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There are many levels to the practice of
meditation, but before one can really begin to direct the action of the mind,
one must first learn to calm the mind. Most people have their minds so full of
thoughts, randomly scurrying back and forth in a chaotic and disorganized
fashion, that it is important to calm the mind before one attempts to put it to
use.
And before we are able to calm the mind, and compose our thoughts, we have to
calm the body, so that we are not distracted by our body. This is the first
level of meditation, the ability to relax the body at will. This is a simple
and effective means of doing so, and has been practiced for millennia by those
trained in metaphysics.
The first thing to do is arrange a time and place where you will be
uninterrupted. It should be a private place, not too bright, nor in complete
darkness, but with dim indirect lighting. if you have bright light shining in
your face, you will have a hard time relaxing, as when the facial muscles are
relaxed, the eyes are partially open. Have you ever seen someone who was asleep,
and noticed that their eyes were open, just a little? This is what happens when
the body is properly relaxed for meditation, all the muscles return to a state
of rest, and this allows the eyes and mouth to open slightly. So first, select a
place to do your meditation which is private, quiet, and dimly lit. This should
be the place where you always meditate, you should do it in the same place and
preferably at the same time of day for the first few months until you get
familiar with the techniques involved. It is also necessary to go and relieve
your body, (go to the bathroom) before you meditate, as the bladder and
sphincter muscles will also relax when your body is calm, and that can be
problematic if one has not attended to the functions of the excretory system
before meditating ;)
Another thing to do is to find yourself a blanket, shawl or robe with which you
are comfortable. It should be of natural fabric, preferably cotton or silk, but
denim will suffice as well. It should be set aside for meditation, and not used
for any other purpose. It should be kept in a box or cupboard when not in use.
Why do you use a blanket when you begin to meditate? is it because you want to
look like a monk? No, it is for the same reason that electricians use vinyl tape
to insulate connections. The blanket ("robe") is to put something of a barrier
between you and the ambient energy fields around you, which can be very
distracting when you are learning to meditate. So now that we have a place to do
our meditation, and we have a blanket to wrap ourselves in, and we have attended
to the needs of our body, ( and that also includes not eating a huge meal before
meditating) we are ready to begin.
Now there is a lot of confusion about the correct posture in which to sit while
meditating. There are those who say that you can only meditate in the lotus
position, and that is absolute rubbish. What matters is this, that you be
comfortable. You will not be able to meditate correctly if your body is not
comfortable. Also, in order for the energy circuits in your body to flow
properly, you should arrange your body in such a way that the spine is in a
straight line. Your head, spine, and hips should be in a straight line. And you
should be resting comfortably, those are the only important considerations as
regards the posture one uses during first level meditation.
Now if you happen to be a yogi, or perhaps if you have an oriental body, then
maybe it is comfortable for you to sit in the lotus position, since the bone
structure of eastern bodies is slightly different than that of western bodies.
If you have a Caucasian body, there is absolutely no point whatsoever in trying
to bend yourself into a position which takes all of you self control just to get
into... and then trying to forget about your body. Understand? westerners are
not genetically accustomed to sitting upright without something to support their
back, and so most westerners should use a soft chair, pillow or perhaps a wall
to support the spine, and then they will be comfortable. Your arms should be by
your sides, and your legs should not be crossed. Just kind of sprawl yourself
out in the most comfortable position you can find, taking care to keep your
spine in a relatively straight line. You should not be all hunched up, nor
should you be in the fetal position. Incidentally, this is another reason to be
alone and in private when you learn to meditate, because if you are not, you
will be thinking about the fact that maybe you look a little silly all wrapped
up in a blanket, sprawled out comfortably... when you ought to be looking
dignified... like some high Tibetan lama or something... *chuckle* it doesn't
matter what you look like when you are meditating, it matters that you are
comfortable and that the energy circuits in your body are able to flow freely.
The clothing you wear while meditating should be loose fitting and not tight
anywhere on your body.
 Here
is a reprint of an old eastern picture. Now there are no doubt many people...
whom, upon seeing this picture... would think that those ancient Orientals must
indeed have been very ill-informed to think that there are little men inside
your body. Well, actually the purpose of this picture is an occult one, not a
medical one. And those ancient easterners were more well-informed than most
people believe. You will notice that the little men are doing the work of the
various organs in the body, and that is of significance for the beginner in
meditation. See, of course they are not actually little men. What they are is
nodules of consciousness associated with it? Well, they do.
When a mystic looks inside their body, they see a network of streams of energy
and clouds of energy. If they 'zoom' their vision in to a smaller scale and look
in detail at the patterns of energy inside their body, they see that these lines
and fields of energy are in fact composed of small points of light. And that is
what the little men in the picture above represent. Each of these points of
light is a nodule of mental energy, working in unison with a portion of orgone
(emotional/astral) energy. The mental energy tells the orgone what to do, and
the orgone animates the physical cell to do it's job.
This is what the little men in this picture represent. The point is this: That
for every cell, and for every organ in your body, there is indeed an internal
'servitor' which is simply a part of your energy system. Your energy system is
organized into groups of individual bits of energy, and each of them has a job
to do.
Take some time and look at the picture above. Obviously they do not look like
little men, they actually look like small points of light. You can visualize
them as little men if you wish, or you can visualize them as little machines, or
you can just save yourself some time and visualize them as little points of
light. The important thing is that you do spend some time visualizing them, and
become familiar with the concept that they exist, that inside the life energy
pathways in your body are innumerable individual nodules of energy, and that
each one is there to do a job. And their job is to operate your physical body.
Some of them supervise the operation of blood cells, some of them supervise the
operation of muscle cells, every one of your organs has a collection of them.
As you will see in the picture, they are regimented. That is to say... organized
into groups, and there is an 'overseer for each group. There are, for example a
collection of several thousand of them... one for every cell... in your heart.
And then there is one, a little larger and brighter than the rest, that oversees
the operation of your heart as a whole. Do you know what happens when you think
about these little internal servitors inside your body? You communicate with
them when you think about them, since they are all under your control. They are
all part of you. You are not doing anything differently than you do every time
you move your body, the only difference is that you are learning to communicate
with them consciously. Perhaps you have heard that your astral body is
superimposed over your physical body. Well, perhaps you are beginning to
understand how that actually is carried out. When you decide to raise your hand,
your brain sends a signal through channels to the individual bits of energy that
operate various nerves, muscles and so forth involved in the action of raising
your hand.
The mental bit of each nodule receives a signal from the brain, and relays it to
the emotional part of the nodule, which in turn animates the physical structure
to which it corresponds. 24/7, pumping your blood, firing the synapses in your
brain, sending signals along nerve cells, breaking down the food in your
stomach, exchanging the gasses in your lungs, filtering the pollutants out of
your fluids, moving chemicals around inside your body, patching your skin where
it needs it, telling you that you need to eat or sleep or go to the washroom.
Well, in order to meditate, you have to forget about your body for a while, so
that you can concentrate on your thoughts. So the first thing you do in
meditation is develop the ability to do just that, forget about your body for a
while. And in order to effect that, you will need to communicate with these
little internal workers you have. You will need to tell them all to take a
coffee break or something, so that you can withdraw your consciousness from the
physical body. When you remove from your thought energy from other things, and
concentrate on these small internal helpers, a communication is established
between you and them.
It's that simple. They are always listening to your thoughts, always waiting for
you to issue orders to them. Normally they are receiving those orders from your
subconscious mind, but when you learn to meditate you develop the ability to
issue those orders from your conscious mind, at will. This is how yogis are able
to exert such apparently miraculous control over their bodies. It is really not
miraculous or amazing at all once you understand how it works. The real miracle
is that you are alive. With just a bit of practice, going to your quiet spot
alone, getting comfortable, and sitting by yourself with your eyes closed...
imagining these little internal workers... thinking about what they would look
like if you could see them... you will discover that you CAN see them, in your
mind's eye!
 And
more than just seeing them, you will realize that they are 'linked' to your
thoughts. You will be able to perceive a sort of 'expectant silence' on their
part, like they were waiting for you to give them instructions, hanging on your
every word... which in fact they are. Here is a more accurate depiction of some
of the internal components of your body. Take a few minutes and commit this
picture to memory. Get familiar with what your internal organs look like. It is
very difficult to gain conscious control over the energy in your body if you do
not know what your body looks like on the inside. As you are looking at the
picture above, remember to imagine all those little helpers, bits of light, or
little men, or machines, whatever you want to imagine them as. Imagine them
crammed into every part of your body, busily doing their jobs, operating the
human body for you.
And it is a good thing that we all have them, because it would be really
cumbersome to have to think about breathing and pumping your heart and so on and
so forth all the time, wouldn't it? Spend some time every day imagining these
little workers, points of light, swarming through your body. Imagine your
internal organs and circulatory system crawling with them. Don't be freaked out,
they are not bugs, they are not invaders or parasites, they are you.
Get used to the fact that they are there, and you will find it is not so hard to
'tune in' to them. All you have to do is go and sit quietly and comfortably
alone and imagine them, think about them, and you will begin to 'see' them at
work in your body. For now just observe them, and become proficient at observing
them. At first it may take you several efforts before you see anything, and then
for a while you will see them sometimes and sometimes not, but after a while you
will be able to sit down and 'tune in' to them basically whenever you want. It
may indeed take you a few days to get the hang of it, but you will. And when
you reach that stage, where you can sit down and begin observing them inside
your body, 'tuning in' to them, you are ready to begin meditating. So... now
that you have gotten the idea into your head that these little internal
workers exist... and spent a bit of time observing them... you should be used to
'tuning in' to them. That is what you are doing when you observe them, after
all, you are tuning your thoughts in to them.
Now... instead of just observing them, talk to them. Remember that they all work
for you, you are the entity that they are part of. They are hanging on your
every word. Go and get comfortable in your spot, wrap yourself up in your
blanket, and imagine these little guys in your body doing their jobs.
And when you are tuned into them, send them a command. Send them this command:
command them to stop what they are doing, tell them that it's time for a break.
You do not have to speak it out loud, all you have to do is think it firmly, and
with some determination. You are meditating, and you wish to forget about your
body for a while, you will come back to it later. For now, you want to
concentrate on your mind, not your body, so you want all these little guys to
stop what they are doing and take a break. And imagine them stopping all
their tireless activities, and all making their way from wherever they are... to
your solar plexus. Tell them all to stop working, and gather together in your
solar plexus. (which is the area between your chest and your stomach, the little
depression that you have right below your bottom front ribs). You should start
with your right leg, imagine them all in your right leg, working away, and when
you can see them all (all the ones in your leg), tell all of them in your right
leg to stop working, and make their way in an orderly manner to your solar
plexus, where they are to wait quietly for further instructions. Imagine them
all marching up from your leg into your solar plexus, and you will feel a
sensation overtaking your leg, it will relax and almost feel like it is not
there. That is the sign that you are doing this correctly.
Go through all the parts of your body this way, in the following order:
1/right leg - 2/left leg - 3/right arm - 4/left arm - 5/hips and waist - 6/chest
and shoulders - 7/neck and head.
You may have to stop and do it again, if you get distracted, some of them will
go back to their jobs. Maybe some of them will mill about in confusion for a
little while. Keep on top of them. Look at what they are doing, and tell them
all to stop working and make their way to your solar plexus. Keep at it until
they are all gathered in your solar plexus. As you go through this exercise, you
will notice that your whole body becomes calm, it relaxes, and the muscles sag,
the heart beat slows down, the breathing slows down, and everything goes into a
sort of 'standby' mode. That is the sign you are doing the exercise correctly.
Do not be worried about your body malfunctioning as a result of this, it will
continue to run on autopilot without these little guys just fine for a while.
You are meditating, and you are withdrawing your consciousness from the physical
body (and the physical world it perceives) in order to meditate.
So... now you should have all these little guys gathered in your solar plexus.
Make sure to send out a command though your whole body that any 'stragglers'
will come along. There may be a few workers who are really stubborn, and it may
take a few tries to get them to stop their work and move up to the solar plexus.
You will most likely feel a sort of pressure, warmth, or perhaps a tingling
sensation in your solar plexus. That is a sign that you are doing this
correctly. Do not let it make you uncomfortable, it will pass. Now instruct them
all to leave the body, going out through the solar plexus and into what is often
called the 'silver chord'. They are not going to escape, they are not going to
get lost, what they are doing is going into the care of your higher self for
safe keeping until you are ready for them to return. Be thinking that as you
order them out of your physical body. Imagine them all leaving your solar
plexus, streaming out in a line... heading off to the place which your higher
self has for them... and disappearing from your view. Wait calmly until they are
all gone. Make sure that the last few make their way out of your body.
You will notice that as they leave from the solar plexus... going out along the
silver chord to the higher self, and disappearing from your view... the
sensation in your solar plexus gradually lessens until it is no more. In fact,
your whole body will feel slightly cool, comfortable, and empty. Almost like it
isn't there. Now just sit for a while, and you will feel almost like you are
floating. That is what it feels like to have your body relaxed. That is the
first level of meditation, the act of relaxing the body completely. Once you
have reached this state, this is when you would begin whatever mental things you
were going to work on, but since this is the first level of meditation, it is as
far as we are going to go today.
So just sit for a minute or two, and when you are ready, call them back. Now
that you have relaxed your body, call the little workers all back. Imagine them
all coming back into your body through the same silver chord, entering the body
through the solar plexus... and each one making its way back to its station
inside your body... and resuming it's job. You will feel sensation returning to
your body as you do this. Do not rush the affair, let them all get back to their
places, and them stretch your arms and legs and get up.
Do not worry about anything else getting into your body, you are not inviting
anything into your body other than your own energy. That is all. Quite safe. In
fact it is marginally safer than normal conditions, because when you send these
little workers off to the keeping of your higher self for a time, you attract
the attention of your higher self. And therefore it's protective influence is
more focused. There are also people who believe it is dangerous to empty the
mind, they believe that something can get into your mind when you do that. well,
in most cases it already has hahaha. but in any case, just think about it this
way. Say if your mind was a chalkboard, and there was one small red line of
chalk that was an invader. Under which circumstance would it be more obvious to
you, this little red line? when the board is full or when it is empty? you have
nothing to fear from regularly cycling these little workers in and out of your
body. In fact, it is rather good for you. And when you have completed the
exercise, you will notice that it is almost like waking up from a sleep. You may
feel a bit groggy, but it is a pleasant sort of grogginess, a relaxed and
refreshed feeling. In fact, it is similar to waking up from a sleep because what
you have just done is put your body to sleep, but kept your mind awake. Do not
expect to succeed fully at the first attempt with this exercise. It will take
you a few tries. It will take you some practice, and involve effort. But you
will succeed. You will, if you follow these instructions, develop the ability to
relax your body fully at will.
That is the first level of meditation. You will also find that when you are more
proficient at this, you are able to use this technique to exert control over
your body... manage pain, increase the speed of healing in the physical body, go
to sleep when you have a hard time getting to sleep, prevent illnesses from
gaining a hold in you, and many other things... all from developing the ability
to communicate with your internal helpers and issuing the appropriate
instructions to them. And also, when you come out of the experience, you will
see that it leaves you feeling rather pleasant. It is good to give your little
workers a break now and then, doing so increases their stamina considerably. A
lot of people suffer ill health unnecessarily because their little workers are
dragged out and tired all the time. Giving them a regular break not only gives
you control over your body, it helps your body function better. All workers
deserve a break now and then, and the nodules of energy within your body are no
different. Your physical body itself also benefits greatly from a regular period
of relaxation such as this. Practice this until you are able to relax your body,
sit for a few moments, and then restore your body to its normal state. When you
can do this with ease, you are ready for the second level of meditation.
Jon Logan
Inspired by
T. Lobsang Rampa
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