                                    Actualism

                 Light Meditation, Enter The Corridor Of Growth

                (C)1993 Bruce R. Jaffe (jaffe@panix.com), PhD.
                              All rights reserved.

Feel free to copy this document and pass it on, but any commercial use requires
express permission of the author. HTML-Version by Mike Adamzek (MAD@is.ruu.nl).

ACTUALISM, Part 1: Meditation and Beyond

INTRODUCTION

The powerful, yet safe, introductory meditation technique which follows has
been taught to literally thousands of people over more than 30 years, including
health practitioners at the University of California, San Diego Health Sciences
Department. Many have found it to be calming and centering for themselves and
for those they treat and counsel. Scientific studies have found meditation in
general to have health benefits such as reducing stress and lowering blood
pressure. Beyond those physical benefits, if practiced often, meditation can
lead to an overall increased clarity of mind, emotional well-being, and sensory
delight in life--in essence, more of the joy of living.

Actualism is a step-by-step process of enhancing and accelerating spiritual
growth and enlightenment. Using ancient techniques in a modern formulation,
Actualism works with inner "light-fire" energy tools and techniques to bring
about the releasing of one's potential for healing self and others, for
creative inspiration and expression, and for problem-solving in many areas of
life.

HISTORY Founded in the early 1960's by Dr. Russell Paul Schofield,
Actualism--then known as "Agni Yoga" or "union by fire"--is now taught at
centers in New York and California (including Costa Mesa, Escondido, Los
Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco). I am endeavoring to introduce this
teaching to a worldwide audience by means of the Internet and commercial online
services such as America Online and CompuServe. To teach meditation by
correspondence, or long distance over networks such as these, is a formidable
task, but the results since this article was first posted in September 1993
have shown that it is possible. At least the introductory techniques can be
practiced, and even mastered, from reading and then sitting down and working
with them. With a teacher present in person, it is much easier to learn because
not only is the teacher available to answer questions, but the energy and
awareness of the teacher amplify the experience of the student.

BASIC LAWS

To begin with, there are some basic laws of energy that are helpful to know:

1. Awareness directs thought, and thought directs energy.

2. Life-energy follows thought.

3. Where there is pain, from mild discomfort to acute distress, the flow of
life-energy is obstructed.

4. Where thought is focussed, the power of life-energy is concentrated.

We can sum up these four laws in four simple words for practical application:
THINK, LET, OBSERVE, and EXPERIENCE.

So when you are working with inner life energy tools, think of the energy once,
then let it flow, observe it moving about, and with your awareness let yourself
enter into the experience. As you become skilled at this directed "letting" you
move into what we call "effortless effort". How difficult is it to think a
thought? Yet that is all it takes to begin tapping into your inner-light-fire
energy. The key is knowing where to direct your awareness, and how to bring the
energy from within out. The "how" is easy, once you stop trying to make it
difficult.

PREPARATION

Especially when you start out working with life-energies, it is best to be in a
situation where you will not be interrupted. If possible, find a quiet,
comfortable place to sit. Let someone else or your phone answering machine
answer the phone.

Sit in a comfortable chair, with your feet flat on the floor, your legs and
arms uncrossed. (This can also be done lying down, but you might fall asleep).
Rest your hands on your upper legs, with your palms down. Close your eyes, so
your mind won't be distracted by what is going on around you.

MEDITATION TECHNIQUE

Direct your focus of awareness to a place six inches (about 20cm) directly
above the center of the top of your head. Here is located a place in
consciousness which is always calm and radiant, no matter what is going on
elsewhere in your mind or body, or around you. It is called the "upper room".
Think of a point of pure, crystal-white light here. Don't "try" to visualize
it. If you see it, fine, but if you don't, it doesn't matter. As you think of
the point of white light, it grows brighter, expanding into a little star,
three inches (about 10cm) in diameter.

Think and let the star burn away the veils that have kept it hidden all these
years. Direct the star to open, releasing a downpour of cleansing and purifying
life energy. This energy is crystal clear, like fresh spring water.

Let the energy flow through your hair, scalp, into the bones of your head and
face, into your brain, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, down the neck, through your
shoulders, arms, and hands. Experience it flowing through your chest and back,
abdomen, hips, pelvic area, upper legs, knees, lower legs, ankles and feet.
Think and let the soles of your feet open, releasing the energy into the earth
beneath your feet. Now it is flowing through your whole body.

Think of the bottoms of your feet closing, so the energy begins to backfill up
through the areas you have cleared out. Experience it in your legs, hips,
torso, shoulders, arms, hands, neck, and head. Let it overflow out the top of
your head, surrounding your body with an aura of crystal clear white light.

Bring your hands together, almost but not quite touching, palms facing each
other out in front of your body. Experience the energy flowing through your
hands. You could use this energy to heal others, by laying your lighted hands
on the person's head, heart, or wherever they have discomfort. Whatever you
touch with your hands lighted this way will be filled with inner
light-fire-energy.

If you experience discomfort anywhere in your body as you are working with the
inner light, think of the "consuming fire" aspect of the energy. Hold the focus
of it in the area of discomfort to burn through the obstructions to the flow of
your pure life energy. Afterwards, take a few minutes to assimilate the radiant
essence of the light into any area that you have cleared out with the consuming
fire aspect.

WHEN TO USE THIS TECHNIQUE

In addition to your focussed practice of the energy in a meditation as
described above, you can work with the downpour anytime and anywhere, day or
night, with your eyes open or closed, as appropriate to the situation. You can
use it as an inner shower while you take your outer shower in the morning.
Every time you think of the star and the white light downpouring, it continues
for about 30 minutes. So you can literally fill your day with inner light. It's
also a great way to go to sleep at night. For stress-reduction it is best to
practice the technique for at least a few minutes every day.

ACTUALISM LIGHTWORK TRAINING, Part 2: Gathering and Enlightening Awareness

SUMMARY:

Part 2 introduces a method of gathering and enlightening awareness. When
Actualism sessions are taught in person, this technique precedes each lesson,
including the introductory session, to enhance the experience of life-energy. I
am presenting this in this "online" series as the second lesson, because I
thought it might be too subtle for the first session without a teacher present.
If you had a good response to the energy work from the first session, you are
no doubt ready to do this more subtle work with awareness.

This can be practiced by itself, or as the beginning of a meditation session
with light-fire-energy.

ABOUT AWARENESS

One of the most important aspects of the power to focus thought, and thereby to
direct energy, is awareness. Where your awareness is scattered, your thoughts
become scattered, and your energy also. As you learn to gather and enlighten
your awareness, working with light-fire-energy becomes more powerful and
effective. Furthermore, as you gather more awareness, you have more awareness
available to expand. There is a big difference between scattering awareness and
expanding awareness, as you will come to experience.

Awareness has three main aspects: Knowing Awareness--Which is your mental
awareness, including thoughts, ideas, plans, and concepts. Emotional
Awareness--Also called feeling awareness, including your emotional feelings of
every kind. Sensory Awareness--Including sensations of every kind, perceptions,
and perspectives.

The following technique is a way of gathering and enlightening your knowing,
feeling, and sensory awareness. It is recommended that from now on you do this
at the beginning of every meditation session, to amplify your experience of the
light-fire-energy, and your ability to direct and focus the energy.

TECHNIQUE FOR GATHERING AND ENLIGHTENING AWARENESS

Sit comfortably, with your feet, legs, and arms uncrossed, and your eyes
closed. In time you will find you can also do this with your eyes open, but it
is easier not to be distracted with your eyes closed.

Think of your "Upper Room", the radiant, peaceful place within your nature that
is located about six inches (20cm) directly above the center of the top of your
head. Although it is not within your body, it is within your energy field,
which extends from 12 to 15 feet (about 4 to 5 meters) in every direction
(spherically) around your body. The Upper Room is a source point for the
Radiant Awareness of your Actual Self, also known as your "Higher Self" or the
"Being of Light" that you actually are.

Focus your attention in your brain. Think and let the knowing awareness in your
brain-mind open to and harmonize with the Radiant Awareness from your Upper
Room. With effortless effort, observe and experience the gathering in of your
mental awareness. If your brain is chattering too much for you to experience
anything else, let your brain shift out of the active "doing" role into the
relaxed "being" mode. Continue this for about 1-2 minutes.

Then shift your focus to the nerve cells and nerves in your brain. Most of the
brain is made up of nerve cells. Direct the nerves to harmonize with radiant
awareness from your upper room, and send Radiant Awareness flowing through your
spinal cord, solar plexus, and out through all the nerves in your body,
gathering and enlightening your sensory awareness. Continue this for about 1-2
minutes.

Now focus in your heart and harmonize your heart with the Radiant Awareness
from the Upper Room. From here it flows out through your blood and circulatory
system throughout your whole body. Expand this focus to your liver, and from
the liver Radiant Awareness moves to all the glands in your body. From this
focus in the liquid systems of your heart, blood, circulatory system, liver and
glands, experience gathering and enlightening your emotional or feeling
awareness. Continue this for about 1-2 minutes.

Now you have enlightened knowing, sensory, and emotional awareness. From here
you can move with a flow of enlightened awareness into your Upper Room,
lighting your Star and downpouring as in the previous lesson...

ACTUALISM Part 3: Enlightening Your Energy Field

SUMMARY: Part 3 discusses the energy field which surrounds everything, and how
to enlighten the field surrounding your body. It includes the next in this
series of techniques, building upon the methods taught in Parts 1 and 2. I call
this series "meditation and beyond" because it involves not only transforming
your energy during meditation, but in your active daily life as well. For best
results, practice working with the light (with effortless effort) for at least
a few minutes every day.

NOTE: If for any reason you cannot locate previous articles in this series,
please write to me and I will either re-post them here, or mail them to you
directly.

ABOUT THE ENERGY FIELD

We live in a sea of energy, as many people have discovered. Everything, whether
animal, vegetable, or mineral, has an energy field within and around it. Human
beings have the largest fields, in proportion to the size of their bodies, of
any life form on earth. The greater the degree of sensitivity, the larger the
field. With training, the field can be extended to an even greater size. People
who are interested in meditation generally have a high degree of sensitivity,
with a field extending from 12 to 15 feet (about 4 to 5 meters) in every
direction around the body, or about 30 feet (roughly 10m) in diameter.

The field tends to be very magnetic, picking up energy vibrations from the
environment, of both high frequency, life-supportive energy and low frequency,
life-draining energy. Often we experience these loads without realizing what is
happening. That is why sometimes you may suddenly feel tired, depressed, or
anxious upon entering a room or a building (such as a store), or after a few
minutes of being around certain people. With enlightened awareness expanded
into the field, and with the use of light-fire-energy from the crystal white
Star, any loads picked up in the field can quickly be processed and transformed
into life-supporting energy essence.

There is a central vertical axis (CVA) running through the center of your body
and your field, from top to bottom. It follows the position of your body, and
bends if your body bends, such as when you are seated in a chair. The upper
room and white star that we worked with in previous sessions are located upon
this central vertical axis.

TECHNIQUE FOR CLEARING THE FIELD

After gathering and enlightening awareness (see Part 2 of this series), and
turning on the crystal white star and downpour (see Part 1), raise the star up
to about three feet (about 1m) above the center of the top of your head. Direct
the star to expand to about 3-1/2 feet in diameter, and close it so that it is
no longer downpouring.

Bring the star out in front of your body and on down below your feet to about
12 feet (4m) below your body. Here at the bottom of your field, the star
centers on the CVA. Direct the star to begin spinning in a counterclockwise
direction (at body height this would be from right to left). This
counterclockwise (CC) spin intensifies elimination of low frequency energy
debris. Here we are using it to clear out the bottom of the field, where loads
of muddy energy often collect. For added clearing power, think of, which
invokes, the "consuming fire" aspect of the crystal white light. This speeds up
the elimination of low frequency, making room for high frequency energy.

The star will reach a tremendous speed, faster than any material object could
spin without flying apart. Your brain-mind does not have to keep it going, so
just relax and let the star do the spinning! This is "effortless effort" in
action.

Bring the spinning star slowly up along the CVA, pausing about six inches
(20cm) below your feet, then bring it up into your legs and pelvic bowl, so you
are seated within the spinning star. Then bring it up into the upper half of
your body, extending from above your head to below your seat.

Raise the star up above your body, on up to about 3 feet (1m) above. Direct it
to stop spinning, which it does instantly. Then have the star spinning
clockwise (CW) and repeat the previous steps with the CW spin. This amplifies
assimilation of purified, transformed energy essence into all the areas you
have cleared out. By filling in with light all along your axis, you are
building up a powerful radiant glow that will keep these areas lighted as you
go about your business in the world.

There are other techniques for becoming more aware of your field, and for
building up the strength of the light in your field, which we will go into in
subsequent sessions.

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  Further and deeper information you find at www.actualism.org, Bruce Jaffe's
                                   web-site.

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