Meditation

Excerpt from "Getting to the Heart: Journey of Transformation and Spiritual Enlightenment" Trafford Publishing by Athene Raefielnn In your search for understanding meditation is the stage where you begin to move from the outer realms of consciousness to the inner realms. Remember everything you are searching for lies hidden inside yourself. By accepting this truth, you become the greatest mystery available for your progression and exploration. You can now begin to shift from the visible to the invisible, the tangible to the intangible and from a solid state to fluid. Here motion becomes energy and flow, rather than mass and matter.

When working to truly understand the universe that we are, our perceptions begin change. We expand our thinking to include the awareness of how everything is really energy before it is anything else. Here we discover how energy itself is the creative principle in all life and how we ourselves are that ever moving, always-changing self- same energy.

We look to meditation to experience this understanding and awareness of being our true self. While in a meditative state we can learn to detach and observe the workings of our rational mind. This reasoning part of our brain is often our greatest deterrent to finding the inner self. In meditation we transition to find that space within ourselves that allows us to observe our own thoughts. In this way we discover the difference between who we think we are and who we truly are as well as who we wish to become.

When you can sit in the quiet and observe how you think and feel, you are within consciousness. Now able to observe yourself, you begin ignoring the minds idle chatter. You can now move beyond your rationale—into the deeper dimensions of your being. In this altered state of consciousness you feel and sense what is occurring rather than think about it. Experiencing ourselves in this manner allows us to readily connect with our inner awareness and understanding.

It is quite common when returning to a physical state of consciousness from a meditative state to not readily remember ones experiences. Even when we do remember, finding the proper words to describe what took place may be difficult. The meditative experience awakens us to the inner dimensions of the self that we long ago forgot. I t may at first take time, to consciously remember and decipher these jou
eys, be patient.

Exploring the inner dimensions of the self is always an exciting adventure. Very often, beginning experiences are filled with colors and light. The colors we experience contain fascinating prisms and refractors, much like a light show at a planetarium. When we open our feeling senses we bask in the glow of multitudinous color and are enveloped by their essence. Try not to control this experience for doing so will end it. The meditative experience simply requires allowing and feeling. This is an exercise in trust.

The human body is reactionary and steeped in the instinct to survive. It automatically produces a sense of fear when entering the unfamiliar. In meditation we are able move beyond this guardedness and into a sense of trust and allowing. This takes time and practice. Anything worth attaining is worth working at. Do not become discouraged or give up, keep trying.

Beginning meditation is like meeting a new friend. When it enters your life, you need to make a time and a place to spend with it. You must welcome meditation with an open heart and open arms. By doing so, you will find that meditation is the best friend you have ever had.

Meditative trance is unexplainable because there are no physical experiences with which to compare it. Experiencing the different meditative states of awareness becomes awesome. The more you practice the more proficient you become.

Often, beginning meditators describe similar experiences. The most frequently described are visions of geometric design and awe inspiring colors and light. This is the third eye or brow chakra beginning to open. This new way of seeing, through the feeling-self, allows us to experience movement of energy.

In a meditative state one experiences a sense of no time and also a feeling of having gone somewhere. A feeling of warmth and lightness occur and we often feel aglow. Our everyday problems are put into new and different perspectives as our whole self, our whole being now perceives for us. A sense of peace pervades our very core and we feel connected with all other life. We can finally get above it all and relax our bodies and our minds.n n Creating and taking the time necessary to practise meditative disciplines seems to be reported by many as more difficult than the act itself. To achieve results, it is best in the beginning to sit and practice meditating at least three to five times a week for fifteen to twenty minutes each sitting. If you set the time aside but do not wish to sit in silence, you can play some calm meditative music and just allow the music to take you away. You can also take this time to create a sacred space for yourself while experiencing the energy of the light around you. Candles and incense, along with the music, can create a certain ambiance that will aid you in relaxing and meditating.

Reaching and attaining a God state of consciousness is the ultimate goal of meditation. Once we restore ourselves to our God consciousness, we realize how we are interconnected with all life; how all life is actually one thing, and how we are all one with that life. This awareness being activated, our life in the third dimensional world begins to change.

Once realizing that consciousness has always and will always exist, we can explore alte
ative ways of perceiving and living life. This new experience of ourselves as consciousness puts us in communion with our spirit essence. It is through our spirit self that we tap our inner wisdom, understanding and acceptance of our true destiny.

Through the development of this new communion, our spiritual nature will also help us to see the truth and reality of those others we care about in life. With this newfound clarity, we begin to see a different picture of life, a much grander picture that allows life to become a wondrous and exciting journey to behold and explore.