal Love.

Let Every Thought Include a Blessing

Never forget that mind is a tool to be used lovingly. If you do not use it lovingly, then ego will use mind for its own purposes. There is no time of day or night - whether you are working, meditating or playing, interacting with others or alone, that your experience cannot include love. One way to accomplish this is to let every thought include a blessing. If you are thinking of another person or group of people, bless that person or group. It does not matter whether these people are close to you, think kindly of you, or even know you. It is your own role in bringing love into manifestation that concerns you. If you think of an animal or an inanimate object, bless that also. If your thoughts are abstract and metaphysical, bless those concepts that flow through your consciousness. You may find yourself blessing people whose actions seem the very antithesis of love; or ideas that seem dangerous and evil. You may bless diseases and unhealthy spiritual conditions. Your goal is not to promote unloving actions or ideas, nor even to change them, but simply to bring the light of spiritual love to bear on them. They may change or even vanish, not because of your intention, but rather because their illusory nature cannot stand up to the abiding Truth that is Love. Shining light into darkness exposes the insubstantiality of darkness and the power of light. This is simply your perception of a natural law that always existed. There never was evil, or hatred, or disease; these were merely phantoms awaiting the light to dispel them.

For the last week or so I have had The Prayer of St Francis running through my head almost constantly. I was reminded of it again when I heard of Ron Roth's transition; and when I re-read Joel Goldsmith's The Art of Spiritual Healing. Each of these teachers emphasizes that we serve Spirit best when we acknowledge its power and stand out of the way. It is not our blessings that we shower upon the just and the unjust, but the blessing of Spirit to which we offer ourselves as willing instruments. If we seek to heal, then we must open ourselves as channels through which Love can flow into the manifest world. This is not meant to be a passive approach, but only the acknowledgment that without Spirit we are powerless. As instruments of Spirit, however, we can participate in the manifestation of profound goodness and the operation of boundless Love.

self awoke

self awoke in darkness,
troubled and alone.
to emptiness spoke desperately,
"make me better!"
silence followed.
from which Self replied,
"you are."

We Are At Choice

Every moment of our lives we are at choice. Mindfulness is essential not only to making right choices, but even to being aware that choice is possible.

Here are some of the fundamental choices we cannot avoid making in our everyday lives --

• The choice between acting (or not acting) out of love or out of indifference

• The choice between giving our best effort, or doing just enough to get by

• The choice between cherishing our bodies as temples of Spirit, or trashing them

• The choice between generosity and miserliness

• The choice between faith and fear

• The choice between teamwork and competition

• The choice between openness and isolation

• The choice between compassion and hatred

• The choice between Spirit and ego
  

• The choice between awareness and denial

• The choice between Oneness and separation

• The choice between mindfulness and unconsciousness

Even saints are human and don't make every choice in the way that brings them closer to Spirit. All that we can ask of ourselves is to remember that every action is a choice, and to take the time to understand just what our choices are.

The good news is that, like most things, this process becomes easier with practice. Practice staying awake, practice recognizing your choices, and practice making those choices that are consistent with your chosen Path. Finally, practice forgiving yourself for those instances when you stray.

Namaste.

Act Out Your Intention

If you experience a problem and only visualize the problem going away, you are missing an opportunity. Spirit may take the problem away, but not necessarily in a manner you would expect or appreciate. At best, you will be free of that particular problem but you will have added nothing positive to your experience. If you visualize yourself finding a solution, and then focus your efforts in that direction, you will become an active part of the process of manifesting the solution. This will bring your intention into alignment with the operation of Spirit, and your consciousness into closer harmony with All That Is. You are likely also to come to a solution that more completely fulfills your goals and needs as you participate in directing the flow of Good in your life.

Don't just go with the flow, be the flow.

Are We Responsible?

Joel Goldsmith emphasizes again and again that all power comes from God, and that human beings have none in their own right. This is consistent, with minor differences in terminology, with the teachings of most sages. How, then, are we who are still stuck in individuality to take responsibility for our own lives, our fates, and our spirituality?

One answer is that, while we as individuals are powerless, as individual manifestations of Universal Spirit we are all-powerful. The realization that all power flows from God is just a half step away from the realization that nothing, including ourselves, exists but in God. When through meditation we come to the secure conviction that we -- and all things -- are manifestation of the God-force, then it becomes possible to accept that the power of which we were made still forms the essence of our being.

Another way to visualize these principles is to recognize that power alone is meaningless; that only power coupled with intention is capable of shaping the God-stuff of All That Is into a Universe of stars and planets, matter and energy, stones, plants and animals.

Our individualities are created, not just of power, but of intention as well. We are blessed not only with the power of God, but also Its creative Intention. We are capable of directing the flow of events in our Universe by exercising that holy Intention to instruct the omnipresent divine power.

As an attribute of God, which is Love, the Intention can be exercised only to produce loving outcomes. All other events that appear in our experience represent only the random operation of a power that has not been subjected to the control of Divine Intention. The more perfect our sense of Oneness with the Divine, the more perfectly will our intention shape the Universe around us into an accurate mirror of Divine Love. This is why the awareness of Oneness is always accompanied by Love, security, and happiness.

The circumstances of our separate existences, as we experience them, are entirely within our control. To the extent we acknowledge, and seek to incorporate, our Oneness with All That Is, to that extent we cause peace and Love to manifest around us. To the extent we turn our backs on Oneness, we subject ourselves to the random workings of an impersonal and unfeeling power. These are the choices that each of us makes every day, every hour, and every moment that we are alive.

An Easter Grace

Blessed Spirit of the Universe,

We are gathered together to celebrate this festival of eternal Life. As we consider this feast we are about to enjoy, we know that no matter how much enjoyment it brings us today, our bodies will soon be hungry again. Therefore we pray that the physical satisfaction we feel today, and the hunger we feel tomorrow, both remind us of the hunger the Spirit within us feels for Oneness with you. May our ways be guided to the unending satisfaction that is Unity with All That Is.

And so it is.

Sitting in the World

Meditation in silent surroundings is very enjoyable. Since meditation is about focus, and most often that focus is directed inward, freedom from external distractions helps to maintain that focus.

When the subject of meditation is Oneness, however, there is a certain contradiction to the attempt to exclude "distractions" - indeed, even in the use of that term. If your intention is to experience unity with All That Is, then to the extent your intention is fulfilled, externalities by definition do not exist. All That Is means just that. The barking dog, the ringing telephone, even the strident television must somehow be incorporated in your experience.

Physical reality may exist only conditionally, but it is the milieu in which we have chosen to pass a portion of our existence. It is said that even a dream, as dream, is real. The world we see may be just the product of Universal Mind reflecting upon itself, but as a part of that Mind it exists in the same way that we do.

Seeking a quiet environment for meditation is useful as part of our training. It is difficult enough to release the ties that bind us to egoic mind when we sit in silence. Yet we must beware also the subtle egotism of restricting our Universe to the narrow confines of our own inner awareness. The consciousness of one individual, however expansive, cannot begin to encompass All That Is.

The awareness of unity can never be complete so long as it is confined to our quiet places or our daily periods of meditation. Oneness cannot be limited in time or extent. Enlightened Masters exist in permanent communion with the Divine Source, and have surrendered the illusion of individuality.

To consider the sounds, sensations, thoughts and feelings that pass through your consciousness in meditation as "distractions" is to impose an artificial limitation on your consciousness, to succumb to the dream of separation. When a bird sings, say to yourself, "I am that." Do the same when an airplane flies overhead or a neighbor starts his lawnmower, or when your mind wanders to thoughts of what's for dinner. Do not dwell or focus on any of these sensations, but do not resent or reject them either. Your experience of Oneness must include your entire experience, or it is also only an illusion.

Religion In Your Face

Pauline tweets:

"[I] wonder why anyone would think it appropriate to close a business letter with 'Have a Resurrected Easter'"

There's a fine line between witnessing for the joy of spiritual experience, and just being obtrusive. To some extent the line is in the mind of the hearer. One who has had an experience of awakening has an almost irrepressible desire to share it. Jesus and Buddha, among other sages, commanded their students to teach.

To be fair to your correspondent, he or she may simply have been inviting you to share a joyful experience. However, there are pitfalls in the urge to immediately broadcast one's experiences. Adyashanti discusses these in his book, The End of Your World. These include the fact that the speaker probably does not fully understand what has happened, or the significance of the experience. In addition, there is a phenomenon Adyashanti calls "ego enlightenment" in which the ego hijacks the experience and seeks to use it to aggrandize itself.

We Westerners are so accustomed to the missionary zeal of certain sects that we assume anyone who talks to us about religion or spirituality is trying to "convert" us. This may or not be the case, but ego senses a threat to its own convictions and rises immediately to their defense. A person who is comfortable and secure in the Self with his or her own spirituality, and who recognizes the defensive reaction as coming from ego, is likely to be willing to share the joy of awakening with another, without feeling any need to raise a barrier or to convey or receive anything more than the sharing itself.

It has been my experience that adherents of organized religions often seem to have been hijacked by ego en masse. Even when confronted by one of these individuals who insists on "saving" you, it is more consistent with enlightened spirituality to thank and bless such a person, responding to what is loving and caring in their message, than to reject it entirely.

Ganesha

I wear the image of Ganesha every day. In Vedic tradition, Ganesha is the god of overcoming obstacles. A mantra to Ganesha is "Aum Gam Ganapataye Namaha." To me, he symbolizes the ability of Spirit to soar above the barriers to Self realization raised by ego. I do not worship an elephant-headed divine being, but I revere the spiritual principle he symbolizes and the mystical tradition to which he belongs.

A Healing Meditation

Click on the title of this post to download this guided meditation as an audio file. Music: Kevin MacLeod.

Find a place where you can sit comfortably for a half hour or so. It is best if you can sit with your feet on the floor and your back relatively straight, but it’s even more important that you be comfortable. If you can, turn off your phone and any other devices that might distract you. You may find it helpful to listen to this recording through headphones. You should keep your eyes closed in order to help you visualize the experience.

Give all your attention to my voice and to following these instructions. Your mind will try to distract you with unrelated thoughts and concerns. Do not pay attention to it. There will be another time for you to deal with those thoughts and concerns. This time is for you, your body, and your soul.

You may experience intense physical and emotional sensations as you participate in this meditation; or you may feel very little. Whatever you feel, it is important to allow yourself to feel it completely. You may find that your mind will try to reject the feelings that come to you. In order to obtain the full benefit from the experience, it is important that you suspend judgment and simply allow whatever happens, to happen for the duration of the meditation.

The first thing I want you to do is to relax your entire body. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly through your mouth, visualizing as you do this that all the tension is being released from your body and expelled along with your breath. Repeat this breathing procedure as many times as you like. Focus on your breath, feeling the air pass through your nose and mouth, your throat and into your lungs. Visualize the cleansing oxygen entering your bloodstream and replacing the carbon dioxide and other waste products that will be removed when you exhale. Give all your attention to your breathing, and ignore any other thoughts that intrude on your concentration. Breathe in warmth and healing energy, breathe out stress and negativity.

Remember to ignore any negative thoughts and any other thoughts that do not pertain to this moment in time, this process of relaxation.

Now, allow yourself to breathe naturally and try to detect any remaining tension in your body. Allow your shoulders to fall naturally loose. If your neck feels tight, simply let go of the tension that is contained in those tight muscles and let them relax. Do the same for the muscles in your lower back. These muscles in the back, shoulders and neck store a great deal of stress and negativity that manifests as tightness and soreness in those areas. By mentally scanning for and releasing the tightness, you are able to release the negative feelings also. Release them, and allow them to escape naturally with your breath.

If any thoughts try to intrude, allow them to be expelled also in the same breath.

Now it is time to perform a full body scan and consciously relax and energize every single part. To do so, you will draw on the power of Mother Earth, your loving Mother who makes her boundless energy available to you at all times and in all places.

Start with the toes of one foot. Become conscious of each toe separately, one after the other. Instruct the muscles of each toe to relax and release any remaining tension that lies buried within. Let relaxation be a positive attribute, not just the absence of tension. Feel relaxing warmth enter your toes from Mother Earth and begin to creep upward through your body.

Once your toes are relaxed, move your attention to your feet. Let clean, relaxing energy pass through your toes to your feet and then to your ankles, dissipating any stresses that are locked into your muscles and joints. Let yourself feel loose and happy at this wonderful sensation. Be aware of nothing but this cleansing, healing energy as it naturally flows upward through your calves, knees, and thighs. Focus your attention entirely on one part of your body at a time, letting go of any tension or stress, feeling the delicious energy of Life pervading your body and driving out anything that is negative or harmful. As you focus on each part, retain the background awareness of the other parts that have already been cleansed and relaxed, tingling with the fullness of refreshing natural energy. Let nothing else intrude on your enjoyment of this moment.

Let the sensation of being submerged in a warm bath of revitalizing energy rise through your abdomen, cleansing and refreshing every organ that it encounters. You may visualize this energy as a warm glow or sparkle that completely pervades your body. Nothing that has been touched by this energy is dark, or dirty in any way. All negativity is simply vaporized into air, or expelled in the breath. Your spine tingles with the sensation of being infused with the primordial energy of Life, and you begin to feel light and airy in a way that seems familiar, though long forgotten. You may visualize each organ in turn as being bathed and revitalized, or simply visualize the tide of renewed vitality surging upward and cleansing all in its path.

As the cleansing and strengthening energy reaches your chest, feel it bathing your organs and restoring warmth and health to your liver, lungs and heart. Because your heart is the seat of emotion, there can be a lot of negativity stored in these places without your being aware. You may sense that the tide of energy is coming across hard, dark, tightly sealed pockets of negative emotion. Allow the energy to bathe these areas gently and lovingly, coaxing them to open and release the feelings stored within. If this happens, you may feel a sudden sensation of sadness, or anger, or fear. If these negative emotions are released, do not be overwhelmed by them, but simply allow them to be dispelled with a blessing. Breathe them out with the other unclean energies and enjoy the relief from pain that you didn’t realize until this moment was burdening your soul. If the release brings tears, allow them to flow, knowing that the pain is leaving your body in that way.

If these pockets of buried pain resist and refuse to open, don’t linger over them. Bless and forgive them too, and allow them to rest and await release another time.

Feel your heart opening like a flower to welcome the warm, loving energy sent to you by your Mother Earth. As the energy reaches the center of your heart, you realize that your heart is responding by emitting bright beams of positive energy that penetrate your body and spread outward into the Universe. This is not just a reflection, but the opening of another window into the fundamental energy of All that Is. The energy of your heart joins with the energy of Life in cleansing and refreshing not just your own body and soul, but all around you in every direction even to the farthest reaches of the Universe. In the combined glow of these two energetic sources, no darkness can remain anywhere. You feel indescribably alive and glowing with joy, with health, and with Love for everything that shares this brilliant light. You feel a sense of oneness with the Universe that is unlimited in distance, time, or dimensions.

Now the flow of energy moves upward again, into your throat, jaw, sinuses, eyes, ears, and ultimately through your spinal cord to your brain. Each of those areas is individually bathed in the warm glow of Love and forgiveness emanating from your heart as well as in the energy of Life that now flows from the tips of your toes all the way to the top of your head. Positive, cleansing energy swirls around your organs and removes any lingering traces of negativity or darkness. The centers of your spirituality are in these areas and your soul springs vibrantly awake at the touch of these twin positive energies. You see now that you are a creature of Light, a beacon of Love and Life whose illumination joins with the glow of other souls to fill the Universe with a single, pulsing, vital and eternal energy. A beam of brilliant white light emerges from the top of your head and completes the connection between the energies of Heaven and Earth, both flowing through you and joining you to both and to All that Is.

Your body is now completely suffused with positive energy from the fundamental sources of the Universe. You can take the time now to scan your body again, just to take delight in the sensation filling every part. The energies are ethereal rather than physical, but so powerful that you feel warm, healthy tingle from your skin to your bones, and from your scalp to the soles of your feet. Relax, sense your breathing, and simply enjoy the sensation of oneness with the primordial energy of Life.

Remain seated quietly and in touch with these sensations for as long as is comfortable for you. When you are ready, just open your eyes, and take a few moments to reorient yourself in the physical world. You do not have to leave the sensations you have experienced behind as you resume your everyday activities. In fact, the more times you perform this exercise, the more the sensation will remain with you. Ultimately, you may find that the experience never leaves you, at which time you may not feel the need for a separate practice of this meditation.

May you enjoy all the blessings of Heaven and Earth in all that you do.

Namaste.

Catching cold mindfully

The experience of catching a cold is entirely different in a mindful state. This may be because I become aware of the condition at an early stage, rather than denying it. I think also that the symptoms never become as severe as they likely would if I were not practicing mindfulness. There is a sense that the experience is not happening to me, but only to the body. There is much less egoic attachment to suffering, less tendency to take perverse pleasure in having something to complain of, to feel special about. Ego is not in control, so is not able to direct energy towards intensifying suffering.

In meditation, I open myself to Universal energy just as always. I accept the guidance that Spirit provides to the body as well as the self. I do not ask directly for healing, but for the will of Spirit to manifest in and through me, knowing that will does not support suffering. I do not visualize energy cleansing my body of imperfection, but rather seek to clarify the vision of my self as a perfect manifestation of Spirit. I try not to direct any energy to the illusion of illness.

As a result of this approach, it is rare for me to develop extreme symptoms or to remain ill for very long.

The trappings of spirituality

Humans seem to have an inherent need for ceremony. Significant events in our lives are attended by observations of various kinds: birthday parties, weddings, funerals. Each religion has its own collection of ceremonies, whether Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, or otherwise. Indeed, sometimes religion seems to exist primarily to provide us with a means of commemorating important occasions.

Spirituality, too, has its ceremonial side. We perform rites of cleansing, invoke goddesses and gods, burn candles and incense, chant mantras. Ceremony brings us comfort. Sharing our beliefs and intentions makes us more confident in our convictions.

There is no harm in celebrating your spirituality. Whatever helps you connect with All That Is is a blessing. However, ceremonies are unnecessary. All that is needed is for you to sit quietly and open your soul to Spirit. In your daily meditation, relax and sense your oneness with Spirit. Feel the God-stuff vibrating in your body. Welcome Universal Love into your body and soul. Surrender your being completely. Know that you are a cherished child of God. Trust in Spirit to know what is needed and to provide for you. Let "Thy will be done" be your only mantra. Accept God's love as the only principle of your existence. Reject ego's need to control or direct your connection to Spirit. Affirm that God knows what is needed without your asking and reject the presumption that you know better than God. Sink deeper into acceptance of God's will and know that you are one with Spirit. Let Love flow into you and merge with the essence of your being. Abandon all thought of separation and be one with All That Is. Feel yourself merge with the Spirit of the Universe and accept the sensation of Love and Joy that is the earthly manifestation of Aum, the fundamental principle of all being.

And so it is.