You already have the vast majority of what you need to complete this journey. In a spiritual sense, this is not a time of learning; this is a time of remembering. We look at our ultimate goal as a re-member-ship without dues. We remember who we are and where we truly belong, in the conscious state of God's love.
There is an old Groucho Marx joke which is humorous because so many of us think along these lines. Groucho said, 'I refuse to join any club that would accept me as a member.' What makes this humorous is the awareness that we demean ourselves, thinking that we do not deserve the highest appreciation of ourselves. Groucho was saying that we are so quick to judge others, only because we are so quick to judge ourselves. Using the tools which we will describe below, we will systematically take away the artificial blocks to our awareness of the Kingdom of Heaven within.
To aid us in doing so, we may need only three tools, the first of which is not material in nature, yet very real within the core of our souls. This element is our perseverance, our willingness to seek peace of mind through a discipline of daily prayer and contemplation, in the meditations. Second, is daily journaling for the purpose of highlighting opportunities for thought corrections. (As we see our thoughts evolve during the meditations, then we have the opportunity to refine our thinking further.) Third, is joining with person or a group with whom we may share these studies. Very often the progress we make accelerates with the loving support and acceptance of those around who are sharing the walk along this path.
Expect resistance. Anything new in our lives is met with some hesitation as we expand beyond our comfort zones. It is important here is not to support and justify this resistance. When you think about it, there are things you consider sacred each day. Some of them, like brushing your teeth, you would almost never miss. Yet think how easy it would be to make excuses that our mind retraining is not sacred. We may say to ourselves that we don't have time, that we have a slight headache, that the dog needs to be walked, or there is this important phone call that must be made, and on and on. Let us see these things for what they are, merely examples of fear at what may occur should things actually change in our minds.
How often have we been willing to put something strictly to the test, carrying out the endeavor from start to finish? The discipline we are discussing in this book requires an investment of our time and energy, but consider the possible reward of peace of mind. Even a few minutes of peace a day would be worth the effort of discipline over the course of the next several weeks. Yet, if we're honest with ourselves, the greatest resistance here is the question of what we have to lose. Can we ask ourselves that very question right now before we read on? What would we have to lose by changing our thought habits? Any new behavior requires a loss of the old. As we read this book, we have begun the first step on this journey. We get more familiar with success and our ego thought system will resist that much more. Do not be alarmed by this, simply let the thoughts pass.
Each change begins with ritual. The ritual in this case is that of taking the time each and every day to join our consciousness with God. Daily meditation, prayer, and reflective journaling as described below will bring our minds back to a sharply focused purpose. This purpose is to hear the message of the Holy Spirit regarding whatever discomfort, pain or fears we believe have come our way. The discipline of ritual helps us develop a stride of willingness to continue beyond our fears, beyond our resistance. At times the ritual alone is the only reason we may take our first daily steps in our enlightenment. Only after we are well within our routine, do we feel the second wind of faith and peacefulness.
JOURNAL ENTRIES
There is nothing fancy needed in keeping a journal. All we need is the plainest of notebook paper, either bound or unbound, but placed in an order that will give us a sequence of progress. Find one spot where you will place the journal and approach it as you would your daily altar. Also, obtain a small pocket notebook in which you can make very short and simple entries pertaining to your daily spiritual excercises, miraculous expressions and holy encounters during the day. These will be more completely described in the following chapters.
Simply make it a part of your program to visit your altar where you place your journal each day. We may wish to jot down initial thoughts and intuitive impressions before and upon completion of your morning meditation, and then again in the evening. In the morning, it is often helpful to jot down brief notes on what we were shown during our meditation and what our waking daily meditation will commit us to for today. In the evening, we consult our pocket notebook entries, so we may more thoroughly dialogue with the Voice for God on what miracles were being shown us in our conscious spiritual encounters for the day.
Organize your journal using the chapter headings found in this book. Place the following entries under each dayÕs logging: (1) your recollections of your initial thoughts and emotional state when you first woke up that morning, (2) rate yourself in a meaningful way (such as between 1 and 7) according to how easy or difficult it was for you to put yourself in a meditative state through your breathing exercise, (3) during the course of the day, what thoughts seemed to arise both during the meditations and seeming chance and/or other eventful encounters with others? We know there are no chance events. They only seem to be so. As time goes on, we will discover what we have placed in our mind will manifest itself in our daily activities.
These should not be extensive entries. What we are looking for are shifts in our thought patterns, changes in consciousness, and things that change in our perceptions, although the outward events seem to remain essentially the same. These are all significant. The more we are aware of them, the faster and more accelerated our mind transformation. Here the pocket notebook comes in handy as these miraculous events, small and large, are recorded at the time they occur. If you stick diligently to this practice, you will be amazed at all the subtle yet significant changes which are occurring in how you see yourself and the world around you, especially in relationships.
Each week review your entries for the week. Review them again when you feel you have completed each chapter as outlined in this book.
SHARING
Wherever possible, our brothers and sisters become our witnesses to our mind's changes. There is something very sacred about being able to place our thoughts into words and say them out loud. Until then, we may feel a sense of fear and trepidation, as if our mind's reflections have a twinge of elusive insanity. There is nothing insane about the discipline you are embarking upon. The insanity is remaining in the self-tortuous thought processes that many of us have taken for granted for so many years. Many of us know that we are more forgiving of others than we are of ourselves. For that reason, when we are not able to share our thought process, we run the risk of the ego attacking and discouraging this process from continuing. That is to say, it would be very easy to be critical and judgmental of our own thoughts because they are so new. By saying our thoughts out loud we achieve clarity and reinforce them. Story tellers and age old fables passed down orally before the time o f the written word showed us the power of universal wisdom refined from one person to the next. An age-old remedy, we learn again and again, people are very accepting of others when speaking of matters deep within our hearts. Men and women have known for ages untold that public sharing releases much burden from our hearts and minds. As mentioned in the bible, when two or more of us are able to relate with an open mind and heart, the Holy Spirit enters automatically. We rediscover again and again, God , coming through our own feeling of empathy and compassion, witnesses a loving presence within each of us.
So, ideally, find at least one person with whom to do these exercises. A weekly study group would be very advantageous as well, because the miraculous events that become evident to us as we run through these chapters will be fascinating and very often world shattering in our minds. We need time to allow emotions to bubble up, to cry in our friend's arms, to sit quietly and hold each other's hands, to stumble over words only to discover that we know each other's meanings. We'll need time for all of this. Every event that helps clear our mind is a miracle in the context of a holy relationship as found within the group interactions.
MEDITATION
Meditation helps us to see how we will survive, how answers will come to us, how we will learn more of the power of our connection with the Universal Mind we call God.
There are many forms of meditation and prayer. We will describe two kinds of meditation in this book for each of the following chapters. These include guided imagery and waking meditations, both of which begin with the most basic of human endeavors, the discipline in breathing. Before we proceed with each meditation throughout this book, please practice the following deep breathing foundation.
Deep Breathing Preparation for Meditations
Find a comfortable spot where you can be reasonably sure of no interruptions. Loosen your clothing, relax your muscles the best you can. Then close your eyes. Just notice, without doing anything about it, the rate and depth of your breathing. Notice how often you take a breath and how deep the breaths are. Again, without making any changes, simply notice which parts of your body seem to move the most as you are breathing. Notice how this major movement seems to decrease as your focused attention moves away from the center of that movement. Notice any judgments you make concerning yourself for the breathing habits you are noticing. Consciously let those judgments go. Now, say to yourself 'I wish to breathe consciously at this time. I wish to align my mind, my spirit, and my soul through my breathing process.'
Now continue by breathing through your nostrils rather than through your mouth. Notice the coolness of the air as you are taking it in. Hear the sound of the air as it passes into you. Feel the texture of the air as it flows in. Feel your internal welcome of this life-giving force. Notice if any thoughts occur as you are consciously breathing. which you would not normally be aware of in such a deliberate and controlled manner.
As you inhale, let yourself expand your intake of air by about one second longer than normal per inhale. Whatever you do, don't strain yourself. Rather, stretch slightly what is normally your breathing habit to see if it is more or less comfortable for you. If this is not a strain for you, then maintain a slightly longer inhale.
Next, place one hand approximately one inch below your naval on what is called the solar plexus. Imagine with each breath, your hands are asking that your tummy muscles be expanded out. Feel the rise and fall of your tummy as you concentrate your movement away from the previous center of breathing, and place it squarely in that of the solar plexus. Feel the rhythm of your breathing as you begin to sense that your body goes through a deepening of conscious effort. Notice the combination of the longer inhale through your nostrils, and the extending and expanding muscles near the solar plexus. Feel the increased integration of mind and body in this effort. As you do so, think of the waves of the ocean as they rise and fall.
Now at the top of the inhale, experiment with holding your breath for about one second. Notice the feeling of suspension. If this is too uncomfortable, simply skip this step. But if not, let yourself feel the ease of control that may come naturally within these steps.
With as little effort as possible, allow the air exhale easily and naturally out between your lips. At the end of each breath, simply pause, asking yourself when the next breath is needed. Try to make that a conscious decision. As you do so, allow for the notion that you need not inhale until it is called for. Fill your mind with the reassuring thought that whenever you call for the next breath, it will be there simply for the taking.
We can see from this example of basic breathing in mediation, that there are many lessons we can learn, even from the smallest activity. When practiced several times a day, this breathing meditation allows us to recognize the nuances of our experience. We sense deeply our bond with our life sustaining force, the choices we have in life's sensory expansion. Our ability to switch thought and behavioral habits consciously through breathing, and our willingness to consider how very secure we are, vividly the integrates mind, spirit and soul.
Variation on the above meditation:
If you would feel more comfortable using visualization to help keep your thoughts focused upon your controlled deep breathing, you can add this simple candle lighting element to the meditation.
Prior to beginning the deep breathing meditation above, light a candle making sure the flame is easily within your sight. Place the candle at eye level and about eight or so inches in front of you. After the first several breaths of your conscious deep breathing, open your eyes and look with great intensity at the various elements of the flame and of its movement. Begin at the top of the flame and notice the aura of heated air that emanates from the outer edges of the flame and manifests as a shimmering of the heated air. As you continue your deep breathing, let yourself feel that shimmering as if you were that air. Next, work your attention inside the flame to the bright radiance of the center of fire. Let yourself be the glowing radiance of energy. Now work your way down to the blue outline of the circle that surrounds the wick. As you see it expanding and contracting, feel your own expansion and contraction with your breathing. Finally, notice the black wick, which at times appea rs almost in suspension, but is really the soul of the flame. Be that soul crying for expression.
Notice how this variation allows us to focus on an eternal flame which therefore represents our eternal life. As we consciously breathe and identify with each level of the flame, our mind quiets in a combined physical and visual contemplation. For some, it is easier to block out distractions using this additional step.
Prior to doing any of the other meditations in this book, please center yourself with the initial deep breathing preparations deep breathing as outlined earlier in this chapter or any others with which you feel comfortable. The rest of the meditations will come much more easily as we allow ourselves to fall trustfully into the arms of God through these foundational deep breathing preparations emphasizing the most basic of physical energy exchange, the act of breathing shared by all living creatures.
And now, when you are ready, we can begin the path of the following chapters using the concepts and exercises we have introduced in this chapter. We can discover through this regimen, increases in personal balance of mind, spirit and soul, and an abundance of peace through awareness of our continual companionship with the universal Godhead.
PEACE QUOTIENT SURVEY
As you embark on this journey, we ask that you take the Peace Quotient Survey which is at the end of this book. Please be as honest as you can and notice where your mind gravitates in rating your answers. Where do you feel twinges of resistance? Where do you feel ease? At what questions is your breathing tighter? At which questions is your breathing more expansive? Which questions do you hope you will answer in a more positive manner as time goes on? Make a note of these. Take as much time as you wish by simply rating yourself from one to seven on each item; a 1 signifying total disagreement or lack of alignment in the question posed, and a 7 signifying total and continuous alignment. Again notice what thoughts of resistance may enter regarding each question. Also notice any distracting thoughts that seem to come in to pull you away from the discipline of completing the survey and contemplating the issues described.
Answer each item subjectively from 1 to 7, with 1 being 'I totally disagree' and 7 being 'I identify completely with the thought.'
Upon completion of all of your reflective studies in each chapter and the meditations included, and upon review of your journal, we ask that you take the survey again, to see what changes have occurred in your awareness of your knowing self and the Child of God Within you.
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