|
Meditation for Energy Work
Emptiness
Before learning any techniques it is important for a potential to learn a technique for emptying the mind. Emptying has the effect of stopping all peripheral thought, removing one's self from doubt, deepening one's perceptions and calming one's emotions. All of these help in the performance of energy techniques.
There are many ways to empty one's mind, usually taking the form of a meditation. A potential will need to learn two different techniques; a quick technique for instant deepening and a slow technique for intense deepening.
To begin with, let us describe a seated meditation. Sit in a comfortable position, either on the floor or on a chair. Do not cross any of your limbs as this prevents energy flow. If seated on the floor, place one foot in front of the other, one foot on the opposite thigh in the Half-Lotus position, or both feet on opposite thighs in the Full-Lotus position. If this is too difficult for you then try to find another position that is comfortable, even if it means crossing your legs. If seated on a chair, place your hands either on your legs, on a table or let them dangle to your side. Keep your neck and back as straight as possible throughout the meditation. If it is difficult at first then it is more important for you to be relaxed and comfortable than straight.
Once you are in a meditative position, close your eyes and take three deep breaths, as deeply as you can take them. Have in mind as you do so that these breaths will contain your meditation and an impression of the deepened state. Designate a specific rythm to your breath (ie. 2 seconds breathing in, hold for 2 seconds, release for 2 seconds, hold empty for 2 seconds). This rhythm will then become your trigger for a rapid deepening of perception. Some advise to roll your eyes upwards for added effect.
After these three breaths you should already feel calmer and more aware. After this perform one or more of the following techniques to help enhance the emptiness:
1) Count backwards from 10, each time picturing the number clearly in your mind's-eye. When you get to zero, picture only blackness and feel the blackness grow as the word 'zero' fades from your mind, taking all thought with it.
2) Look at the blackness of your mind's eye. Erase that blackness or crumple it up to reveal an even deeper blackness behind it. Continue indefinitely.
3) Fill your mind with a zen koan, which is a question without an answer or a reference to a non-existent thing. In this way, you are concentrating on something that does not exist, making you aware of non-existence. You can also focus on non-existent things yourself, such as what your eyes can see behind your head, the sound of one hand clapping, etc.
4) Simply sit and do nothing.
If you feel a thought enter your mind, ignore it and continue with what you are doing. If it continues to nag at you, attempt to gently push it away, like you're trying to push a cloud with your bare hands. If you can't seem to get it to stop, then trying taking a few deep breaths, concentrating on them intently, and starting back from the beginning of your current phase. In general, you should use your breathing as an anchor for your meditation. If you ever feel lost, overwhelmed or distracted, take a few deep breaths with total concentration and start again.
If after returning to breathing a few times the thought is still nagging at you, so much that you find it impossible to meditate, then deal with the thought and return later.
Once you have finished your meditation on emptiness, reverse your meditation and come out the same way you came. If you saw blackness get erased, then fill your mind back up with greater levels of somethingness. If you counted down, then count back up. Then breathe deeply once more, move your body slowly, and open your eyes.
The emptiness meditation can be practiced on its own, or used to surround another meditation or training session. Once you have reached a deepened state, go ahead and perform whatever it is you desire to do. If you need to have open eyes, then make sure to think about opening your eyes before you do, in order to ready your mind for what may be a very sudden stimulus. If you need to move again, think about moving before you do. When you have finished, remember to go back into a state of emptiness and come back out of the meditation properly. This is not so important early on, but when one reaches advanced meditative states it is a vital habit to have gotten into.
Learning to empty one's mind takes years to master so don't feel discouraged if it does not work at first. Know that every time you attempt it, you become more proficient and your spiritual potential grows.
Rapid Deepening: Once you have had success with an intense deepening, you can use your breathing to achieve a more rapid, though less intense deepening of perception. Close your eyes and take a single deep breath using the same rhythm as in your intense meditations. That should be enough to get some kind of effect. If it isn't enough, take a couple more breaths, and continue breathing in that way until you are satisfied. These breaths can be taken while sitting, standing, laying down or however else.
Carrying Emptiness: Ideally one should be in an empty 'zen' state throughout the day. It is extremely difficult to carry this on to a high degree, especially when involved in exciting or stimulating activities. Carrying emptiness to some degree is necessary if one wishes to develop constant awareness of energy.
Using Emptiness: Whenever practicing with energy one should always begin with an emptiness meditation, rapid or intense. The deeper one is, the more effective the techniques will be and the more gratifying the practice. States of emptiness can also aid in all other forms of psionic training and also in visualization exercises for advanced meditative techniques.
Visualization
Visualization is a powerful tool which will help you throughout your practice. In essence, it is the act of translating your will through your imagination in order to make them more immediate to you.
Basic visualization practice involves engaging your imagination in a controlled way within a meditation. It is best performed after achieving a degree of emptiness, clearing the canvas of your mind’s eye in order to project a clearer image upon it. This practice is also known as ‘carving’ because it involves carving away all the things which you do not wish to perceive.
To elaborate, the ’mindscape’ is constantly being filled with images, both from your senses and from your thoughts and emotions. It is like a nexus for all areas of your psyche to send information to and from the various parts of it.
Everything you think you see and experience around you, all the shapes, colours, sounds, textures etc. are actually reconstructions of the external world within your mindscape. While your external senses are engaged, the mindscape is filled primarily with the output of your sensory organs. When you are asleep, this same mindscape is filled with images conjured from your subconscious mind, creating images and experiences in the same way that your senses do while you are awake. The goal of basic visualization is to shut off both the external and the subconscious and create images conjured up from your will alone, exerting conscious control over your mindscape.
After successfully carving away all the images you do not want you can proceed to ‘engrave’ upon your mind the images that you do want. A simple example is the first exercise mentioned in the section on ‘Emptiness’, which is that of visualizing numbers appearing on your mind’s eye. It does not have to be numbers, it can be anything you want. At first it is best to work with simple shapes or familiar forms. Try visualizing numbers, letters, squares, circles, triangles, etc. After you succeed in doing this, which may take several meditation sessions, try more complicated images. Try conjuring up the memory of the face of a person you are very familiar with. Then, try erasing it and reconstructing it with your will alone and not from memory. Try inventing a brand new face. You can do this with any form or object.
After exercising visual visualizations try engaging your other senses as well. Play a song you love through your head. Then try reconstructing it with different instruments or a different voice. Make up your own song in your head. Invent other sounds as desired. Remember the way a certain texture felt against your skin. Feel the softness and the warmth of a plush blanket or your favourite sweater. Try to imaging what it would feel like if it were even softer. Try other textures: creamy chocolate rubbing off on your fingers, the cold softness of snow, the uncomfortable feel of sandpaper. Each time remember it as it was, then reinvent it in some way. Remember a fragrance which you love. Conjure it up until you can smell it fully. Try the same with taste.
Perform these exercises with great patience and care. It may take several weeks or even months to become proficient and a lifetime to master.
5-Senses Meditation:
Once you are comfortable enough with each of your senses in isolation, try putting them all together in a single image. Conjure up your favourite fruit in your mind’s eye. See it fully - a perfect specimen without any flaws. Look at all the nuances of colour and shading on it. Feel its texture, touch it from every side. Peel or cut the fruit and listen to the sound that is made when you do so. Put it back together and do it again at different speeds, hearing and seeing the difference each time. Smell the fragrance of your fruit intensify as it opens up. Take it all in. Feel your mouth salivating as it anticipates the fruit. Taste it. Allow the flavour to intensify to exquisite proportions. It is a perfect specimen with a perfect flavour.
Controlling Images:
As you practice visualizations you may notice something strange which occurs to most beginners, which is that your images seem to take on a will of their own. If you create a face, it may start making different expressions of its own accord. Or if you try moving an image from one place to another it may begin bouncing back and forth or spinning around in circles uncontrollably. This is normal. Remember that the mindscape not naturally utilized by conscious will; it belongs to the senses and the subconscious in alternating cycles.
When you feel that you are losing control of your images what is happening is that the subconscious mind is attempting to re-enter the mindscape. The most important thing to do when this happens is to remain calm. Reassert your conscious control by focussing on your breath once more, taking deep and controlled breaths. Remember that breathing is the most natural gateway between the conscious and unconscious minds.
After being certain you are calm attempt to gently but forcefully guide the images to the state or position you desire that they be in. Very clearly bring to mind the end state which you desire, then guide the current image into that state.
Practice controlling your images. When counting down, instead of making one number appear after another, try transforming one number into the next. Conjure up a human form and make it take various poses. Play a piano in your mind, playing each note precisely as you desire it.
Using Visualization:
Visualization is an extremely powerful tool. It can be used for a variety of activities including energy work. Only the latter uses will be discussed here.
There are two primary uses of visualization in energy work, which are conjuring up preceding and succeeding images.
Preceding images can be created before or during the manipulation of energy. It consists of creating an image in your mindscape and then guiding the flows of energy to follow the image you have conjured up.
Succeeding images can be created after or during the manipulation of energy. It consists of using one or more of your psychic senses to determine what has actually happened through your manipulation and translating what you sense into your mindscape in a more accessible form.
To properly use visualization in conjunction with energy work you must alternate between creating preceding and succeeding images so that you can both express your will fully and confirm that your will has be accurately expressed. At first the images may seem reminiscent of losing control of your images, as mentioned above. If so, this means that your will has not been properly expressed. Use the same techniques mentioned above to re-establish control and try again.
|
Linear Mode
