On the corporate front we are filled with panic and stress, told that we have to work longer hours for the same pay, while simultaneously surviving a more and more hostile work environment, filled with more and more stressed out people behaving worse and worse by the day. Then we go home in threatening rush hour traffic to face the stresses of all our friends and our partner, if we have one. We have become a dumping ground for stress, and it seems as though we are being pushed to greater and greater levels of “non-meditative” activity.
People tell me that they don’t have time to meditate, or that they get home and are too exhausted to do anything but watch tv. Or, they have to drink to relax from the stress of the day. This all may be a bit of an exaggeration, and some or most of it may not fit you personally, but there is a pattern emerging here. The technology, society that we have been so clever to build has in fact enslaved us, and may destroy us.
Now we face the reality that in America we are not “secure”, and we could die from a biological agent being introduced by a terrorist, to nuked, to who knows what, on any day, at any time, at any second. So the grim reaper is in your face and you feel trapped. All this stuff is just materialism; our whole society is built on it. And as that materialistic lie is punctured by current events, we wake up and panic.
Meditative consciousness now seems more appealing, but also more impossible than ever to achieve. Sure, you can meditate, but you are so strung out from your life that you can’t really get into it. Then, you go back out into the world and you lose that meditative edge to your consciousness and you are right back where you started.
I have been working on this problem quite a bit, and I have come across some excellent means to make your life an extension of your meditative experience. Here is the technique.
Exercise #24: Mana from Heaven
In this exercise you will form an idea of what your purely Spiritual goals and direction are, and then incorporate them into your work-a-day life. This is a rather complicated exercise, and it will require a certain daily time commitment. This is definitely not a one-shot deal. To begin, get a pad and paper and write out all your Spiritual goals for yourself. What kind of person do you want to be, ultimately?
When you are ten years older, how do you want to feel about yourself, Spiritually? What Spiritual practices do you want to be engaged in? Do you want to act as a Spiritual teacher for others? Do you want to channel your Spiritual insights into artistic work? If you have a job then, what type of job will it be and how will you feel about it? Will you love your life and your aging body? What will you be doing sexually and emotionally? This is only done to draw out your personal desires for yourself and see where you really want to be Spiritually, down the road. You will, by default, also clarify other goals.
Now, take it one step farther. What kind of ultimate, even longer-term Spiritual states do you want to be a part of, and explore in the future. It has always been my bias that meditation is the backbone of all forms of Spiritual practice. Even devotional practice has a meditative element. Do you see yourself being involved in more meditative practice over time? Now that you have clarified your general Spiritual goals for yourself, write them down in a short paragraph form. You have completed step one.
Now, in step two, you create a substance that embodies all your Spiritual goals. You see it in some form that seems appropriate, and meditate on it for about twenty minutes a day. I use Mana from Heaven as the name for my form, and the appearance is a gold disk (of which I can only see the bottom half), that drips golden liquid. Your form must impart into your PHYSICAL BODY some of its energy as you meditate, but that can be a liquid, gaseous or light form, for example. Once you have decided on the shape, color and qualities of the substance, give it a name that is evocative of its Spiritual power. Write this all down in your visualization/meditation journal.
This next step is the practice that you will do daily. Lie or sit in a comfortable posture and relax. Taking a deep, slow in-breath, count to one. Now, release that breath and count to two. Now, see the form you have decided on hanging before you, over your navel area. Count three for the in-breath. On the out-breath, think the name of your form and simultaneously see it exude the light/liquid/etc. that you previously decided on, entering at the belly button. The energy then expands to fill your whole physical being in an instant.
Now, count four for the out-breath, and breath in. Breath your in-breath, then count five, and repeat the previous process for “four”. Continue until you have reached a count of fifty. You may feel some very interesting and rapid shifts of energy as you do this exercise. Keep notes about your experience in your visualization/meditation journal. Repeat this exercise daily, if possible. It should take roughly twenty minutes a day.
Now, for the second part of this exercise, we bring this state of awareness into our daily lives. At work, find a quiet moment and relax. Once relaxed, see your “Mana” form. Breath in and out once, counting one then two, as in the meditation. Then, on three, breath in, and on four, see the energy enter your body as it did in the meditation. Breath in on five and repeat the energy exchange with your navel at six. That is it.
Keep in mind that regardless of how much energy appears to be transferred, you should think of it as being enough to “fill you up” in just two out-breaths of energy exchange. This should renew your state of consciousness that you enjoy from meditation pretty well. Don’t be discouraged if you find that it doesn’t make you feel great immediately. You may have to really explore the meditative state in your off time before you can reap all the benefits from the daily practice. Repeat the daily practice twice in an eight-hour day of work. If you really can’t find the “quiet time” at work, go to the bathroom and pretend to use it. At least you no one is going to bother you on the toilet!
Make your practice consistent and you will reap great rewards from this practice. As this practice is followed continuously, you will experience shifts in your values and you may make unexpected changes to your habits. I packed up my tv set. I was watching several hours of tv a night, and that left me little time for my inner work. So I put it away, and now I feel much happier. As we sacrifice all our attachments, we will become clearer and clearer. Until next time!