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 3rd 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 7th
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 2nd month, raise it to 15 minutes per day. On the 3rd
month, raise it to 20 minutes total. On the 6th 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 12th
month or 1st 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
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