SERVICE AND THE GOLDEN RULE (Seekers’ Lesson 7)

SERVICE AND THE GOLDEN RULE (Seekers’ Lesson 7)

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Let me articulate at this juncture the last of the 7 Ray Lessons that I wish to stress: Serve God and His Creations! I will begin with some reflective notes on the sociological ‘law of reciprocity’ which the masters made known to us through the ‘golden rule’. I will incorporate in the discourse the reflective notes on libertosophy that I elaborated in my book Libertosophy and Freethought: The Path of Illumination for Libertarian Freethinkers.

Sociologists and anthropologists alike discovered the ‘law of reciprocity’ across cultures. In philosophical sense, this law is an axiological standard and is at the core of ethical teachings. On the positive sense, it is stated: “Do for others what you want others to do for you.” In the negative sense, it is stated: “Do not do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you.”

In libertosophy, I outlined three core principles regarding the liberation project: (1) to be able to attain liberation, one must liberate others; (2) only the free can set other people free; and, (3) liberation must be done within the context of the social world (never in isolation from people). They are all inter-connected and mutually reinforcing.

The Teaching is clear that one must practice yoga (union) and attain union by (1) immersing in the social world, (2) observing mutual devotion with your fellows, and (3) doing mutual service unto each other. In no way should one opt to attain nirvana via a total detachment, by meditating inside caves, by retiring in monasteries early in life for successive lives, by a prayerful attitude and yet manifesting anti-social behavior towards fellows. Only under exceptional cases should one do yoga in isolation, such as when one has been exhausted due to over-immersion in the social world for successive lives. In which case, one will be allowed to meditate in isolation by your Mahaguru (e.g. Christ) for an incarnation or two.

But after some times in isolation, your Mahaguru will again remind you to go back to the social world or ‘lifeworld’. At the minimum, one might be allowed semi-isolation, through a monastic life, in which case one is in the company of a group and can then conduct service with a team of monks. At the maximum, one must immerse fully “with the crowd”, practice a profession or business for a while, and then retire early so as to do the work of a Teacher. Another option would be, based on good karma in past embodiments, to incarnate you in a wealthy family so that you need not have to work for a living. For the latter experience, you as an advanced yogi-mystic can catalyze your ascent to Master status and become a Teacher early in life, such as Paramahansa Yogananda and his teacher Sri Yutekswar Giri, both of whom came from wealthy families.

Among the current gurus of financial success is Robert Kiyosaki, writer of best-selling Rich Dad, Poor Dad. In his books, Kiyosaki emphatically reiterated the need to do service unto others, by sharing your graces to others. He said succinctly that “the more you give, the more you receive.” Without need to mention, the trait of stinginess speaks of negative backlash. But very graphically, Kiyosaki did stress the dangers of becoming greedy as this would lead to disasters in one’s financial life. Though Kiyosaki is no yogi, couples of core wisdom lessons were articulated by him that reverberate the wisdom of the ancient masters.

Let it be clarified that there is not one fixed form of service. The 6^th Ray gets manifested in diverse forms. By praying for others, whether singly or as a team, one does service to others. By extending financial gains to the less fortunate ones such as the clients of a hospice, one does service. By doing relief works for those affected by calamities, one does service. By washing the feet of priests during special occasions, even if such priests are dogmatic and sinful, one does service. Who is without sin anyway? “He who is without sin will cast the first stone,” declared Jesus Christ.

In the emerging contexts, service as a manifestation of deeply divine principles has been steadily increasing. So powerful is the subtle force behind the 6^th Ray that even capitalism itself has been transformed from the greedy money-bag capitalism of yesteryears, which has no moral philosophy whatsoever, to that of ‘corporate social responsibility’ capitalism or ‘compassionate capitalism’. Many young executives are turned off by purely money-making concerns, even as some other top echelon executives demand that, prior to their appointment as CEO of a huge conglomerate, CSR must be considered first and foremost. The noble CEO Mr. Licuanan, who steered the Ayala Group for sixteen (16) years, whose leadership led the said conglomerate to grow to multinational scale, made such a demand on the corporate patriarch Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala who empathically listened to him and granted his demand. Look at the enormous stride in the growth of the Ayala Group with CSR at its core principle of operations, which has diversified its investments from Manila to overseas.

 

Many other young executives, fresh from MBA, choose to shy away from the corporate world altogether. Rather, they opt to serve the NGO sector, or the Non-Profit Associations. In a recent research conducted by me lately about international consulting think-tanks, I was amazed at the trebling of numbers of such young executives who serve international aid organizations and non-profit think-tanks, risking their lives in the poor regions of the emerging markets. This trend is bound to grow exponentially as the years go by, rest assured.

Furthermore, there are also businesses whose nature is to help others in their financial lives. Among these enterprises, network marketing is the fastest growing form. It is among the least understood enterprises, because people are fixed to the old ideas of doing business: pure old capitalistic profit-seeking. Per my own research, network marketing socializes teams of marketers to help out each other, via the adage “the rising tide will lift everybody up.” The members of a team can’t afford to claw at each other like crabs, for the demise of one could redound to the demise of the entire group. The team members observe the lesson that you must help yourself first, and when you gain profits than you can have the extra income to help the less fortunate. It makes a lot of sense, this network marketing.

It surely pays to listen to the new gurus of success including those who brought network marketing to maturity such as Jim Dornan of Network 21. They first of all stressed on the power of the team approach, and the norm of helping each other out. In the process, network marketing and related modalities are very potent at deconstructing the ‘crab mentality’ in the lifeworld. Converging with CSR at some junctures, the new modalities for ‘compassionate capitalism’ may lead to some other modalities in the future, and reformat the world from old-world capitalism to altruistic or ‘community economy’ within a broad context of Information Society.

Understood in another sense, the lessons say “do not hoard what you have, learn to be self-sufficient but when resources permit, share your blessings to others.” Among the various thinkers in the scientific community, it was the Erich Fromm who discoursed on the dangers of the principle of hoarding. He articulated this well in his books, such as the Art of Loving. Hoarding is among the counterproductive traits, and the greater we hoard in life the more we become objectified or depersonalized. Liberation becomes expressed, among other things, in more productive behavior such as loving, sharing, or those related to “being” that make us all more ‘human’ in the process.

The creation of a ‘compassionate society’ has been the obsession of many thinkers particularly those on the Left. “Serve the People!” declared Mao Zedong, who secretly was an engaged seeker and was no atheist. This society, in their mind, should also be a ‘rational society’, so that the cognitive principles of ‘rationality’ should harmonize with the non-rational axiological principles or value-based rules. They envisioned integrated societies, where the detached rationality of modernity would harmonize rather than clash with the value-based axioms of the ethicists and spiritual masters.

At this point, let me stress the narrative of Mother Theresa of contemporary India. This great soul is the exemplar of a saint or master who ascended to the level of a Mahatma or Ascended Master via the Path of Service. It pays to contemplate and meditate on her wisdom adages regarding service and love. She counseled us all to do service no matter what response (indifference or sympathy) would be exhibited by the recipient of your altruism. Even if the recipient hates or scorns you for your behavior, love and serve them just the same, quipped this indubitably holy being. No wonder that she won a Ramon Magsaysay Award (Asia’s Nobel prize) for service, which she truly deserves.

We sorely need the likes of Mahatma Theresa today, and we miss her so much. But we need not worry much, as her likes left the world with large cadres of Godly servants who are referred today as Lightworkers. The increasing presence and influence of the Lightworkers is changing the social landscape of the planet. Every institution of society will more or less be transformed in the decades ahead, as the numbers of Lightworkers increase all the more and their altruism becomes the sacrosanct standard behavior.

One last point that I need to stress is the distinction between the “service-for-self” and “service-for-others”. Because altruistic service had become pervasive for the last successive decades, there are those hoarding-oriented or egotistical types who rode the wave by exhibiting “service-for-self” behavior. In this case, one does service so as to be noticed by others. It isn’t serving others due to a “call of the heart” but rather due to selfish pursuits. It is service that won’t allow you to ascend for sure.

 

After our periodic conduct of service, it would be fruitful if we meditate on the service that we have delivered. We can make self-assessments whether the service is egotistical or altruistic. It would also be great if some sensitive souls among our fellows (seekers, mystics, masters) would help us in our self-assessments. It should be the job of a spiritual Teacher to be a seeker’s mirror or feedback-giver and self-development counselor, but with the reality that we have a scarcity of teachers this option is equally scarce. If one is already well connected to one’s Inner Guide, then the guide can be a surrogate for the teacher and can share the feedback through dreams or intuitive thoughts.

To conclude, let us all be like Mahatma Theresa, and let’s hasten the construction of the ‘compassionate society’. Let us serve God, our Fellows, Mother Nature and her biological endowments, and show the greatest respect for all life forms around us including minerals. Who knows, the 6^th Ray could be the last lingering alchemical agent that could make one ascend to the next level of soul evolution. Try it, amid risk, for God Almighty provides the blessings in your Path and protects you along The Way.

Amen. Aum. Om Tat Sat Om.

 

[Writ 23 October 2007, Quezon City, MetroManila]

 

 

 

WILL AND RULERSHIP: WAY OF THE WARRIOR (Seekers’ Lesson 6)

WILL AND RULERSHIP: WAY OF THE WARRIOR (Seekers’ Lesson 6)

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

In this article, I will stress the need for filling up another important ‘glass’ in one’s Path: the ‘glass of Will’. As I have repeatedly echoed in previous articles, faith alone does not suffice to make one ascend the Path towards liberation or salvation. One must fill up other ‘glasses’ of life as well, one of which is the ‘glass of will’.

If life were likened to war, then one must have both lance & sword to be able to gain mileage in many battles to fight. This kill weaponry tandem is equivalent to the Will, a trait that one can’t do without in life. It is Will that keeps one moving in life, and so is it Will that will propel one to climb the Heights of inner transformation. For it is truly a matter of climbing mountains, this task of moving ahead in the Path.

The need for Will-bearers in society led the Hierarchs to evolve a particular class of humans to perform this role: the Warrior or ksattriya class. From among the warriors came a special class, the King, who wasn’t only endowed with Will but was also with extraordinary occult powers like unto the shamans’ or magicians’. The Warrior class, being the embodiment of Will, became the models for developing the traits that were subsidiary to a strong Will.

Weak will leads to stagnation and death, while strong will leads to greater life and liberation. Subsidiary to Will are the following traits: Courage, Audacity, Decisiveness, Self-Determination, and Organizational Ability. Without these traits, human society will flounder and self-destruct. Mutual faith/devotion is as good a pasting material as we can ever imagine, but without Will to enforce the norms of mutual devotion, human associations will self-destruct and society fragment altogether.

Gone may be the Warrior as a class, but in its stead had evolved the ‘Leader Class’. In all sectors of society, there is that high expectation to exercise leadership. Necessarily, the exercise of leadership would require leaders. In political society, we have the Political Class as a subclass of the Leader Class. In the military/police organizations, there is the Officers’ Corps. Among the various professions, we have the Executive Class. Among civil society groups, there is the Mass Leader. Within the Priesthood, there are the Bishops, Patriarchs, and Imams.

 

There simply isn’t any sector today that doesn’t manifest a need for leaders. And no one sector will ever enforce a lesson of “be weak, remain lowly and weakly in esteem, for thou art of the weakest types.” No Sir, the lesson is for one to follow the leaders and, in due time, for one to emerge among the leadership of the organization, group, or sector. And various discourses have emerged to articulate the need for leadership, the traits of a leader, the concomitant need for organization, and determination as a core ingredient in achieving success in business, professional life, and financial life.

Warriorship—and the Kingly class that it spawned—was originally a response to the need for Rulership. The Rulership principle, being a universal/cosmic principle, must be forged in all the dimensions of human life. Rulership begins first of all with one’s individual life: one must be Ruler unto one’s Self. The philosophers Plato and Aristotle were so adroit at their observation of this principle, that both contended for the need to be King unto one’s Self without reserve. Without the capability to be King unto one’s self, it will be futile to be King or leader unto others.

Rulership then moves on to the lifeworld, where the need for leadership and role models among diverse “In-groups” must be exhibited. Sociologists have done enormous studies on the lifeworld, using the scientific tools of sociometrics to examine the elements of social distance and leadership. Max Weber theorized about the ideal types of authority to explicate leadership types in various contexts: traditional, charismatic, rational-legal. The principles and elements discovered and articulated by sociologists eventually overflowed into the new science of management.

Within the context of formal organizations, the principles and practice of management have already developed to a very highly complex, sophisticated level today. In the evolving context of Information Society, new principles are being innovated on which were largely absent during the time of Weber, Taylor and Fayol, the fathers of the science of bureaucracy. Ouichi’s Theory Z, for instance, elaborates on the trend towards more decentralized, autonomous, participative leaderships. The excitement in the sciences of organization and management is a never ending story, and I myself wish to continuously get updated about them as a sociologist and practitioner of organizations and institution-building.

 

Onwards to the highest levels of expression of social organization, the need for Rulership remains invariable although the forms for those at the national, regional and global/international ones do manifest their own peculiarity. At this juncture, we have reached the point where the need for a global state has become irreversible, and sooner or later we will have such a polity at hand. ‘Political Will’ shall then be exercised with greater resolve, and international fiats executed with more teeth than before. Otherwise, in this continuing situation of ‘anarchy of nation-states’, we might end up blowing each other apart and destroying the planet through weapons of mass destruction due to our stubborn intolerance towards differences.

So, as one can see from above, it is sacrosanct an expectation to develop Will and its subsidiary traits to be able to climb the Heights to the ‘mountain of salvation’. To be able to forge a strong Will requires intense studies on the subject, intense focus on modeling one’s behavior from the mentors of Strong Will (executives, leaders of professions, high political leaders, etc), and practicing leadership in real life contexts when opportunities for such present themselves. One must also develop the sharpness at recognizing when a context is filled with opportunities for exercising leadership. In both normal and contingent situations, such opportunities present themselves.

As to the study of the subject, it pays to get some formal studies on leadership, organization and management in whatever form. Even when one had already accomplished a program degree or special course on leadership, one must go on and continuously update oneself about new developments in the field. As many leaders (officials, managers, supervisors) have found out, refresher courses make such strong dent that the practitioner gets to be reminded of both flaws and appropriateness in one’s supervisory behavior after a management workshop.

It is also very enlightening to do self-assessments about one’s own weaknesses and strengths regarding Rulership or leadership principles and practice. Many of the weaknesses and strengths are results of one’s own socializations in previous lives which overflow into the present embodiment. Some others are results of socialization processes in the present embodiment. The lesson, which the 2^nd Ray shares unto us in our learnings of the 1^st Ray, is to sustain our strengths and overcome our weaknesses.

Overcoming weaknesses, through diverse methods of learning and unlearning, is no easy process. But it is a possible undertaking nonetheless. Overcoming the Fear complex is at the core of ironing out weaknesses, and this begins with identifying one’s various fears. A listing of fears could result to a long list, and one should better be honest about them. Honesty about fears will facilitate one’s unlearning of the said traits, while dishonesty will only lead to possible scorn from observers. No one can ever fake Will when one lacks them in certain contexts, since other people are there to observe you. So better be honest, recognize your weaknesses and gradually work out to deprogram them.

Those fears that are learned complexes from out of traumas in life, both past and present embodiments, are the hardest to unlearn. For instance, the habit of obese eating, which could make one mightily overweight, could be traced to a previous life of starvation and death. And so, in this present life, the unconscious fear of starvation leads to indulgent eating habits and obsessive food storage. Therefore, no matter what weight reduction and slimming programs one goes through, the same obese habits would come back and weight lose efforts fail. One must then go through a healing process to be able to solve the problem.

As already mentioned in the previous articles, self-development tools and applications are exploding today. Addressing Rulership-related problems can gain much headway from using such tools. What I wish to emphasize here is for you to add the tool of yoga meditation (and prayers too) to unlock the causes of fears and related problems and take out the dense energies from one’s Unconscious Self. If the fear complex is very deep-seated, schedule at least a week to meditate on a particular fear trait. If the fear complex borders the abnormal or dysfunctional, then better consult a psychiatrist in addition to practicing meditation and prayers.

In my own experience, joining the radical mass movement, at a time of Martial Law, demolished my wimpy or low risk-taking attitude. At age 19 I was initiated via the ‘baptism of fire’, by being posted at the frontline of an Anti-Dictatorship protest rally in Manila’s Rizal Avenue, and was cruelly truncheoned by cops. I admittedly almost urinated with fear and terror on that occasion. But things changed as I joined and led mobilizations against the dictatorship and post-dictatorship regimes. By the time I became a national leader of civil society groups, I no longer had the goose bumps when I faced cops in protest rallies. Many of my warrior traits acquired in previous embodiments that remained dormant in my Unconscious were released along the way, strengths that have since been with me as professional and leader.

 

Not only that, even my disdain for cops disappeared, a disdain that developed during the terror times of Marial Law (1972-86). I was already a yogi and mystic in the mid-90s when I led national mobilizations by teachers against unjust economic and educational policies. At that time, when I looked at the cops in front of my mass formation, I could only see people who were doing their own duties, many of whom feared the mass in front of them. Yoga had changed the way I look at duty. I hope that both the activists and cops learn to meditate and face each other as people doing their own duties respectively.

For a final recommendation, please don’t miss out on the Bhagavad-Gita among your readings on leadership and organization. The sublime thoughts of Sri Krishna are compressed in this book. It is one exquisite piece that integrates High Wisdom into the practice of warriorship. It begins with being possibly struck by the ailment of indecisiveness while one is already in the midst of battles, and what wisdom lessons to practice to overcome the ailment and win the war eventually. The lesson says: win the war within one’s self first, in order to win the greater war ahead of you. What discourse can possibly deconstruct such a recondite principle, if ever?

[Writ 23 October 2007, Quezon City, MetroManila]

CRAFT, LIVELIHOOD, FINANCIAL LIFE (Seekers’ Lesson 5)

CRAFT, LIVELIHOOD, FINANCIAL LIFE (Seekers’ Lesson 5)

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Good day, Brothers and Sisters!

For this moment’s reflection, I would focus on the rationale behind living a prosperous socio-economic or financial life. Those with Piscean mindsets still think in terms of ‘Money versus Spirit’ dichotomy which, to my mind, is a flawed mental construct. This article will deconstruct that old fogey line, and advance the following thesis: we all deserve to live prosperous lives and reproduce in our micro-lives the abundance of the cosmos.

I will simplify my contentions by referring to the works of three (3) divine beings: Jesus, Buddha, and ‘Earth Store’ Bodhisattva. From Jesus via his apostles we will employ the aphorism “from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs” (see Acts of the Apostles). From Buddha we will borrow the adage “Right Livelihood!” culled from his 8-Fold Path (see Dhamapadda). From the Bodhisattva we will cull the axiological link between prosperity and good karma (see Sutras of the Earth Store Bodhisattva).

Livelihood—economic life and the institutions that arise in its fulfillment—is intended as a legitimate response to a core attribute of the human soul: craftsmanship. This trait is the 3^rd Ray, the ray of art. It is wise and divine to enable all humans to practice their respective crafts. Conversely, it is foolish and evil to obstruct and bar humans from developing their crafts. Souls can only advance in the Path by each one’s filling up of shis (his/her) ‘glass of crafts’. This is the core rationale of the imperative “Right Livelihood!”

Everyone possesses abilities, a fact that Jesus and his Apostles (who were Ascended Masters) declared in the Teaching. “From each according to shis abilities” (I revised the adage a bit to include Her in the beneficiary list), says the aphorism. This line is very deep, as it is the start of economic theory. The line implies that all of us, possessing respective abilities (crafts), encounter each other with our diversity of crafts that complement each other. If we meet in a common niche, with our crafts and the products of our respective craftsmanship, than we have a ‘market’ going. Needless to say, without abilities, there will be no market at all. This Jesusian-Apostolic line is the ‘supply side’ of the economy.

 

Buddha’s imperative adage of “Right Livelihood” is the externalized response in fulfillment of practicing certain crafts. The word “right” implies an opposite “wrong”. It would be virtuous an act if each member of society will be provided ample opportunity to practice shis crafts, hence the term “right” in the imperative. Conversely, it would be a commission of injustice if people are compelled to practice crafts that do not cohere with what they were trained for or what they’ve mastered. And, it would be awefully wrong if individuals, due to their lack of self-motivation and drive in life, do not train in certain crafts, practice them, and earn their keep, thus rendering these persons parasites for life.

No spiritual master ever mandated that Lightworkers shouldn’t practice crafts or livelihoods, or should live extremely ascetic lives. On the contrary, they forewarned about the dangers of asceticism. Except for those persons who have declared their main tasks as praying & meditation, and who opt to live a monastic life, everyone else who is “kasinlakas ng kalabaw” (as strong as the carabao) must practice crafts and livelihoods. Anyone who is as “strong as the carabao” but who refuses to labor out of laziness and low self-motivation, whether rich or poor, will face the karmic consequences of shis misbehavior.

Let us now reflect the other side of the Jesusian-Apostolic adage, “to each according to shis needs.” This is the demand side of the economy. It is that side where various responses to the needs of people can be fulfilled through industries instituted by market players. Hereof we will take the line on the micro-level view: the level of the individual producer. If a producer practices crafts, then shis needs can be fulfilled. Since Buddha declared the imperative “Right livelihood” as sacrosanct to the Teaching, then we can integrate this into the Jesusian-Apostolic thesis to elicit the following model:

 

Abilities (Crafts) à Livelihood à Needs

From the foregoing model, we can see that a person possesses abilities that are translatable to crafts or professions. A person should go ahead and hone shis talents up to the greatest extent. In the emerging Post-Industrial or Information Society, it is most fitting to study up through the PhD level and post-doctoral programs, aside from attending special seminars, as strategies for enabling capability-building. In today’s development argot, it is but fitting to build up one’s own ‘human capital’, and per declaration in international treaties and agreements, the ‘right to livelihood’ must be observed by all nations. If one were to practice the vocational-technical crafts, then the person should go ahead and hone the crafts up to the highest levels of mastery. Because craftsmanship practice is a constitutive part of soul evolution, to re-echo the theme.

As far as this note is concerned, it is erroneous to associate the Path back to God as a mere chanting of the name of God in multiple bhakti or church expressions. As expressed in other articles of mine, to reduce spirituality to faith/devotion is reductionist hogwash. Each one of us was provided by God with ‘glass of crafts’ as well, and given not merely our ‘glass of faith’, so we should strive to fill up our respective ‘glass of crafts’ along our evolutionary path. Failing to do so, we will face the karmic consequences (see the Bodhisattva’s elucidations) of such a misbehavior.

In my own analysis, failure to hone crafts—as much as possible a plethora of crafts across all of the 7 Rays—across our re-incarnated embodiments will be tantamount to rendering ourselves as ‘laggards’. This theory explains, to a great extent, why we have so many laggards today, whom psychologists classified as the idiots, imbeciles, borderlines, below average-intelligence persons, and retardates. We also have so many phlegmatics who, in my analysis, were an improvement over the laggards, were once laggards in past lives and are no longer in that state today, but whose learning paces are so slow compared to the smarter members of society.

On the other hand, following from the law of karma’s explications, many of the poor folks today, including those millions of street people or waifs, were once very wealthy and powerful persons, but who squandered the opportunities available before them, lived vicious lives in some past aegis. As we have declared in the 2^nd Ray lessons, we must build virtues along the way to be able to ascend the Heights. Live wealthy lives now, but live your life viciously, and guaranteed in the next lives you will end up eking out to survive in the streets or as lowly paid slaves of employers.

But if one lives a prosperous life today, and sustains virtues-development till one becomes transformed like unto the finest gold internally, and the same soul follows the virtues and expectations along the other Rays of life, then, as the Bodhisattva assured, s/he will receive protection from above in this life and on to the next. More significantly, this Virtuous One will live prosperity again in the next embodiment, assuming that this person will still need to come back in the physical plane to complete the karmic cycles. Accordingly, those kings who live virtuous lives, will be returned as kings in later lives. A simplified causality chain is shown below:

AbilitiesàLivelihoodàProsperity w/ virtuesàProsperity in future livesàEnd of karmic cycles (Nirvana)

Come to think of it, no one is doomed forever to be poor. Even if one bears with them the bad karma of past lives and begin with sloppy financial lives today, through relentless practice of the Teachings, with yoga meditation at the core, one can deprogram the past karma, re-program the present embodiment into a new timeline, and end up life prosperously. Nothing is impossible in the cosmos.

As to the honing of talents, the teachings of many gurus of success today are encyclopedic. Seekers should go ahead and learn from these gurus. One can encounter them as readings in the university, both in the bachelor’s and graduate degrees. One also encounters them in the vocational-technical schools, where certain instructors have incorporated them in their human capital trainings. The gurus have written their pieces in formulaic designs in order to make the lessons simpler and effect their diffusion down to the most motivated phlegmatics, maybe even to the laggards.

Among the latest crop of gurus of success are Robert Kiyosaki and John Maxwell. I’ve reviewed Kiyosaki’s books, beginning with the Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and found his teachings very sound and practicable in today’s context. Maxwell’s CD-packaged lessons are amusingly substantive, and are excellent tools for success. On the macro-economic side, there’s Robert Reich with his Work of Nations, John Naisbitt with Megatrends and Megatrends Asia meant for the aspirants who desire to anticipate what opportunities are brewing in the planet.

As I have declared in my workshop lectures on entrepeneurship to marginal families, don’t ever wait for “guavas to drop from the sky,” but rather do work out to “produce the guavas yourself by cultivating them.” In other words, the pro-active strategy is to create the opportunities from within your niche, rather than simply wait for those opportunities to come to you on silver platters.

Should opportunities shut themselves out, and opportunity-building gets shut off so unexpectedly at a given juncture, than assess the causes right away. Accept the responsibility and don’t blame others. If there are imbalances in your home, than apply geomancy principles and practices such as feng shui. If you maybe relentlessly attacked by invisible forces, then do an energy closure by consulting shamans who can do the closure operations. Protect yourself with the necessary energy and balancing aids, mantrams, geomancy tools, and so on. And continue to build virtues within you.

As I was reviewing the works of contemporary gurus of success, I noticed right away their very emphatic contention on the significance of building and exercising virtues as part of success-building. Greed and arrogance are among the most sordid vices or evils, and many who have fallen in the prosperity grid were observed to have been greedy and arrogant all along. Virtues related to livelihood, the virtue of serving others, the virtue of continuous studies and re-invention of oneself, the virtue of high determination, the exhibition of good attitudes at all times are among the core traits underscored by the same gurus. I was bent on agreeing with them to the fullest, even before I finished reviewing their works. There can never be any argument against building virtues.

Dear Seekers, move on and chart a life of prosperity. Let me end this note with the line: Perfect thy crafts and practice them with virtues, and the heavens shall open themselves up to you.

[Writ 07 October 2007, Quezon City, MetroManila

SCIENCE, THE DIVINE AND THE NIRVANA PROJECT (Seekers’ Lesson 4)

SCIENCE, THE DIVINE AND THE NIRVANA PROJECT (Seekers’ Lesson 4)

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Magandang hapon sa inyong lahat! Good afternoon to you all!

Before everything else, let it be clarified that this note intends to advance and articulate the thesis that science is a way to the Divine. Knowing is an inherent trait of the soul (or 5^th body), and given that all souls were emanated sparks from the divine Godhead, then science is an endowment from the Almighty I Am Presence and is among the seven (7) essential ways or paths back to the Godhead.

Let it be clarified further that science—as the enterprise that seeks to build knowledge—is not only limited to material science. The other core category is spiritual science: knowledge of the higher ontological domains called ‘spiritual dimensions’, the purpose for their existence, the intelligences inhering in them, and most of all the knowledge of the Almighty Cause of all Causes or ‘God’ (from Teutonic Godin, related to Nordic god Wodin or god of the woods, related to the Nordic deity Odin).

A Seeker is one who, after filling up shis (his/her) ‘glass of faith’, must move on to progress in the path by filling up shis ‘glass of knowledge’. For a Seeker, it doesn’t suffice to just believe in God. It must be proved, by way of scientific methods—established for both the material and spiritual sciences—that the higher ontological domains and the intelligences inhering in them do exist. By employing the very accessible scientific method of yoga meditation—in its advanced form—such domains and intelligences can be observed and known.

So the lesson for Seekers is: learn the sciences for both domains, the spiritual (with 3 dimensions) and material (with 4 dimensions), study them arduously, learn the methods and theories about them, the rules about the establishment of knowledge, and internalize the scientific attitude in daily life. Not only that, as explained in the fundamental article on the 2^nd ray, a Seeker must adopt the critical thinking that pervades the sciences whenever s/he does a task of interpreting texts (exegesis).

Discourses on science are tough ones, so bear with me, Noble Seekers, as I am a scientist myself: a sociologist, economist, and ‘social technologist’ (technocrat). As Seekers you have chosen particularly the 5^th Ray (science) and 2^nd Ray (wisdom) as twin sub-paths congealing into a singular Path, so please digest knowledge-based discourses no matter how tough they are. I’ll try to simplify them, worry not about the digestibility, masticate the discourse well and quaff them with ‘glasses of wisdom’ for more efficacious comprehension.

To move on, science is a systematic, institutional response in fulfillment of a basic human attitude: knowing. Situational adaptations demand knowledge, adaptations to complex situations demand complex knowledge. Knowledge manifests in two essential forms: science, or ‘know-why’ (pure knowledge), and technology, or ‘know-how’ (applied knowledge).

Knowledge must be further converted to information, or those quanta of knowledge that are used to make decisions or choices. Such a conversion process requires a fundamental strategy of how to make do with information that seems to be almost always imperfect. The degree or level of intelligence would determine to a greater extent the appropriate identification and efficacy of any strategy applied thereto.

Incidentally, human society is moving towards the Information Age. In this Age, which had in fact already begun but which is just in its infantile stage, human engagements will be largely knowledge-based. Daniel Bell, Alaine Torraine, and Alvin Toffler elaborated on this coming Age very deeply and successfully. This rising context brings enormous luck to Seekers, precisely because the emerging context will demand the Seeker-type souls who will, in the main, come to dominate this society as it matures in the future.

Needless to say, human society will go high-tech, and only those who are most adaptable to the new context will survive in it. Fact is, only the aboveground of the physical plane now remains in this infantile state of Information Age. The underground cities, of which there are more than a hundred (please do your respective research on this), and the worlds or cities of the higher planes or dimensions, are exceedingly high-tech aside from being high-Spirit (take this as a given). So it pays to understand science very substantively and adapt adroitly to the technological developments evolving. We aboveground people need to catch up with our underground and other-dimensional siblings, and likewise those advanced siblings in the other star systems and constellations who are able to travel across vast spaces.

 

If your evolutionary level is lower than that of a Seeker or advanced Devotee/Believer at least, and you cannot catch up enough for reasons that are largely internal to you (such as the laggards do), then necessarily you must be transferred elsewhere. You aren’t fit on Earth, which is itself evolving and will climb from 3^rd density to 4^th density very soon, so you better be shipped out to less evolved planets that would fit you most. The moment that the planet moves to 4^th Density, misfits (not necessarily ‘bad guys’ or ‘evil ones’ but simply slow learners) won’t be able to adapt to the vibration of the planet and to its demand for knowledge-based smart living. Forcing the slow learners to stay here later will leave them highly fragmented and perpetual schizophrenics, unable to digest and comprehend what they see and feel. Pitiful siblings, but out of compassion let us give them what they deserve: the chance to continue evolving in contexts that fit them.

Practically all of you have already begun your science studies in fact. And, chances are that many of you Seekers who browse this website are scientists, technologists, and professionals who deal a lot with information: ‘Information Workers’. But many of you may not know where to begin your inquiries on the mystical or spiritual sciences. So I can give you some tips here, your fellow Seekers can input some other tips, and your Inner Guide will lead you to the bulk of the reads.

I presume that you are familiar, if not adept with the structure of the scientific enterprise. This you learned in high school yet. The notion of structure was well articulated in the 1^st half of the 20^th by the Vienna Circle thinkers and the Copenhagen school, with their followers extending the discourses until the 1960s. You can examine for instance Hempel, Planck, Bohr, Einstein, Schroedinger, Heisenberg, Wittgenstein, Russell and Popper and see how they treated the matter of structure. Positivism was the dominant paradigm then. Planck, Shcroedinger, Heisenberg and Einstein, on the other hand, represented a variant of relativism that challenged the objectivism of the positivists.

On the mystical/spiritual side, the outstanding giant is no other than Helena P. Blavatsky, the mind and heart of Theosophy. She and her team mates—Hodson, Leadbeater, Bessant, Olcott—began to establish the contours of spiritual science at the tail end of the Victorian Era (late 19^th century), tasks that spilled over to the first three (3) decades of the 20^th century. It took just a single figure, Blavatsky, to deconstruct devastatingly the arrogant contentions of the classical Evolutionists who regarded change as a very static, linear movement from one stage of life to another. In place of lineal evolution was superimposed a cyclical theory of evolution, which already shows the seeds of the evolving paradigm of ‘dynamics’.

The contributions of the theosophists were very monumental, by my own admission. Although I do reserve certain critiques of their discourses, notably regarding the ‘Lucifer question’, I appreciate the monumental and indispensable contribution of the theosophy team. Remember that the said thinkers, all of whom were Teachers or gurus in quality, were battling wars on two fronts: on the objectivist front were the atheistic scientists who shamelessly reduced science to a mere building of knowledge about the material world; and, on the subjectivist front, the vulgar spiritists comprising of the churches and their legions of Pied Pipers who slandered the theosophists no end. I’m sure you’d agree with me that it was a very, very tough war, with uphill battles fought on many sub-fronts at the same time.

After the Blavatsky team, many mystics tried to fill up their shoes and hats. But, sad to note, the post-theosophy’s outputs paled in comparison to the thinker-gurus. What you, Noble Seeker, must do is to gather the different bits and pieces of information about the works of other mystics so you can erect the tapestry of spiritual science yourself. For instance, the contributions of Paramahansa Yogananda and his guru Sri Yutekswar Giri are of paramount importance, per my assessment. Among contemporary mystics you’ll discover the contributions of Sal Rachele who, like E.Argonza, was trained in the sciences and can handle the toughest scientific questions from sub-atomics to cosmology (see www.salrachele.com).

Sadly, many mystics and psychics are channelers who by my estimation do not measure up to the accepted standard of an epistemologist and scientist. They came straight from experiences of spiritism and healing, and without the proper grounding in scientific precepts and meta-language, they tend to misrepresent spiritual science into a hodgepodge of seemingly unrelated quackery with nil scientific credibility at all. There are too many of them over the internet, even as many before the internet days have published materials that sound low-tech and approach spiritual science from a defensive, superstitious position. Without mentioning names, I would honestly say that they are a disgrace to us Lightworkers. They should better stick to their spiritism and healing works and leave science to the scientists, technologists, and epistemologists among seekers and mystics who abound in great numbers today.

 

One more thing to note: over the past three (3) decades, there was a marked shift from questions of structure to questions of process. Today, being among the students of the latter thinkers, I tend to view science and the knowledge pursuit from the vantage point of process, even as I am nauseated by the antiquated fixation to structures and elements, and the flaws of its paradigm ramparts (systems theory, neo-evolutionism, structuralism, uniformitarianism, psychoanalysis, structural functionalism) which, thanks heavens, have all become obsolete before the turn of the century.

For your own sake, for an understanding of the contemporary issues involved that are process-centered and transdisicplinary (borderless science), I would recommend that you review the key works of the following thinkers:

 

·         Theodore Adorno & Max Horkheimer: Founders of the ‘Frankfurt school’, they were among the earliest defenders of ‘inter-disciplinary’ and transdisciplinal (borderless science) methodology.These were elaborated in scattered articles. Adorno’s Authoritarian Personality is an example of cross-disciplinary method, by integrating sociology, psychology, and medical science (psychiatry) to explain the rise of fascism and nazism.

 

·         Thomas Kuhn: He dovetailed on the notion of ‘paradigm’ as focal category for understanding scientific revolutions. Kuhn is an excellent thinker on the history of science. The key work is Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

 

·         Jurgen Habermas: A dissection of the interests inhering in knowledge led Habermas to infer about the logic inherent in theories. He clarified the emergence of three paradigms—positivism, hermeneutics, critical theory—on the basis of inherent human interests. Go straight to his core work Knowledge and Human Interests.

 

·         Michel Foucault: He disclosed the connection between knowledge and power, and the process of how Discourse emerges from that link. He is a brilliant thinker on the history of ideas. The book Order of Things is the fitting start of his works regarding scientific methodology.

 

·         Jacques Derrida: Advanced the thesis that ‘writing’ (referent for text in general) preceded speech. He also innovated on the method of ‘deconstruction’. His works have enormous implications for scientific modeling purposes. The work Of Grammatology is a fitting start. Follow it up with Writing and Differance. [Note the distinction between the terms ‘differance’ and ‘difference’.]

 

·         Gilles Deleuze & Felix Guattari: This team of thinkers elucidated the preference, in terms of modeling, for the ‘machinic discourse’ in contrast to the pervasive ‘organismic discourse’ of previous thinkers. Reality moves like unto a machine that keeps on rolling, without bordered elements. The team also advanced the ‘transversal’ (transdisciplinal) method of establishing knowledge. The machine model has much kinship to fluid dynamics, which is the preferred model of Chaos Paradigm. Go straight to their work Anti-Oedipus.

As to scientific discipline, the attitude in science is one of humility. No scientific theory can be regarded as fixed, absolutely pervasive and applicable throughout time. More so, there is no such thing as a Theory of Everything or TOE. Every scientist, no matter how brilliant s/he may be, can only contribute to a fragment of the cosmic tapestry of knowledge. Such a situation explains the humility of scientists and university professors.

Go ahead in your scientific pursuits, Noble Seeker. For the scientists and technologists among you, it is highly recommended that you take up advanced degrees up through the PhD level. Remember, you are not only preparing for ‘this life’. We are all preparing for the ‘afterlife’, and your learned knowledge and information will have a strong bearing in the other planes as well when you go back there. Go ahead and please conduct research, present papers in conferences before scientific peers, and publish your outputs in reputable journals. Bro. Erle is well with you in these S&T efforts.

To conclude, let me echo the note of one of my most revered thinkers, Jurgen Habermas: let us transform knowledge into a liberative pursuit, and allow the knowledge-bearer to apperceive the transcendent in the process of knowledge pursuit. Knowledge is liberation. Amen. Om. Aum.

 

[October 2007, Quezon City, MetroManila]

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]