Saturday, November 10, 2012

Meditation


There are hundreds of Abraham videos on youtube but this one really resonated today because I feel like I'm finally getting it. I mean, I feel as though I now understand how to get myself into alignment. It is a visceral knowing; an experiential process rather than a desirable but abstract mental concept as it was when I first began to work with these teachings. I'm releasing the resistance consciously now. It's getting easier and easier every day. The evidence of this, far from being the manifestation of material things, such as Law of Attraction films like The Secret would have us believe, is something much, much better of which Abraham also speaks in the video. It is a feeling of lightness, joy, the heart open and the feelings free flowing. If something moves me, my eyes fill with tears. If something is funny, I laugh like a child. This honesty of expression and ability to really experience life is more valuable to me than anything money can buy. It is the ability to be present in the moment, in the body, in the physical, incarnate. To celebrate life in this dense, physical world.

Density. This sums up the heavy, restricting, slow energy of this world we live in. We are born into our little, fleshy bodies and we grow and learn how to move and coordinate our limbs that feel so clumsy at the beginning. We inherit from our parents our genetic predispositions and behaviours. Our first experiences of the world are through the energy field of the mother which we share with her until our own is sufficiently developed, our autonomy gained gradually over time. Sharing her energy in this way, our perception of the world is coloured by her emotions, reactions and thoughts. I am fully aware of the telepathic connection that exists between mother and child from my own experience as a mother and my memories of early childhood with my own mother. Getting my own feelings under control as a young mother had an instant positive effect on the mood of my infant son. The opposite was also true as, when I became tired and anxious, he would become fractious and difficult.

So, as we grow up, we learn from our parents, family and the community that surrounds us a view of  the world. A collection of beliefs that are learnt; rules, sayings, superstitions, truisms, cultural norms and a national identity. Layer upon layer of ideas and opinions that may not reflect who we really are or want to be.   Becoming conscious of these is an ongoing process. Being aware of how our beliefs affect our lives is a key to creating the life we desire. Like a computer running a program, we allow these thoughts and beliefs to run around in our heads, unaware that they are creating an energetic frequency that attracts to us the manifestation of the same. The principle of like attracts like. We are not talking about magnetism in which opposite charges attract and like ones repel, although the two are related. They are related because opposites are essentially just opposing extremes of the same thing. For example, a positive magnetic charge is the opposite of a negative magnetic charge but both are magnetic forces and they both exist on the magnetic scale not on the scale of another force such as gravity, for example. Essentially, our world is one of the illusion of polar opposites, of duality. A more complete explanation of this can be found here.

To test this theory, become aware of how, when we think a thought, it produces a corresponding emotion. It is the emotion that has the attractive force which draws more thoughts to it of the same frequency. For example, if you think about something that irritates you such as, in my case, shopkeepers who are grumpy and don't smile, more thoughts will be drawn to the first one. I might think next that the shopkeeper should be grateful that I chose to buy something from him and not another, which makes me feel indignant. Then I might think that, next time, I won't go to his shop etcetera, etcetera. Each thought is drawn to the last producing a increase of negative emotion that could spiral my mood downwards until I'm feeling really quite angry. Then I will be giving off a vibration that attracts similar experiences such as someone pushing in front of me in the bank which then produces more thoughts producing more negative emotion and on it goes until I'm having a really bad day. That is unless I become conscious of what is happening and stop it by realising that I don't need to think that way and decide to climb back up the frequency range by thinking a thought that feels slightly better such as, that I'm not going to let the queue-jumper ruin my mood, and then think another and another each time feeling a little bit better. Then the attractive force of the positive emotions begins attracting positive thoughts and soon I am in the frequency range of thoughts that make me feel really good such as what a nice, sunny day it is and how beautiful the colours are illuminated in that way and how much in love with my life I am. Then my vibration has risen and the next person I see in the street responds to my bright energy with a smile.

Sometimes, we struggle to find a thought that makes us feel better and then the thing to do is to say, "Whatever. It doesn't matter. This thing that has got me feeling so bad is not worth it. Not worth ruining my day over." And, seen in the context of the big picture, it is miniscule in importance and will be forgotten about in an hour, a day, a week. Remembering that all things are transitory and nothing is permanent. The best way, as explained in the video, is to meditate. Meditation involves stopping thought which many people find tricky at first. The key is to focus on something, as Abraham says, like a dripping tap or the sound of the waves breaking on the shore or the wind in the trees. Some people suggest counting backwards from one hundred or listening to a guided meditation CD. I usually focus on my breathing and direct my inner eye to the place in the middle of my forehead, the position of the third eye. When I am sufficiently relaxed I begin to see pulsating colours and feel a sensation of lightness, detachment from my concerns and freedom from the weight of my physical body. This is accompanied by feelings of peace, joy and elation. This is the moment I am what I refer to as the real me, free from the overlay of the personality, memories and life history that make up my identity. Eckhart Tolle calls this the watcher. It is the part of us that is like a witness to all the successes, dramas and events of our lives. It is our wisdom and our connection to God and all that is.

Going to this quiet place regularly, daily if possible, keeps us sane when the whole world feels, as it does more and more these days, like it's going crazy. It is the way to release negative thoughts that, like leaves and debris blocking a stream, create resistance in our energy field that interrupts the flow of our positive life force and, as a result, impairs our ability to attract the experiences we most desire. It shouldn't feel, as Abraham says in the video, like a chore. Just taking time out to breathe and quiet the mind makes a world of difference to our ability to deal with any challenges in our lives. Just like a person who visits their church or temple to pray and give thanks, meditation is a way of connecting with the spiritual aspect of ourselves that is the essence of who we are.