Meditation: Inhale the Good Stuff, Exhale the Bad Stuff
This is the first post fully aligned with the main purpose of my blog, which is to write my thoughts on things I learn in my classes at the University of Metaphysical Sciences (UMS).
The first chapter of the course content was written by Devon Love, who writes in a way that is smooth and easy for me to understand. It came with six intro-level guided meditations. Each had its own specific intention, though the underlying intention of all meditations is the same: to tap into your essence, to feel the sense of Oneness that exists around us and in us, since everything is comprised of the same core stuff.
This is pretty much my core philosophy because it’s backed by science. I have trouble resonating with faith-based beliefs because they generally don’t explain why or how something is true, so I always fall back onto what I know about science. If I can find a logical explanation for why or how something happens, that idea begins to make its way into my belief system, which continues to evolve as I read & gain perspective from others.
All quotes in this post are from Ms. Love’s chapter, titled Meditation Skills. Some quotes are directly from her, and others are from literary works she cited. Please note that my analyses on the included quotes should not be considered a reflection of the views of UMS, as my only affiliation with them is as a student.
I’m excited to share my thoughts with you through this process for many reasons, the first being that it might inspire the beginning or next steps of YOUR awareness journey, and the second being that I get to keep a detailed record of how my thinking has evolved each step of the way.
So, what IS meditation?
I’m going to start with a quote from the introduction of the chapter that I feel is a great summary:
Meditation is the vehicle we can use to go “home,” to visit the place where we originated, before the illusion of separation solidified in our consciousness.
— University of Metaphysical Sciences, 2020, Meditation Skills
The more I read, the more it fascinates me that humans have this natural tendency to separate things. Light & dark. Science & faith. The list goes on. I can’t think of any more examples, so I figured I could get away with it by ending with, “the list goes on.”
Totally diverging here, but I’ve also noticed that you can get away with telling people pretty much any crazy fact if you follow it with, “It’s true! Look it up.” It adds credibility for some reason, almost like a game of Google chicken. It’s really funny to test it out on people once you realize it works. You didn’t hear it from me.
But anyway, why do humans naturally separate things into categories? I think it’s because it helps us understand them better, but often times it can lead us to generalize & assume about whatever we’ve placed into that category. The art of meditation focuses on blurring those lines to recognize the Oneness we’re all made of. Everything is connected like one big fluid, we just don’t see it that way since it would make our 3-dimensional lives very difficult to not be able to distinguish our hand from what it’s holding.
I actually had a really interesting meditation experience with that concept, literally blurring the lines of reality. One of the guided meditations for this unit was called Object as a Focal Point. I was instructed to focus on an object with the intention of feeling one with the item.
At one point it was suggested that I may be able to view myself from the vantage point of the object, but that did not occur for me. At the time, I had trouble understanding how that could possibly work. I’ve since been introduced to new perspectives and now have a better understanding. For that to be possible, you basically have to accept that your physical eyes are paired with your human body, and that there is an energy running through your body that also runs around outside your body. The energy is not totally contained under your skin, which means that it can venture outside of your perceived physical boundary.
Our primary source of energy is food, and many would argue that we gain energy from the sun (though this is debated,) but for sure the food we eat is provided energy by the sun, which is transferred to us through the food.
But down to its core, each atom we’re made of is made of energy, so we are made of energy, and that’s why I feel like it makes sense to say that meditation brings us “home.”
Why should I meditate?
There are no secrets or mysteries about spiritual growth. It is the natural process of soul — or Self-illumination — when conditions are suitable for it to occur.
— Roy Eugene Davis, A Master Guide to Meditation and Spiritual Growth
No matter what, everything remains being what it is whether we contemplate it or not. While we’re trying to find all the answers, the answers remain what they are, whatever they are. The conditions have to be right for us to be able to tap into that idea fully & organically.
It gives me comfort to know that there is no need to convince myself of faith-based ideas because my fate is no different whether I learn what’s occurring in nature or not. There doesn’t necessarily have to be a deeper meaning when we consider the meaning of life. It’s okay for me to consider that we’re just energy, and life just is.
Personally, I’m fascinated by what exists beyond my 3D body, so that’s my own purpose in exploring all this. The only thing that changes by being aware of things that exist outside of your own reality is that you gain perspective and, well, awareness. I think a little more perspective from everyone could change the world, if not the universe.
Keeping outside perspective has begun to work wonders in my personal life. The more I practice seeing things from others’ vantage points, the easier it gets. Communicating with “difficult people” becomes less difficult.
An example would be an experience I had this month with a contractor. I hired him after going through several other candidates for the job because I sensed a goodness in him. He displayed a genuine concern for his customers and passion for his work that I didn’t sense in the others. While other candidates were advising us that cash payments lead to quicker service, he focused immediately on our safety.
During the planning process, we ended up having a miscommunication that pushed forward the completion date. He proceeded to put the blame on us, which initially made me very angry. At one point he said something extremely condescending. As I felt my anger rise, I reminded myself of the qualities I saw in him to try to consider why he might be reacting so defensively. It suddenly became very easy for me to see that his reaction was emotional because he is so passionate about his work.
Once I chose to ignore my own perspective for a moment and focus solely on his, he immediately humbled himself. The apologies began rolling in as he explained to me how jam-packed his schedule has been while trying to prioritize his emergency jobs. This opened the door for me to provide him validation & understanding when he needed it. I acknowledged that he is undoubtedly under a large workload and reiterated that we really appreciate how much effort he has already placed into prioritizing our project. That is the moment things became productive again and we both felt so much better.
This can be difficult to do in the moment, especially with strangers. I was proud of myself in that little moment because that must mean it’s slowly becoming my default thought process.
What should meditation feel like?
In other words, what does it feel like when we reach the “final destination” in a meditation session? I certainly haven’t gotten there, but what I can say is that I can tell when those boundaries of separation are beginning to blur.
I usually find that I’m most successful when a guided meditation dedicates the first 10 minutes or so to letting go of conscious thoughts. By then it becomes more automatic for me to acknowledge my thoughts but not explore them, just letting them be ideas that pass by me, around me, or through me. One of the guided meditations suggested picturing myself as air — a place where thoughts have nothing to grab onto and are just passing through.
A quote from The Way of Zen by Alan Watts may shed more insight on the way it feels to fully enter a meditative state:
One day I wiped out all the notions from my mind. I gave up all desire. I discarded all the words with which I thought and stayed in quietude. I felt a little queer―as if I were being carried into something, or as if I were touching some power unknown to me…and Ztt! I entered. I lost the boundary of my physical body. I had my skin, of course, but I felt I was standing in the center of the cosmos. I spoke, but my words had lost their meaning. I saw people coming towards me, but all were the same man. All were myself! I had never known this world. I had belief that I was created, but now I must change my opinion; I was never created; I was the cosmos; no individual Mr. Sasaki existed.
- Zen master Sokiei-an Sasaki
I love this visual. He has realized that he is and always will be comprised of whatever the cosmos are comprised of, because he IS the cosmos. He is not an individual, but rather a blended part of everything that exists around him, which almost seems to give him a feeling of wholeness.
Sounds great! Now, how do I do it?
Guided meditations take you step-by-step, so they’re a great place to start. They become more effective each time you practice as your brain starts to realize meditation is a safe place for healing. In most guided meditations, you start by relaxing your physical body. This helps to eliminate bodily distractions so that your mind and spirit can get to work.
Contemporary Meditation
Western civilization has grown fond of meditation because it promotes mental, physical, and spiritual wellness in ways that can’t be obtained from modern medicine. There’s a section at the bottom of this post that focuses on the physical benefits. For now, we’ll venture into the mental & spiritual aspects.
I generally find contemporary meditation techniques easier to comprehend than traditional techniques. This is by design; the contemporary techniques were created with contemporary culture in mind.
The course chapter mentions a man named G.I. Gurdjieff who made significant contributions to contemporary meditation, touching on a few of his methods.
Gurdjieff used a method called self-observation, in which the practitioner focuses on softening the line between themselves and the world around them. The idea behind self-observation is that we have lost our ability to expand our consciousness beyond the boundaries of cultural limitations.
- University of Metaphysical Sciences, 2020, Meditation Skills
The sensation described in the first sentence is a glimpse of what I experienced during the Object as a Focal Point guided meditation.
The second sentence stood out to me the most, specifically the mention of cultural limitations. My current understanding is that Western society, in general, has much more defined “boundaries of cultural limitations” than Eastern. Now this is coming from a person who has never traveled further than Central America, so take what I say here with a grain of salt.
But it’s worth considering that we get further & further from our natural state of consciousness as we become more intertwined with the systems society has built for us. We start losing awareness of where we originated and become consumed with what appears to be our whole world, a manmade system.
I hope this doesn’t convey a dark tone, as I do not intend to imply that humans live lives not worth living. Our system is beautiful and beneficial because we have created it and flourish within it. The point is that we should make efforts not to lose sight of our essence during our human journeys. Remembering where we came from leads to a more fulfilling journey throughout our time here.
Another one of Gurdjieff’s methods mentioned in the chapter was self-remembering, or self-observation. I like to think of this as the process of remembering our true form underneath all this daily consciousness stuff. It’s the idea that we are separate entities from our thoughts.
When I think back to what I know about ~science~, I picture an amoeba that appears to simply function for survival. Under a microscope, we see them wiggle around, consume other amoebas, and avoid or be consumed by other amoebas. I sometimes think of us as little amoebas, with each thought being an energy signal sending us a message to do something for survival. Humans’ survival needs have become more complex because we view various things as “essential” for survival, but even amoebas probably consume other organisms for the sake of growth, rather than just survival. If that is true, then I would compare them doing it for growth to us having want-based thoughts as primal efforts to “grow.”
I like to think that our natural desires exist with an evolutionary purpose. I hesitate to phrase it as “our desires exist for a reason” because I don’t hold the belief that we actually have a “reason” to be here. I do believe that life holds purpose, but nothing about life or the universe needs to have a reason for being, so even if human desires don’t exist for an exact reason, they almost certainly serve a larger purpose if we have them. There is nothing unnecessary in existence; everything is necessary and contributes to something else in some capacity.
A tidbit on sexual desire in the world of tantra:
Instead of viewing pleasure and desire as something to be avoided at all costs, tantra recognizes the powerful energy aroused by our desires to be an indispensable resource for the spiritual path. Because the goal is nothing less than the realization of our highest human potential, tantra seeks to transform every experience―no matter how unreligious it may appear in the path to fulfillment. It is precisely because our present life is so inseparably linked with desire that we must make use of desire’s tremendous energy if we wish to transform our life into something transcendental.
- John Powers, Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism
People. They are talking about HARNESSING SEXUAL ENERGY. That is such an interesting concept! It's a great point; what happens to that energy after its exerted? Why not make use of it? They talk about transcending desire this way. I didn't read too much into it, but this blog exists to get people interested in new things, so Google away.
Transcendental Meditation
I think my long-term meditation goals bring me to transcendental meditation, which is described in the chapter in this way:
In transcendental meditation, a thought is followed from its grosser form at the level of the conscious mind, to its more subtle forms at the deeper levels of the mind, and eventually to its point of creation in the most subtle realm.
- University of Metaphysical Sciences, 2020, Meditation Skills
When I read it the first time, I wrote a note to myself, "Definition of transcend: to be or go beyond the limits of. So how can transcendental meditation refer to traveling inwards?" Through my studies, I have been reminded that those concepts are one and the same.
If everything is One, then transcending the self is like finding that essence inside yourself, and once you find that, you have no need to travel outward because you’re already there. Not sure if that’s confusing, but it will either add more or less clarity to base it on the idea that everything is nothing, and nothing is everything...or however you make sense of it.
In reference to transcendental meditation:
Life need not be the painful struggle it is commonly represented to be. We are meant to be happy, and here is a way for everybody; a way which involves no austere discipline, no break with normal life and tradition, and which gives fuller and deeper meaning to all religions.
- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, The Science of Being and Art of Living
Notice how they specify all religions. I love exploring the idea that all religions originate from the same intentions, as touched on in my post, Human Programming. We tend to disagree about the means of reaching enlightenment, but enlightenment should bring a similar sensation for members of all religions when executed properly. There are various means of reaching that state, and I strongly opine that none of the real ones include judgment of others.
I am not at the stage of enlightenment, and I’m not close yet, but that doesn’t bother me. This learning process is so wonderful and enriching. I haven’t reached that stage because I am not ready yet. I am still training myself to consider life from a 5D standpoint, using my 3D brain and set of beliefs.
Bear with me; I am obsessed with dimensional beings right now. I read a Medium post by Alan Lew called Explainer: Just What Are the Different Spiritual Dimensions of Reality? that explores the qualities of other dimensions and their inhabitants. I’ll likely save the bulk of that for a different post, but the relevant idea is that every time I refer to myself as aiming for a 5D mindset, I’m aiming toward enlightenment, acceptance that no beings are superior to other beings, naturally considering my emotions to be a separate entity from my consciousness & thoughts.
Visualization: A tool for connecting with other timelines?
Visualization, aka manifesting your goals into reality, is a real meditation technique that requires you to adopt the mindset that your human eyes are not your only tool for sight. You picture what you want, and because you’ve created that as a possible reality, it becomes one.
In this practice the old adage “be careful what you wish for” is commonly warned because the energy which brings about manifestation of thought is neutral. It can be used for self-centered ends as well as for manifesting the Divine Will.
- University of Metaphysical Sciences, 2020, Meditation Skills
I’ve noticed that pretty much all idioms stem from fundamental metaphysical ideas. I also was reminded of, “if you can dream it, you can be it.” Another idiom that we don’t think much into, but it stems from a much larger framework.
The first sentence in the above excerpt gives the gentle reminder that there really isn’t a "good" or "bad" in the universe. Those concepts help us to categorize and separate out the things that endanger our livelihoods, but they only exist as concepts.
How can anything that exists be "bad" outside of our personal definitions of them? Are wasps "bad" because they sting us? I still find it easy to get mad at people and be like, "Oh, that person is a POS," which really only exists inside the boundaries I’ll use it in, which is in the realm of my 3D experience. It only holds meaning in the current system. Outside of that, all forms of energy simply exist in a neutral state, despite anything or anyone making seemingly positive or negative impacts on our individual lives.
I make sense of visualization as a worthwhile technique by considering the idea of multiple universes co-existing around us, or even inside of ours. To me, it seems to make reference to the multiverse theory in that once you visualize something occurring, the timeline for that is created. Perhaps that path is not created until the idea is visualized? Maybe the idea forming is the creation of 1 of the 12 illuminated doorways I make reference to in Human Programming (each of the doorways represents a possible path you can take, and only a select few are "illuminated" to guide you towards them.)
This helps me make more sense of both visualization AND the possibility of multiple universes. One of my missing pieces for multiverse theory was that I just don’t understand how all possibilities that can exist already do. That would mean that every un-imagined idea already exists, and I get a weird visual of the universe being too jam-packed with stuff from that. IDK, both ideas just seem to click more for me when I think of them as ideas manifesting into possible realities, since thoughts come from energy and basic cellular intention (satisfy basic needs, grow & achieve human goals so that the cells thrive & absorb more cells.)
Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is endlessly bountiful. Just put forth a clear enough request, and everything your heart desires must come to you...The process of change does not occur on superficial levels, through mere ‘positive thinking.’ It involves exploring, discovering, and changing our deepest, most basic attitudes toward life.
- Shakti Gawain, Creative Visualization
Again, this supports multiverse theory for me. If you create the idea, it's a possibility and exists somewhere. If you follow it and like it enough, it will become your reality.
I wish I could stop thinking about time in such a linear way. It’s human nature because our lives are linear. We’re born at the beginning and die at the end. The bigger picture appears to exist with no beginning or end, so I vibe more with time being circular if I have to pick between it being linear or circular. But when imagining multiple timelines and universes, I can’t stop thinking about each timeline as a separate entity. It brings me back to a mindset that involves separation (the opposite of Oneness,) which I’m trying hard to avoid.
If space is not separate from itself because everything is connected through energy, then time isn’t separate from itself either. It all exists at once. The time concept is still difficult for me…I’m hoping for another spiritual awakening moment where I can begin to visualize time existing all at once.
What are the physical health benefits of meditation?
According to the unit chapter, there are countless measurable health benefits of taking the time out of your day to meditate.
In a study conducted with Richard Davidson, [Jon Kabat-Zinn] used a group of meditators and a group of nonmeditators and gave them both flu shots. They then measured antibody levels in their blood, and also measured their brains to look at whether mental activity shifted from the right to the left. The study found that the meditators had more antibodies at both four weeks and eight weeks after the shots, and that the people whose brain activity had shifted had even more antibodies.
- University of Metaphysical Sciences, 2020, Meditation Skills
That is the extent to which they discuss this specific study. I believe you can read more about it here, and I noticed some relevant publication links at the bottom of that page as well. Jon Kabat-Zinn founded the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and continues to conduct studies on the benefits of mindfulness meditation that are concrete & visible.
We are forced to compartmentalize the benefits of meditation into tangible vs. non-tangible because we can only measure & record tangible results within our tangible system, generally speaking. We use manmade technology to interpret findings within our realm of understanding, and the things that cannot be measured with manmade tools remain as concepts to be discussed & journaled.
I have great respect for science. But scientists on their own cannot prove nirvana. Science shows us that there are practices that can make a difference between a happy life and a miserable life. A real understanding of the true nature of the mind can only be gained through meditation.
- The Dalai Lama
I can relate the Dalai Lama’s sentiments to my work as a math tutor.
I constantly find my students trying to describe mathematical processes with their words to ask me for help, when it would be easier for them to tell me in the language of math. If they seem ready, I encourage them to show me what they mean with numbers, rather than trying to translate Math to English and explaining it to me in English. I’m fluent in Math (for the purpose of this conversation,) so let’s just converse that way on paper, and I’ll help you learn how to speak properly in Math as we go. That’s the same way I approach word problems with them. Math is a language, and word problems are asking us to translate English to Math so that we can solve more easily.
My interpretation of the Dalai Lama's words is that the benefits of meditation are something we feel, and while we can record the results of our findings in ways most people will be able to understand, the true understanding would come to those people by meditating.
The power of intellectual determination is the spiritual ability demonstrated by using mental faculties. Beyond intellectual determination is intuitive perception: direct apprehension and comprehension of whatever is examined. Intuition is not dependent upon mental processes since it is in the soul’s capacity to know directly by knowing. When mental delusions and illusions prevail, or if the brain or nervous system is impaired, intellectual powers can be diminished. They can be improved by cultivating overall wellness, rational thinking, and in introducing the mind and physiology to the enlivening regenerative influences of higher state of consciousness. Superconscious influences, experienced during meditation and persisting afterward, enliven the nervous system, refine the brain structure, and purify the mental fields: all of which contribute to allowing any powers of intelligence to be more easily expressed.
- Roy Eugene Davis, 1984, A Master Guide to Meditation
