by Christopher Calder
A student helping student project.
Meditation is inner astronomy. You discover the stars, the moon,
and the sun are all inside you.
What is Meditation?
Most dictionaries define the Western (Jewish, Christian, Islamic)
meaning of the word 'meditation,' but usually do not describe
the Eastern (Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist) concept of meditation. The
most appropriate dictionary definition I could find reads as follows:
"If you meditate, you give your attention to one thing, and
do not think about anything else, usually as a religious activity
or as way of calming or relaxing your mind." This definition
implies that meditation means thinking about something, be it
religious or mystical in nature, and that a constant thought process
goes on while one meditates. The purest Eastern definition of
the word 'meditation' means not thinking at all, but rather focusing
the consciousness on the cosmic whole, "the all and the everything"
as George Gurdjieff called it, without thought, judgment, or distraction.
We define the word 'meditation' here as the art of consciousness
becoming aware of itself on the grand and cosmic scale. Meditation
cannot honestly be called a science because any real science requires
objective testing, which is not currently possible for the practice
of meditation. The real art of meditation is beyond thought, beyond
society, and beyond time.
Why meditate?
Meditation brings a sense of fullness and completion and is the
only permanent source of tranquility available to human beings.
All other forms of serenity are temporary and dissolve into conflict
and chaos over time. The euphoria of drugs quickly lead to misery
and self-destruction. The wholesomeness of love, so beautiful
and ethereal, is a relatively short lived and fleeting experience.
As J. Krishnamurti said, meditation brings order and "That
order is the order of the universe. It is irrevocable and doesn't
depend on anything." Meditation is the eternal essence of
nature taking on conscious form within the mortal human frame.
Meditation is an adventure of self-discovery. How can you live
without knowing who or what you are? If someone asks you who you
are during the day you may state your name, as if a temporary
label actually means something important. Ask yourself who you
are when you are in deep sleep, unconscious and without even a
dream to prove that you exist at all. Ask yourself who you were
ten months before you were born and who you will be just one moment
after your body dies. Meditation increases awareness of the natural
phenomena that is actually going on behind your own eyes. Self-knowledge
has intrinsic value, even without the indescribable bliss nature
generously unleashes in those who practice meditation with sincerity
and patience.
Sitting Meditation
Classic sitting meditation is a vital part of all meditation traditions
and has taken many forms, some more effective than others. Some
traditional approaches demand that the student sit motionless
for hours on end, as if becoming a human statue is the only key
to enlightenment. A more scientific approach does not make the
human body our enemy, but rather works with our natural physiology
to allow more intense meditation with less effort and discomfort.
Masochism is not an effective path to self-realization.
Begin by finding a relatively quiet place to meditate where you
will not be disturbed. All forms of classic sitting meditation
should be done in silence with no background music. You can sit
cross legged Asian style on a meditation pillow on the floor or
use the recliner chair method described below. Eyes may be fully
open, half open, or slightly open, letting in just two small slits
of light. Meditating with eyes fully closed is fine as long as
the room remains brightly lit so that enough light passes through
the eyelids to keep your brain alert. Meditating with eyes closed
in a darkened room presents fundamental physiological problems.
When you sit quietly with your eyes closed in darkness your brain
interprets this situation as a signal to start shutting itself
down for sleep. Sleep inducing hormones such as melatonin are
released at the same time your circulation and heart rate are
reduced due to lack of movement. You feel swept away on a sea
of quiet relaxation. This pleasant experience may be light sleep
state hypnosis, not meditation at all, and thus do you no more
good than taking a nap. Meditation means that you are relaxed
as if sleeping but your consciousness is fully and intensely awake.
Therefore, as previously stated, if you meditate with your eyes
closed the room must remain very brightly lit so that a significant
amount of light passes through the eyelids.
The sit-stand method
Another defense against sleepiness is to break up your meditation
into three fifteen minute sessions that are easy for your body
to tolerate. Sit quietly for fifteen minutes, then stand for two
minutes, then sit for another fifteen minutes, then stand for
two minutes, then sit for a final fifteen minute session. This
49 minute technique can be done once, twice, or three times a
day for intense practice. You can time yourself by making a tape
recording with the sound of a bell or a gong to let you known
when to stand up, sit down, and begin and end the meditation.
This technique largely eliminates the problem of cramps, soreness,
and numbness in legs often experienced by students attempting
to sit for longer periods of time than the body was naturally
made to sit. The standing breaks increase blood circulation which
helps wakefulness. Comfort is maintained and we avoid the light
sleep state hypnosis problem mentioned earlier.
The transitions between sitting and standing in this method are
an opportunity to practice meditation in action. Normally, unless
we are physically ill, our waking lives are spent in motion and
activity. Meditation must not be thought of as something that
is done only in a physically rigid state far removed from the
world of work and play. The goal is to become meditative continuously
so that your very being becomes cosmically conscious, permanently
and irrevocably. When you stand up and sit down during these meditation
sessions, feel the inner flow of meditation continue. Observe
that your body is moving but your basic existential identity remains
the same.
The recliner chair method
As previously mentioned, sitting for long periods of time in the
traditional Asian cross legged position is uncomfortable for most
Western students of meditation. This physical discomfort, which
does nothing in itself to aid meditation, can be entirely eliminated
through the use of a recliner chair. The recliner chair method
is actually the most healthful method of sitting as it avoids
blocking vital blood circulation to the legs, yet has 100% of
the benefits of sitting on the floor in the full lotus position
with back held rigidly straight. I highly recommend the recliner
chair method as the first choice sitting method for all Western
students of meditation. Through its use people who cannot comfortably
sit for 20 minutes on the floor are often able to sit a full hour
or even longer without back pain, numbness, or leg cramps.
Energy in the second body (see The Seven Bodies) is constantly
being washed out through our hands and feet. This loss can be
stopped by locking the hands and feet together, thus creating
a closed loop of energy that builds up over time. The conserved
etheric energy is needed to strengthen the subtle body and push
you higher into meditation. Contrary to popular belief, sitting
with the back rigidly straight does nothing to aid meditation.
The energy that rises up the back during meditation sessions is
like water in a garden hose. If you gently bend the hose into
a mild arch the flow of water will not be affected in any perceptible
way.
With this method you sit in a recliner chair with the soles of
your feet pressed against each other and your legs relaxed, knees
pointed out to the sides of the chair. Shoes must be removed.
You can practice this method barefoot or wear socks for warmth.
A better alternative to socks is to drape a towel or light blanket
over your feet to keep them warm, which allows direct skin to
skin contact. Hands can be locked together, laying comfortably
in your lap, or pressed against the center of your chest, one
on top of the other, on the center of the emotional heart. This
method of sitting can be used in conjunction with any of the sitting
meditation techniques described on this Web page and usually eliminates
the need for the sit-stand method described earlier.
What do you do while sitting?
The most basic approach to meditation is to relax, let go, and
do nothing. Surrender to the moment and watch yourself as a silent
witness. If thoughts come to mind, then observe the thoughts without
adding to them by your active participation. Be a detached and
passive observer and simply feel your most basic fundamental being.
This inherently immense being has been respectfully called the
ground of being.
The enlightened teacher J. Krishnamurti used the term "choiceless
awareness" to describe his own meditation method. This means
being conscious without the thought process choosing something
smaller than your vast fundamental being to focus on. Consciousness
is like a glass ball floating in the depth of space. Light and
sensory input flows into the field of consciousness from all directions.
When you think, you focus your attention on just one area of sensory
input or you create a thought from memory stored within the brain.
With choiceless awareness you are not thinking or remembering,
just floating and letting sensory input flow through you from
all directions without manipulating that input with the thought
process. You live in the moment and become totally open. This
openness attracts energy from all sides of the universe which
pushes you even higher.
Krishnamurti's choiceless awareness is the same "methodless
method" that Zen monks call "mindfulness." Hindu
yogis sometimes call it "one pointed vision." A more
accurate term might be one object vision. This means that you
observe yourself, the sky, the trees, and the entire universe
as one object. You no longer see the world as a multitude of parts
and disconnected events. Instead, you accurately perceive the
observer and the observed as exactly the same thing, with no artificial
wall of separation blocking the limits of consciousness. This
singular entity becomes acutely aware of itself in all its vastness.
The one cosmic being, as Krishnamurti said, is "beyond time"
and is "untouched by thought." The revered sage Ramana
Maharshi described it as "infinite" and "bigger
than the human race."
Another useful method is to lend special awareness to the breathing
process felt in the belly. Just behind and below your navel (belly
button) lies the hara, which is felt as an ethereal ball of energy.
The hara is a natural balancing point of your consciousness that
can be thought of as the center of your subtle body. Subjectively
and poetically speaking, the hara is where man and universe meet.
It is the gateway where we merge and become man-universe and universe-man.
No one really knows what the hara actually is, but we can use
it to our full advantage. Consciously developing a powerful hara
center is the most important secret to meditation.
When your consciousness is centered in the hara instead of the
head, your thinking process slows down and you can relax in the
expanded world of pure being. Trying to stop distracting thoughts
through will power leads to more thoughts and a self-defeating
inner struggle. By transferring your center of awareness to the
hara, thoughts gradually disappear on their own without inner
conflict. That is why you see Buddha statues with a big belly.
It is an esoteric message that the hara is the key to meditation.
Sit quietly and focus on your belly as it moves in and out as
you breathe. Over time the hara point will become more noticeable
as your meditation grows stronger. We all feel the hara when startled
or in intense danger. Sudden emergencies, such as near collisions
on the highway, tend to activate the hara center. You get a gut
reaction from sudden danger. You can nourish the feeling of the
hara simply by paying passive attention to it. This relaxed concentration
is very close to doing nothing, yet it is still a subtle effort.
Drinking herb tea or hot water before meditation sessions relaxes
the gut and facilitates awareness of the hara. Overeating and
consuming cold drinks tends to make hara awareness more difficult.
WARNING Avoid the use of mantras and long repetitive chanting.
Repeating the same words over and over is a method of forgetfulness
which will bore the mind and leads to the light sleep state hypnosis
problem mentioned earlier. I would define a mantra as the repetition
of words, usually meaningless, for a period of two minutes or
more. Mantras have traditionally been used for hours on end by
students who become mentally calmed and dulled by their use.
Mantras have proven to be medically helpful for some because
they can unleash hormones that temporarily calm the mind. Mantras
are healthier than taking tranquilizers, but are fundamentally
different from meditation, which relies on the purifying fire
of self-observation. Self-observation is a difficult task that
requires courage and an endurance of character and spirit. Real
meditation has the real payoff of leading to a naturally calm
and expanded state of consciousness, not just an artificially
silenced mind that remains fundamentally shallow.
A self-inquiry incantation
The use of meaningful incantations is quite different than mantras
use and can help bring consciousness to greater clarity. Words
can help because our minds are organic analog computers that process
symbols, and words are symbols. The words that deepen meditation
form a strategic questioning, not a mantra.
Ramana Maharshi was a beloved Indian teacher who reached enlightenment
through self-inquiry, by asking the most fundamental question
"Who am I?" Here is a self-inquiry technique that expands
Ramana Maharshi's method to make it even more powerful. Speak
out loud the following incantation with total intensity before
and/or during formal sitting meditation sessions. By the term
"total intensity" I mean the same level of intensity
you would feel if you were just told that you only had one hour
left to live. Be emotional, be Italian, use your hands and body
language if it helps. Plead with the universe the following question.
What is this ball of consciousness? What is this ball of consciousness?
What is this ball of consciousness? - You can repeat this question
more than three times if the spirit moves you. Go with the flow.
I am not this library of memories. I have no history. I have
no biography.
I am the space. I have always been the space, and I crush these
bonds of attachment now!
When speaking the words, "I crush these bonds of attachment
now!," make your right hand into a fist and hit your upturned
left palm with it like a hammer hitting an anvil upon saying the
word "now!" Reverse hands if you are lefthanded. Do
not overdo it and hurt your hand. Just hit forcefully enough to
produce a cracking sound which adds drama and helps wake up the
central nervous system.
Resonate the words deep inside you without thinking of intellectual
explanations of who you are. Just asking this question is purifying
and ennobling. Self-inquiry is an innocent and fundamental endeavor
and you need an innocent mind to see reality directly without
the distortions of memory and thought. You can use this questioning
technique only at the beginning of formal sitting meditation sessions
or you can repeat the incantation every ten minutes during the
session itself to help keep yourself focused. Combining this self-inquiry
incantation with the mirror gazing technique described below creates
a super-method of great power and intensity.
Over time you will find the words become a trigger mechanism
which allows you to instantly drop all peripheral involvement
and come home to your cosmic being. We all have the same essential
being and that being is cosmic. No one is left out of this universe.
If you are a part of the universe, you are all of the universe!
The small 'I' is dropped and only the big 'I' remains. Then you
can have a good belly laugh and that is the way I end most of
my own meditation sessions. I meditate until I start laughing
from the hara center. Then I know I am cooked!
A gentler, less rigorous approach to this method is to simply
repeat the rhetorical question, "What is this ball of consciousness?,"
over about a dozen times. This small amount of repetition will
enhance and center your consciousness rather than dull it. For
some students a softer approach works best.
Word exercises are not for all students of meditation. If you
try them and feel nothing then concentrate on other methods first.
As you slowly change your methods will change with you. A method
that is unusable now may be of great help to you in the future.
Mirror Gazing
Some students find the use of a mirror virtually doubles the power
of their meditation sessions. Sit in front of a mirror and gaze
into the reflected image, setting your focus just above the head
so that you view the wall behind you. Looking directly at the
face or eyes may be too intense an experience for many students
and may lead to silly concern about personal appearance. Using
this technique one only views the physical body as a shadowy peripheral
silhouette. Continue gazing for twenty minutes, allowing the eyes
to deeply relax their focus.
Enjoy the mirror gazing for twenty minutes, then stand for two
minutes, maintaining the heightened awareness as you change position.
Then resume sitting in quiet meditation for a further twenty minutes
with eyes almost totally closed, allowing in just two slits of
light. This mirror gazing technique takes forty two minutes, but
may be extended to one full hour if desired, with eyes open and
eyes closed sections remaining equal.
Please practice this mirror gazing method no more than once a
day to avoid eye strain. Strong meditation techniques are medicine
and you should not overdose on any one particular method. Combining
the mirror gazing technique with the self-inquiry incantation
previously detailed can increase its effectiveness tremendously,
creating a super-method.
Mirror gazing is a form of tratak, the ancient yogic practice
of fixing one's gaze at an object with total intensity. You may
practice tratak by staring at a candle's flame, a distant tree,
the picture of an enlightened teacher, or any object that is pleasant
to view. While practicing tratak one must be motionless and allow
yourself to become totally absorbed in the object you are viewing.
Eye Gazing
To do this technique you must have a partner of the opposite sex,
preferably someone you love. It is similar to the mirror gazing
technique described above except you that look into the eyes of
your loved one. Sit together, staring softly into your partners
eyes for twenty minutes. Then stand silently for two minutes.
Then sit in quiet meditation with eyes almost totally closed for
a further twenty minutes. This technique can readily lead to romantic
intimacy so pick your partner carefully.
Cathartic Dancing Meditation
Cathartic Dancing Meditation is a cosmic powerhouse that can be
used by students in good health with a normal cardiovascular system.
As it is a physically strenuous exercise, one should get a complete
physical examination by a competent doctor before experimenting
with this technique. Explain the method to your doctor and ask
if it would be physically dangerous for you to do. He won't understand
your motives for wanting to do it but he can tell you if he thinks
your body and heart can safely handle it. As with jogging or mountain
climbing, you must practice this method at your own risk.
Cathartic Dancing Meditation is similar to Rajneesh Dynamic Meditation
but is simpler, easier to do, and is more likely to keep you interested
month after month, year after year. Neither method is really new.
Sufis, Druids, and countless other esoteric and tribal cultures
have used similar techniques for centuries. Most students will
benefit from doing Cathartic Dancing Meditation daily for a period
of between one and five years. After five years it has usually
done its job and the student can then concentrate on the more
subtle methods.
Cathartic Dancing Meditation changes you from head to toe and
benefits all the other meditation methods you practice. It also
helps develop a powerful hara center. I am reluctant to bring
up the subject of kundalini (see definition near the bottom of
the page) because of the common misrepresentations of its manifestations.
I feel compelled to inform you, however, that this physically
vigorous meditation method is the most powerful kundalini awakening
technique I know of. Cathartic Dancing Meditation has three stages
and lasts for forty minutes.
Stage #1 (ten minutes) Start by standing with your eyes closed
and breathe deep and fast through your nose continuously. If you
are only physically capable of doing deep breathing for five minutes,
then reduce the length of the first stage without feeling guilty.
Remember that you are doing this method to help your meditation,
not to physically injure yourself. Allow your body to move freely
as you breathe. You can jump up and down, sway back and forth,
or use any physical motion that helps you pump more oxygen into
your lungs.
Stage #2 (twenty minutes) The second stage is a celebration of
catharsis and wild and spontaneous dancing. Totally let go and
act as an ancient human being dancing in tribal celebration. Energetic,
nonverbal background music is recommended. African tribal drum
music works especially well. You may roll on the ground and do
strange spontaneous body movements. Allow the body to move within
the limits of not hurting yourself or others. For once in your
life screaming is encouraged. You must act out any anger you may
have in a safe way, such as beating the earth with your hands.
All the suppressed emotions from your subconscious mind are to
be released. If at anytime during the second stage you feel that
your energy level is starting to decline, you can resume deep
and fast breathing to give yourself a boost.
Stage #3 (ten minutes) This stage is complete quiet and relaxation.
Flop down on your back, get comfortable, and just let go. Be as
if a dead man totally surrendered to the cosmos. Enjoy the tremendous
energy you have unleashed in the first two stages and be a silent
witness to it. Observe the feeling of the ocean flowing into the
drop. Become the ocean.
This spontaneous dancing meditation technique is intended to
grow with the student and change as the student changes. After
a few years of vigorously practicing this method, the first two
stages of the meditation may drop away spontaneously. You may
then begin the meditation by taking a few deep breaths and immediately
go deep into the ecstasy of the third stage. If practiced correctly
this method is health giving and fun.
Almost all Westerners are head oriented and emotionally repressed.
For us a chaotic, spontaneous, and emotionally cleansing technique
like Cathartic Dancing Meditation is vital for serious progress
to be made quickly. The physical benefits of this technique obviate
any need for hatha yoga or traditional kundalini yoga methods.
Cathartic Dancing Meditation is so multidimensional in its effects
and benefits that it deserves the designation of a super-method.
I strongly recommend that Cathartic Dancing Meditation and/or
Rajneesh Dynamic Meditation techniques only be used in combination
with traditional quiet sitting meditation methods. While the active
meditation methods can be very helpful, they are not complete
systems in themselves. If you rely on active meditation techniques
alone you will only be doing half of the internal work that needs
to be done.
WARNING: Obviously one must practice Cathartic Dancing Meditation
in a safe location and not near the edge of a cliff or on a hard
surface where one might fall and break one's skull. A large room
or hall with thick carpeting is good. Outdoors in the early morning
on a soft and well tended lawn with group participation is best.
Do it on an empty stomach and avoid falling into dangerous objects
such as windows. It is allowable to briefly open one's eyes occasionally
to maintain your location. Create a safety zone around your dancing
and spontaneous body movements. Be courteous to neighbors and
delete the screaming if it will be heard by others.
Soul Awareness
This method is recommended for those students who have practiced
the other described techniques long enough to gain a feeling of
floating bodilessness. If you cannot feel your subtle body you
cannot practice this method effectively. In the beginning, it
should only be used during formal sitting meditation sessions.
Latter on, after you have gained some progress with this method,
you can use an evolved version of this meditation while engaged
in any activity that does not require thinking or your full attention.
For example, you can practice it while walking in a safe location
away from highway traffic.
Begin this method by sitting with eyes fully open. Softly gaze
at a blank wall, or more preferably, look out a window at a distant
vista. With the mind's eye (the eye of consciousness behind your
body's purely physical eyes) define your field of visual consciousness
as a circle. Imagine the top of your field of consciousness as
the 12 o'clock position on a clock and the bottom of your field
of consciousness as the 6 o'clock position. With your mind's eye,
not your physical eyes, slowly sweep your attention clockwise
from the top 12 o'clock position down to the 6 o'clock position,
then on to the 9 o'clock position and then back up to the 12 o'clock
position. Repeat this process in the counterclockwise direction.
Mentally strain to observe the very outer edges of your visual
field of consciousness where the light of consciousness turns
into the darkness of empty space. Go on repeating this process
until you feel you have had enough.
This is a soul awareness exercise, not an eye exam, and that
is why it is recommended only for students with a number of years
of experience in meditation. After practicing this method for
some time one can begin to transform the method into one of sudden
expansion of awareness. You can gain the ability to perceive the
complete 360 degrees of the outer edges of your consciousness
in one jump. This feels like stepping back, literally out of your
own mind, and looking back into your mind from a close and friendly
distance. You become identified with the void and space around
the flame of consciousness and this makes the flame grow even
brighter. This truly esoteric method is difficult to fully explain
and there are aspects of it that you will have to learn on your
own through practice.
One discovers from this technique that our visual field of consciousness
is roughly football shaped with greater width than height. This
is because our brains evolved out of a need to look for food and
danger more on the horizontal axis than on the vertically axis.
To survive you need to be aware of what is on your right and left
more than what is directly below your feet or above your head.
This soul awareness method has a deprogramming effect that allows
one to appreciate the play of existence as an ever changing drama.
You feel as if you are in it but also out of it and beyond it.
Sweeping House
This easy technique is designed to quickly sweep the clutter of
thoughts from your mind. It is one of my most favorite and enduring
techniques and I am continually amazed at how much it helps with
so little effort. It can be used just at the start of formal sitting
meditation sessions or you can continue repeating the method every
ten minutes during the meditation session itself to help keep
yourself properly focused.
Begin by placing both hands behind your head with fingers interlocked.
Rest your hands at the point where the neck and head meet. Then
quickly sweep your hands over the top of your head. Imagine that
your hands are gathering up all your thoughts as they move across
the top of your skull. When your hands reach just below your forehead,
use a flicking motion as you simultaneously unlock your fingers
and throw your hands away from your face. Feel as if all of your
thoughts are being swept out of your head and thrown out into
empty space. Do this between ten and thirty times as needed. While
accomplishing the sweeping motion, feel that your center of consciousness
is dropping down from your head to the hara center in your belly.
Rest in your hara center as you continue to meditate.
Sweeping House with a Kicker
A variation of the sweeping house technique is to add a breathing
stage after the sweeping stage is complete. Place your right palm
(reverse hands if you are lefthanded) on your forehead and place
your left palm on the back of the right hand. Now take 4 to 7
deep breaths through the nose and feel as if you are drawing the
air all the way down to your belly. Fully exhale in a normal and
relaxed fashion after each breath. This breathing technique is
not yoga bastrika. It is ordinary deep breathing done with intensity
and fullness. After exhaling the last breath, sit motionless a
few moments with your hands still on your forehead. Cooperate
with any upward flow of energy you may feel. This energetic method
can be done every 10 minutes during an hour long sitting meditation
session to create a safe and effective kundalini technique.
You can be creative
After you have become comfortable with the meditation techniques
individually you can learn to incorporate them simultaneously
to multiply their effectiveness. For example, combining mirror
gazing, hara awareness, the soul awareness technique, and the
use of the self-inquiry incantation can be an extremely powerful
super-method. There are no rigid one size fits all meditation
techniques. Follow your intuition and let the methods evolve to
fit your own individuality. Don't take the time suggestions for
methods as rigid limits. If you desire to extend your meditation
sessions then go with the flow.
The wanting mechanism
What is one of the most important factors in keeping us diverted
from meditation in the here and now? Look inside your mind and
find the wanting mechanism. The wanting mechanism continuously
constructs images of new experiences the mind desires, derived
from memories of the past. The mind becomes enamored with these
new fantasy images and is diverted from what actually is, here
and now. The eternal cosmic consciousness exists here and now,
never in the future and never in the past. Future and past are
illusory and do not exist in any real physical form outside of
projections of the mind. What exists now is everything, and you
already have it. You only need to become conscious of your own
wealth.
Wanting is part of life, creativity, family building, wealth
creation, and the survival instinct. In the sense of preserving
the human race on planet earth, wanting is a very good thing.
In the sense of an individual becoming an awakened Buddha, wanting
is a hindrance. Wanting creates duality, the wanter and that which
is desired. The essay, Call For a New Buddhism, touches on this
issue. Siddhartha Gautama taught that desire is a root cause of
suffering. But who was he speaking to and who can actually take
the last steps to enlightenment by dropping the wanting mechanism
totally?
Not wanting means not wanting anything, not just dropping the
desire for sex, money, and power, but also dropping the desire
for truth, justice, family, and nation. It is not what you want
that matters, it is the wanting mechanism itself that is the barrier.
Deep meditation is a giant leap beyond logic and the norms of
society. It is dissolving into infinity and oblivion and not coming
back. Very few humans have been able to manage that radical transformation
totally and that is why enlightenment will always be an extremely
rare phenomena.
If everyone in the world suddenly became enlightened, in my opinion,
the human race would come to an end. There would be a lack of
sufficient desire to keep people motivated enough to have families,
raise children, grow crops, and protect society from all the natural
threats, from disease to ecological disaster. That said, I certainly
believe that enlightenment is a desirable goal for those who really
want it. But you can see the impossibility of the situation. When
you "want" enlightenment your wanting mechanism is still
active and enlightenment will not happen to you. So we can breathe
easy that everyone in the world will not become enlightened, all
at the same time, anytime soon.
The need for meditation many people feel is beyond normal logic
and beyond the scope of words to fully express. I can tell you
that a key to experiencing superconsciousness, from the moment
you wake up in the morning until the moment you fall asleep at
night, is to step back from the wanting mechanism. This stepping
back is only possible for those who have reached at least the
fourth stage (see The Seven Bodies). Otherwise you will not have
the energy and clarity to see the wanting mechanism and realize
what is involved in turning it off. You will suppress desires
and live a false life because you have not yet found the inner
key, which is an intense form of self-observation, not suppression.
Therefore, in a way, I am stating publicly that which should remain
unspoken. If you try to artificially stop wanting when you are
in the first body you will never reach the second body. Even in
the third body this method of not wanting will only slow your
progress because it will be a false effort.
I do not know how long it takes for this process of stepping
back from the wanting mechanism to become 100% effective. As an
ordinary student, I am only now, after decades of effort, beginning
to make any real progress with it. I felt obligated to mention
this esoteric topic because this Web page was constructed to convey
all of the best methods and the most usable of the secret teachings.
Ending the wanting mechanism had to be mentioned and those who
are ready for that step will find that it brings time to a halt,
annihilates the future and the past, and expands consciousness
to the far reaches of the universe. It is a silent, inner explosion.
Ask yourself these questions.
1) If you want something, how can you stop thinking about it?
2) If you don't want anything, what is there to think about?
3) If you don't want anything, is there anything to be angry about?
4) If you don't want anything, is there anything to make you unhappy?
5) Rocks and other inanimate objects do not want and do not suffer,
but they are unconscious and dead. How does a living human being
enter a no-wanting state while fully conscious and filled to the
brim with life energy? That is the incredible contradiction and
difficulty in becoming enlightened.
At some point on your own noble path you will see very clearly
that wanting is a barrier. That realization may hit you suddenly
like a freight train (my blood is still on the tracks) or gradually
creep into your consciousness over time. Only when you see it
clearly on your own should you try to step back from the wanting
mechanism. Until that right time occurs you will be needed to
save this beautiful planet earth, to raise families, and to be
good citizens. Take meditation one step at a time. Do not try
to imitate the final steps into the abyss while you are still
at the foot of the mountain.
How long should I meditate?
The time a person needs to spend in formal meditation sessions
to gain maximum benefit depends on ever-changing individual circumstances.
If you are meditating with a group you will gain from the group
energy and go further with less effort. If you are fortunate enough
to be living close to an enlightened teacher you may be able to
absorb some of his high energy without any effort at all. If you
are meditating alone, without support from others, you will have
to do all the heavy lifting yourself.
My general recommendation is that a single one hour long meditation
session every day is a minimum effort. Meditation only works for
those who are hungry for it and if you cannot spare that small
amount of time for meditation, you will probably not gain substantial
results. Most people will be helped significantly by meditating
just once a day. If you wish to go faster, with clearly recognizable
progress, then I suggest two or three formal meditation sessions
every day. A specific recommendation for young, physically fit
beginners would be to practice Cathartic Dancing Meditation in
the morning and one of the quiet sitting meditations at night.
It is of paramount important to practice mindfulness throughout
the day. To be of any real value meditation must become a full-time
way of living rather than a strictly segregated activity. Choose
methods that make you feel more positive. Meditation should be
a form of cosmic hedonism, not a penance one must perform as an
obligation.
How long does it take to become enlightened?
I have no idea how to answer that question as I am just a fellow
student myself. I do not believe the old scriptures nor do I trust
the word of pundits and self-proclaimed "masters." It
may take 10 lifetimes or 1,000,000 lifetimes.
Meditation is a pleasure in itself and the healthiest approach
is to enjoy the journey without thoughts of gaining a pot of gold
at the end of some distant rainbow. Ask yourself who or what will
reach that imagined goal? If our petty little minds reach enlightenment,
then will we be enlightened at all? Thinking about goals takes
us further away from choiceless awareness, relaxation, and ecstasy,
and is thus counterproductive. It is best to fully enjoy the journey
of meditation without seeking any title, credentials, or an ultimate
brass ring that we can selfishly own and brag about to others.
Things to do, things to avoid, and things to consider
· Work in groups when possible as group energy can multiply
the energy of an individual many times over.
· Remember that meditation is an escape to reality, not
an escape from reality. Avoid any guru or group that asks you
to deny truth.
· Don't limit yourself to just one teacher. The single
guru approach can lead to cult thinking with its small mindedness
and us vs. them syndrome.
· Hatha yoga can make you more energetic and fit for long
meditation sessions, but do not take it too seriously or become
obsessed with extreme gymnastics. The easy and basic hatha yoga
exercises work best. Extreme kundalini yoga exercises that involve
fast breathing in bizarre positions may be dangerous and are not
recommended. Men should never sit with their heels pressed behind
the testicles, as some yogis instruct, as this practice is unhealthful
and can cause sterility.
· Having a separate room used exclusively for meditation
can be very helpful. It is possible to build up a vibration in
a room so that the moment you enter it your mind becomes silent
and ready to go deeper.
· Avoid fads (newage therapists kill girl) and complicated
philosophies that give your mind more to think about. Meditation
is a step beyond the thought process. No philosophy can adequately
describe man's place in the universe. Concentrate on meditation
in this moment and not on ancient scriptures. Many old scriptures
were written by madmen and fools and have gained respect from
society simply because they are so old and dusty.
· It is essential to maintain a nutritionally adequate
diet without becoming a food fanatic. Most people find that a
semi-vegetarian diet supplemented with dairy products and eggs
is generally best for meditation, but is not essential. If you
wish to eat meat, then fish is a better choice than fowl or beef
simply because it is lighter and easier to digest. If you have
a medical problem like hypoglycemia, you may have to eat meat
just to survive. Food should not be made the fundamental basis
of your practice. Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian yet his diet did
not save his soul or make him nonviolent. Most Tibetan lamas and
Asian Zen monks eat meat, so obviously meat consumption is not
a serious obstacle to cosmic consciousness. There is no scientific
evidence to suggest that a vegetarian diet extends lifespan or
improves overall health. The nations with the highest longevity,
such as Japan, Sweden, and Australia, are all populated by avid
meat eaters.
· Fasting is a waste of time and will weaken you physically.
Like taking LSD, fasting creates a strangely entertaining short
term experience, but it produces no long term benefit and can
cause permanent neurological damage. When you fast, your body
literally feeds upon itself. If your brain needs protein for repair
work, your body will be directed to eat its own own muscles, or
worse, your own peripheral nerve cells. People fast because their
minds are cluttered and they hope fasting will purify them spiritually.
The human body is made of mud, water and dirt, so the idea of
a perfect, spiritually purified physical body is misguided. The
way to end the cluttered feeling is to change the way your brain
and subtle body function, and this can only be accomplished through
real meditation techniques.
· Avoid drugs and alcohol. Carlos Castaneda was a talented
fiction writer who misled many people. Drugs are not an effective
path to enlightenment, but they are a quick path to misery and
insanity.
· Have sex when you wish and do not force celibacy upon
yourself in the hopes it will lead to enlightenment. To meditate
one must be in a very natural and relaxed state of mind without
repression or tension. Celibacy can only be of value if it occurs
spontaneously without effort or thought. The majority of famous
Eastern gurus who have claimed celibacy publicly have practiced
intercourse privately. Why make sex a big secret and why have
two faces? Many fully enlightened humans have had sexual relations
even after enlightenment. There is no direct relationship between
abstinence and spirituality.
· Do practice choiceless awareness (one object vision,
mindfulness etc.) throughout the day. Meditation must become as
continuous and spontaneous as breathing.
· Don't make meditation a competition and drop any hidden
agenda you may have to use it to control others. Legitimate motives
for meditation are the desire for tranquility and ecstasy, freedom
from suffering, and the pure adventure of self-exploration.
· Don't turn your meditation into a business. People who
make a profit from intercourse have turned something beautiful
into something ugly. Those who make money from meditation have
transformed a noble path into a sordid back alley. Whether you
are a sexual prostitute or a spiritual prostitute, the fundamental
quality of your mind is the same.
· Be completely honest and have just one face, not two.
· Don't take the inspiring but totally unrealistic teachings
of J. Krishnamurti and U.G. Krishnamurti seriously. Both great
men, but generally poor teachers, were talking about themselves
when they said that methods are not needed. They lost the need
for technique after enlightenment, but both men practiced many
methods before they attained. If you do not do methods you will
never develop any inner power. Meditation methods put direct pressure
on the false self, the ego. If you continue patient practice at
some point that false self will implode under the pressure, without
warning and without apparent and obvious method. 99.99% of people
who drop methods stop far too soon, thus bringing their progress
to an early end.
· For every action there is a reaction, not just in theoretical
physics but in ordinary human life as well. When you create positive
actions you will eventually reap positive reactions for yourself
and for others. In this way what we call ethics and morality are
woven into the very fabric of the universe right down to the subatomic
level.
Enlightenment
The fastest meditation method is to live in the company of an
enlightened human being. Enlightened teachers can expand your
consciousness without the slightest effort on your part. All you
need to do is to be open to the spontaneous transfer of energy.
Fully enlightened human are very rare. There may have been as
few as seven fully enlightened teachers in the now past 20th century.
I do not know of any fully enlightened teachers still living today,
but that does not mean they do not exist. More enlightened souls
will be coming in the future and it is your challenge to find
them while avoiding the many fakes.
When it comes to teachers, even fully enlightened teachers, take
the best and leave the rest. No human being has ever been perfect
and without major flaws and limitations. Only myths can give the
illusion of perfection and that is why most of society continues
to worship invented myths rather than accepting reality as it
is, warts and all. Enlightened humans are vastly expanded human
beings, not perfect human beings.
It is my educated opinion that the traditional guru-disciple relationship
is now passé and inappropriate for Western students of
meditation. The East has always had an imperial and authoritarian
model for the teacher-student relationship. The West must develop
its own Jeffersonian model based on science and fact, not on myth
and tradition. Be a devoted disciple, but make your ultimate guru
the total cosmos itself, not just a single human teacher. Use
human teachers as temporary tools on your path to self-realization,
but do not allow yourself to become the captive servant of one
fallible human mind.
Definition: kundalini (k¢n´de-lê´nê)
noun of Hindu origin. Physical and sexual energy that lies dormant
at the base of the spine is activated through esoteric kundalini
practice. This energy is directed through the kundalini channel
in the etheric body upward to the top of the head.
Christopher Calder
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