STUDY THE WISDOM LESSONS (Seekers’ Lesson 3)

STUDY THE WISDOM LESSONS (Seekers’ Lesson 3)

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Greetings in the Almighty God’s I Am Presence, Noble Seekers!

For this moment’s reflection, I’d stress on the need to read and study the wisdom lessons or ‘the Teaching’. The essential attitudes to observe regarding the Teaching goes by the social marketing line: Read Everything, Question Everything, Doubt Nothing. Let’s go over these attitudes one after the other.

Read Everything!

Read and study everything that would come into mind as contributing to building a reflective, contemplative, wise self. This is a very important aspect of your own ‘capacity building’ efforts.

It’s up to you to define where to begin. Fact is, you may have already begun. In my case, I began with the Holy Bible: page after page of it, hungry with knowledge and wisdom, I quaffed every wisdom note that I could procure from both the Old and New Testaments. It’s the King James version, coming from the Vatican, brought to my ancestral home by my gifted, genius grandfather. I was 15 years old when I first went through it…. So, you can begin with scriptural materials.

There are many of you there who may find scriptural materials as quite nauseating. “Geek! What Stone Age kind of things! What Greek stuff!” (pardon me, dear Greeks!) Alright, if you’re this type, then maybe you can begin with controversial materials. I was 17 when I read the first controversial, mystical material, The Spear of Destiny by Trevor Ravenscroft, a British white magician. The book came from my own biological mom’s collection (we all have a Divine Mom, remember!). I almost went ecstatically orgasmic while reading the stuff! More such materials came later. You can do the same.

Maybe you can begin with the conspiracy materials. Those among you who are fond of detective novels can perhaps be titillated with conspiracy stuff. There’s The Hiram Key by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, Their Kingdom Come/Inside the Secret World of Opus Dei by Robert Hutchison, and more reads. There are so many reads on this stuff on internet by the way, and most likely so many of you Seekers have already done research on them.

 

Perhaps the esoteric philosophy materials could be your entry point. These texts go by their wisdom traditions: Theosophy, Kabbalah, Essene, Gnosis, Druid, Eleusinian, Sufi, Esoteric Buddhism, Esoteric Christianity, Freemasonry, Anthroposophy, Mayan, Native American, Babaylan (Malayo-Philippine), Veda, Vedanta, Tantra, Tao, and related items. You may focus on just one tradition, but I’d highly recommend that you also do research on the others across time. I began with theosophy, circa 1980, I guess because these lessons were largely those synthesized by my guru El Morya and his team, which he then passed on (channeled) to HP Blavatsky and her team.

Transdisciplinal materials could suit you as entry point. They combine philosophy and sciences’ discourses into an exquisitely woven singular material. Tao of Physics by Deepak Chopra is an excellent example of the transdisciplinal type. Zecharia Sitchin also writes using transdisciplinal methodology, which you will observe in such books of his as The Wars of Gods and Men and Divine Encounters.

You may be drawn the strongest to psychism and magic. Edgar Cayce’s psychic readings would be fitting start ups. Ravenscroft is also into this genre. U.S. Andersen’s Secret Powers of Pyramids is another example. Wicca could also be worth reviewing for you. Materials on evocative magic may also attract you. There’s also sex magic, such as the Toaist Secrets of Love by Mantak Chia. Materials on prophecy and futuristics made by mystics and psychics are related ones. Go ahead, please read them.

So, Noble Seekers, there is no fixed formula as to which reading to start. Feel it from your heart, take away those barriers of mind that could deter you along the path. But never forget: read all of those generic materials as much as possible. They are all important. Stay away from thoughts that “these are more important than those ones,” “scriptures are Stone Age and irrelevant,” “My God! Scary New Age stuff! That’s Lucifer’s footnotes!” If you think this way, thou art no seeker at all.

Question Everything!

“Oh My God! That’s wonderful!”…”My God, those texts are exceedingly wise! I’d follow them all!” “Look at Deepak Chopra! He’s great and superman! I’ll read only him from now on!”

 

Hello! Aren’t you Seekers? Only the cult devotees romanticize certain teachings and texts and tend to look down on others as filthy and small-time. Read everything, but also add the element of a critical mind while you reflect and contemplate on the texts. Never worship the texts or its writers.

I am a Filipino, and I was reared to a great extent in Anglo-Saxon philosophy that was brought to the islands by the Americans and the post-colonial scholars. I was also schooled at the University of the Philippines (main campus), where the critical tradition is dominant and sacrosanct till these days. The Germanic-continental tradition is an addition in my alma mater, the sociology department. The critical tradition has been with me since, and I find the critical mind very helpful for reflection purposes.

I was also trained as a scientist—sociologist and political economist—and I always bear with me the thinking that every text that I read contains errors or gaps. No text whatsoever is so perfect that it would withstand the test of time and be all-relevant for all times. There also is no such thing as ‘Theory Of Everything’ or TOE, and I’m allergic to any contention about certain texts categorically declared as meta-narratives fit for all situations and explanatory of all phenomena. That’s pure dung!

Always allow some space for critical mental process, for some questionings. As in any scientific work, there always is a possibility of 10% error. As a scientist, I’m already very happy when critiques would say I’m hitting 90%. Upon releasing my book 13^th Gate Unveiled, a prophetic-futuristic book about the Philippines, ASEAN, and the Aquarian Age, I was gladdened by a note from a fellow mystic Rachel Somera when she claimed that I was hitting 90% accuracy. What a high mark for an amateur prophet!

In my own experience of readings on theosophy, I was almost completely mesmerized by the brilliant synthesis of HP Blavatsky. Her team mates—Hodson, Leadbeater, A. Bessant, Q. Judge—were all able mystics and thinkers, and met my expectations of what Teachers should be: as Thinkers first and foremost. But their treatment of the ‘Lucifer Question’ got me raising questions. This gap somehow led to the adoption of Theosophy as a foundational reading by secret societies of Fallen Ones such as Hitler’s Germanenorden. One gets the feeling that “Lucifer is Cool!” after going through the Lucifer aspect of their reflections. I don’t buy that part. And I was led into further research to get clarified about the ‘Lucifer Question’. I’m still researching on the Lucifer item till these days.

Not only that. The time-frames used by Blavatsky in her estimations of the evolution of human generic types—called ‘root races’—seem unbelievably and overwhelmingly long! Is this the only way of looking at time periods or timelines? It is more apparent to me that Blavatsky & team was largely seeing reality, including time period and the evolutionary pattern (cycical), from the focal lenses of a paradigm (to use Thomas Kuhn’s term). I was right in my questions as I stumbled upon texts, such as those written by the fellow mystic & teacher Sal Rachele, indicating the paradigm-fixation of many texts. Needless to say, our view of the time periods can also change, the timelines of ancient history can change, depending on the paradigm we employ in our analysis or exegesis of the templates of life.

I should like to share more questions here, but space doesn’t allow. To end this portion, Noble Seekers, go ahead and raise questions. Keep tab of them, jot them down if possible. These questions will lead you to do research all the more, and this is what ‘seeking’ as an attitude is all about: texts should be able to provoke you into raising questions, and into doing inquiries along the way.

Doubt Nothing!

When you are able to raise questions properly—meaning to say, the texts passed through your inquisitive eyes and critical mind—than you can move on to ascertain truths about realities. The truth criterion, in my mind, is still a very relevant criterion, and I do not go along with the contentions of the post-modernist about the matter who regard the truth criterion as hubris.

Anything that is absolutist is a questionable thing to me. Fixed Idea is dangerous and obnoxious. But it is equally dangerous and obnoxious to throw away the truth criterion. “Aha that’s passé! There’s nothing today but the all-luring power of Desire! The Primal! What truths are you talking about?” That’s the line of the followers of Foucault, Derrida, Lacan, Baudrillard and the post-structuralists, and they are entitled to their opinions. But think many times before you regard the truth criterion as trash.

Nothing can stop you from perceiving facets of reality as paradigmatic: you can observe them from different angles, and your inferences or conclusions will depend largely on the vantage point from which you perceive them. For instance, in Theosophy, the ontological dimensions are thought of as comprising 7 dimensions of existence, with 7 corresponding bodies of man. There are some other texts that have a different view, as they employ the ‘density’ category rather than ‘dimension’ category. Accordingly, there are ’12 densities’, we are 3^rd density humans in the physical plane, that the planet will evolve shortly into a 4^th density planet, and so on.

There may be variances in inferences due to paradigm differences, as observed above. But one thing is certain at least: the physical plane, where we live, isn’t the only ontological dimension, and that, logically and empirically, there are dimensions higher than the 3^rd dimension or 3^rd density. And because of this certainty, I will never doubt the existence of beings in other dimensions, as they can be empirically observed and known. And I will never doubt the existence of the all-pervasive, all-guiding Almighty God, as both inductively and through yoga meditation I am certain of the existence of the Highest Cosmic Being and of ontological planes higher than the physical plane.

I’m not saying that doubting is a bad thing. What I’m saying is that in the end, you must establish certainties based on the truth criterion. That would be the start of increased wisdom.

So here we end, Noble Seekers. Prepare your own research agenda, trust your Inner Guide in the process, and you’re into this version of ‘magical mystery tour’. Good luck in your enquiries!

[Writ 04 October 2007, Quezon City, MetroManila]

YOGA MEDITATION: SCIENCE & CRAFT (Seekers’ Lesson 2)

YOGA MEDITATION: SCIENCE & CRAFT (Seekers’ Lesson 2)

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Magandang umaga sa inyo! Good morning to you all!

I’d summarize to you at this moment what yoga is: as science and practice. Yoga means yoke, a signifier for union. One who practices yoga would want to re-establish a union with the God Self even while the practitioner still resides—in bio-physical form—in the physical plane. There are too many materials on yoga, and a lot of teachers too, so please go ahead and learn from those materials and teachers. I will summarize in this article meditation as a specific yoga practice. As a clarification, this is only a beginner’s meditation kit and not one for the advanced types (mystics, masters).

Meditation as Science. Yoga meditation is a science first of all. It is a method that is the least costly, available for free or for a minimal cost (if acquires it via a workshop), and safe. It is effective in expanding awareness, increasing one’s vibratory frequency, increasing intelligence, acquiring information/knowledge using higher intuition, harnessing beneficial energies (chi, cosmic energy), and integrating life experiences and the self into a coherent tapestry. One can deal with it in the manner of an experiment: go through it, examine the effects along the way, and compare your pre-yoga and yoga meditation practice periods.

Meditation and the Psyche. Meditation is a psychological undertaking, a fact that adds to its scientific import (science of psychology). It comprises a part of the reflective-introspective chain, to note: focusàcontemplationàmeditation. Meditation is not identical to contemplation. But contemplation can be the start of a meditation session. Focus is needed, of course, as one cannot contemplate and meditate without a foundation of focus. Meditation, as method, increases a person’s power of focus and contemplation, in that it provides order and integration to the two processes.

In addition, as an integrative tool, yoga meditation can help stabilize those fractured aspects of the lower self. For instance, if one is emotionally unstable, meditation can aid the practitioner in healing the emotional body (astral body) and harmonize it with one’s cognition (mental body or mind), bio-physical body, and ‘social self’. If the social self is fractured, which causes personality disorder conditions (manifesting in suicidal ideation and sociopathic hostilities), meditation can also be employed to heal and stabilize this aspect of the lower self.

Purposes. The purposes or goals of yoga meditation must be made clear to the person before practicing it. In planning practice, we divide goals into the general objective (main goal) and the specific objectives.

For all seekers, it should be clear that the general objective (long-term or strategic goal) is self-realization or God-realization. They mean the same. Self here means the higher self, while realization refers to the awakening and functioning of the higher self (or God-self), and its direct interventional guidance over one’s lower self or ‘psyche’ even while one is physically awake. For most people, their God-selves are asleep most often, which makes the folks somnambulists or sleep-walkers.

With the inner eye focused on such a goal, one can then move on to the specific objectives whenever one meditates. These specific objectives should accrue to the attainment of the long-term goal. Use meditation, for instance, in looking for a house fit for your purposes (yogi’s house type), spouse to marry, jobs to take, studies to undertake, heal ailing aspects of yourself and/or physique, travels to make, speeches to write, and so on. These specific purposes are often tied up to your needs, both felt needs (of the moment) and those that are arising or yet to emerge.

There are those people who mentor inquirers into using meditation for opening up the 3^rd eye. This is psychism, and I declare categorically that I am not among the mentors of psychic crafts. Think many times, Dear Seeker, before you embark on this purpose. Without spiritual awakening and sterling virtues developed in the Path, you will just use those paranormal powers to control and manipulate people, to aggrandize wealth and expand your ego. I am a Teacher of the Path, not a master of psychism.

The Craft or Practice of Meditation. Meditation as a 7^th Ray practice often goes hand in hand with prayer. Prayer’s function is to send messages to the higher spheres, while meditation’s function is to receive messages from the same spheres (including from your higher self). In my practice, I often pray before I meditate. Prayer helps one to establish focus & contemplation quickly. It will also help one to invite higher beings such as an Archangel or Angels who can protect you while you’re meditating. Let’s go over the process one after the other:

1.      Abdominal state. Meditate at least 1 & ½ hours after taking a meal, or 1 hour after taking an afternoon snack. It is bad to meditate when there’s too much food in the stomach, as the mass will block the flow of chi (vital energy) and can make you feel bad in your abdomen.

 

2.      Schedules. I presume you are the urban/suburban Seeker, busy with work schedules. So do your meditation in staggered manner. When ‘capable’ of meditating in full (1 hour per day), meditate for 20 minutes upon waking up (before bath & breakfast), 20 minutes inserted in the morning, and 20 minutes before sleeping. Or, if time permits, 30 minutes upon waking up and 30 minutes before sleeping. If you can’t meditate while in the workplace, then meditate after work and before you take supper.

 

3.      Duration. When you’re just starting, begin with a regimen of just 10 minutes per day for at least 1 month. On your 2^nd month, raise it to 15 minutes per day. On the 3^rd month, raise it to 20 minutes total. On the 6^th month, go ahead with a total of 30 minutes per day (e.g. 10 upon waking up, 10 at daytime, and 10 before sleeping). Every 2 months thereafter, add an increment of 5 minutes per day for each month, till you get to 45 minutes per day on your 12^th month or 1^st year. Stay at that schedule for another year. On year 2, begin a regimen of 1 hour daily, and stay at that schedule for at least seven (7) years. Please don’t jump ahead by forcing a 2-5 hour regimen per day during that 7-year period, as this will abruptly open up your chakras, both major and minor. Such regimens are more fit for monks and not for you Seekers.

 

4.      Where to Face. East or North would be the best cardinal points to face for both prayer and meditation processes. If you meditate using the prostate or supine lying position, then your head must face east or north. My bed faces east, and I meditate using the supine post most often, and it’s been having great effects for me at this cardinal point, rest assured.

 

5.      Positions. A simple squat with your legs crossed in place of a lotus position for the non-Indians, as our physique were conditioned differently from Indians. Or, sit on a chair, but don’t cross your legs. Chin up, as this will connect your ‘lower terminals’ with your ‘higher terminals’ more easily (don’t ever bow your heads, except when you do your brief prayer before meditation). Or, you can lie down in bed or on the floor (on a mat or carpet), or on a grassy area (make sure there are no bugs or ants). If you squat or sit on a chair, you can use the closed-finger mudra or simply open up your palms and rest them face-up on your lap or near the knee. In supine post, let your palms face the floor (face down). As you advance, you can go ahead and study the mudras that are recommended by yoga schools.

 

6.      Breathing. Meditation breathing is what makes it stunningly unique. When one masters yoga breathing, it is no longer air but chi (for mystics add cosmic energy) that enters the lungs and your body. Begin by breathing deeply, and visualize white light coming down from above your crown and moving down your aura, then pause a second or two. Then, exhale slowly, with your out-breath even slower than in-breath, and visualize dark energies flowing from your body and out of your nostrils as you exhale, then pause a second or two. Then inhale again in the same slow process, pause, then exhale and pause, and so on. Do this for around 15-22 counts.

 

7.      Eyes & Brow Focus. You can opt to open or close your eyes. If you choose the open eye option, fix your eyes in a point on the wall or on a space ahead of you. Meantime, put your focus on your brow area. Use that focus during the entire process of meditation. It pays most specially to use a potent focus when inhaling, and when meditating on certain themes.

 

8.      Music. You may opt to meditate with music. Nature music, new age music, soft classical music, and soft world music would be best. They are musical pieces that elevate and transport you to the higher realms. You can also meditate without music, as this can make you attune to a higher music: the ‘music of the spheres’. Soft musical pieces that are melancholic, such as ballads and love songs, are a no-no in meditation, as they transfix you in sadness and cut you off from a higher awakening that happens when meditating.

 

9.      Mental Inactivity. While meditating, make sure not to think actively of whatever images, save for the theme you will meditate about. You can opt to meditate without a theme. ‘Empty-mind’ yoga is what zen prescribes, and this technique is difficult for most people to do. I rather recommend the ‘passive thinking’ rather than ‘zero thinking’ technique: observe thoughts that come to your mind, don’t block them, simply observe them as they come, but don’t actively produce thoughts. Guaranteed it is easy to meditate this way. In my case, I was trained to meditate using counting, and so I count a number from inhale to exhale phase, two for the next phase, and so on. 100 counts often equate to 15 minutes, so I don’t have to use a watch or clock to measure time while meditating. 200 counts is 30 minutes more or less.

 

10.  Theme Meditation. After doing the initial focus and conditioning (first 15-22 counts), you can move on to your meditation theme if you opt for this. If counting distracts you, then move on to the theme without counting. Follow the mental inactivity state. When your theme is optimized, move on to the theme-less state, observe the flow of energy, observe the singing of birds in the surrounds, observe the wonderful power of silence, and so on. Then end your meditation.

 

11.  Ending. When ending meditation, go back to your regular breathing. If you meditated for half an hour, breath regularly for at least 10 minutes or 100 counts before standing up. The regular breathing will help bring back your nervous system to regular mode. And don’t just stand up abruptly after the process. For at least two (2) minutes, savor the quietude, the fine environment, the wonderful moment. Meditation should make you exude good mood and harmony.

[Writ 02 October 2007, Quezon City, MetroManila]