"But thy eternal summer shall not fade, nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st… So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee."
"Silence is the perfectest herald of joy: I were but little happy if I could say how much."
"Oh! how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man's eyes."
MEDITATION as a THERAPY is a reminder of our unbounded nature — of the part of us that is infinite in SPACE and TIME. Having an inherent capacity to catalyse change in our lives, it is the universe's affirmation that we are not alone. It is one of the most effective methods of finding meaning because it is a way of contracting a dimension of experience that seems wiser, deeper and more than an individual sense of self.
Within each one of us, there is an unlimited and infinite reservoir of energy, intelligence and happiness. MEDITATION is an invocation that one should identify oneself with nature, clearing one's mind of the extraneous concepts and information which clutter up one's existence and cut oneself off from the roots of one's being. This enables one to see things expansively and as they really are. As it is implicit that we should allow nature to operate effortlessly on its own, the following technique is designed to remove those obstacles and barriers which stand in the way of this inner expansion of experiences.
Intended to draw on our Spiritual Springs, our unique kind of Scenery MEDITATION is a realisation that in silence it is discernible that we are the thinkers in every thought. Between our thoughts there is an area which is completely serene and silent — a zone which is the gateway through which our personal being gets reflected and communicates with the universal or Cosmic Being.
Against anything that tends to cloud the mind, our psychological exercise as outlined in the form of Scenery MEDITATION is intended to set a great store by the practice of self-awareness, or rather knowledge of our motives. The meditation technique outlined here may simply be defined as the art and science of detaching one's own pure consciousness to enable one to discover oneself as the LIFE of pure consciousness — within which and through which the contents of self-awareness, the objects of one's world, in their entirety, exist.
The single invariant ingredient here is the fact that I cannot think, live, experience, value or act in any world other than the world which is in some sense in Me. This world is my perceptual world, which derives its meaning and TRUTH from Me. It is only through my pure conscious self that any reality has any possible validity and makes any sense to me — the constantly present pure awareness, which is the consciousness and source of all its own objects and meanings.
Through focused attention on a specific scenery, our MEDITATION is an attempt at going BEYOND the reflexive, discursive, logical mind into a deeper, more devout relaxed state where the ontological cord between our being and the Supreme Being melts down into a transcendental Ontological Field.
Yogis call this energy Prana, while Oriental acupuncture recognises this same energy as Chi. In western thought this energy has gone under many names — from Odic Force, to Orgone Energy, to Plasma Energy, to Life Fields. BEYONDISM informs that through regulated breathing we can extract a greater supply of Prana and transform it to maintain and develop ourselves — this Pranic stream is the key to genius, artistic talents, scientific creativity, and good health, optimising our Potential Quotient (PQ).
By heightening this energy exchange through what we call Breathing to a Beat, we learn to breathe in rhythm and — through rhythmic breath control — slow down body and mind rhythms, resynchronizing out-of-synch body and mind. As Paramhansa Yogananda illuminated in The Autobiography of a Yogi:
A person whose attention is wholly engrossed, as in following some closely knit intellectual argument, automatically breathes very slowly. Fixity of attention depends on slow breathing; quick or uneven breathing is an inevitable accompaniment of harmful emotional states — fear, lust, anger. The restless monkey breathes at the rate of 32 times a minute, in contrast to man's average of 18 times. The giant tortoise, which may attain the age of three hundred years, breathes only 4 times a minute.
Using different focus sceneries to generate different brainwave patterns — through what we will refer to as 'Internal Movement in External Stillness' — let us immerse ourselves in the basics of our Scenery MEDITATION.
To cleanse our minds in preparation for this divine process of self-redemption, take yourself to a quiet spot and, seated or lying down, place before yourself an object to concentrate upon. Suppose you are considering a blue flower — concentrate upon it as simply blue and of certain shape, in isolation from anything else, for two minutes. This effort at excluding all other perceptions awakens the mind for rhythmic breathing.
Close your eyes and visualise yourself as surrounded by a bright sea of LIFE energy. Visualise this energy entering your forehead, circulating in all parts of your body cells and energising everything in its trail. Open up every pore in your body and feel yourself slowly being energised by this Pranic energy.
Scenery MEDITATION provides means of conforming imagination to the real essence of nature. While you are relaxed, repeat some positive affirmations to yourself — silently, four or five times:
Upon the serene silence of this Scenery MEDITATION, you should be guaranteed of entering into Cosmic Oneness, where all dualities of good and bad melt away as the rankest superficialities. Divine eloquence will flow in soundless chant into your very being — your cells and nerves. With an antenna of irrefragable insight, you will sense everything as it really is, as all obscuration of this LIFE disappears in a fragile dawn of prenatal memories.
Meditation is a spiritual journey towards what lies BEYOND our sensations — towards all-pervading, inconceivable, unchanging, fixed and unmovable: the Absolute Truth.
Concentration exercises sharpen the mind and improve the ability to concentrate. These are mental exercises that will strengthen the power of your mind. Your mind does not like discipline, and will resist your efforts — it loves its freedom more than anything else. The choice is yours: to be mastered by the mind and its whims, or to be its master.
Find a place where you can be alone and undisturbed. Sit with your spine erect. Take a few calm deep breaths and then relax your body, directing your attention to each muscle from head to toe. Practice each exercise for about 10 minutes, and after a few weeks of training, lengthen the time to 15 minutes.
Start with the first exercise. Practice it every day until you can do it without any distractions for at least three continuous minutes. Every time you get distracted, start again. Be honest with yourself — proceed to the next only after you are convinced you have practiced correctly. Do not fall asleep, daydream or think about other matters. If you persevere and never give up — in spite of difficulties — success will crown your efforts. Remember: even those with powerful concentration had to exercise their minds.
Take a book or magazine and count the number of words in a single paragraph. Count them again to verify. As you improve, count two paragraphs, then a whole page — mentally, with your eyes only, no pointing. This is one of the simplest brain exercises to improve concentration.
Select an inspiring word or simple sound and think about it in your mind, repeating it for 5 minutes. Once your mind concentrates easily, move to 10 minutes of uninterrupted concentration.
Try to suppress your thoughts for at least 5 minutes. Start with one minute and gradually increase. Stay blank for 5 minutes without a single thought. This takes time, but gradually your concentration will excel. This is one of the most difficult exercises for concentration.
Sit straight on a chair. Raise your right arm to shoulder level, pointing sideways. Fix your gaze on your fingers. Keep your arm perfectly still for one minute. Repeat with the left arm. Gradually increase to 5 minutes each. The palm turned downward makes the position easiest.
Hold a fruit — an apple, banana, or orange — and examine it from all sides, focusing your full attention on it. Stay calm, ignore all irrelevant thoughts. Focus on its shape, taste, smell, and the sensation of touching it. Do not drift into associations.
Fill a small glass with water. Hold it directly in front of you with your fingers. Fix your eyes on the glass and focus all attention on it. Keep your arm so steady that no movement becomes noticeable. Do this for one minute and gradually increase to five. Alternate arms.
Take a small simple object — a spoon, fork, cup or glass. Concentrate on it, watching it from all sides without any verbalization — with no words in your mind. Just concentrate on watching the object closely without thinking about it.
Draw a small geometric figure of about 3 inches — a triangle, rectangle, or circle. Paint it any colour. Concentrate on it, letting only the figure exist for you. Once mastered, visualise the figure with eyes closed. If you forget, briefly open your eyes, then continue.
Sit on a comfortable chair and see how long you can keep still — making no involuntary muscular movements. Start with 5 minutes, gradually increase to 15. Do not strain yourself. This exercise is excellent for complete relaxation.
Place your clenched fist on the table, back of hand upward. Slowly extend your thumb, then each finger in turn, treating each movement as a matter of great importance. Then reverse — closing each finger last-opened first. Five repetitions per hand. Increase to ten.
Lie down and thoroughly relax your muscles. Concentrate on your heartbeat without paying attention to anything else. Visualise blood leaving your heart and flowing down to your toes, then down the arms to the fingertips. After this exercise, you can actually feel the blood passing through your system.
Sit upright. Press one finger against your right nostril, take a long deep breath, drawing it in gently as you count to ten. Expel the breath through the right nostril, counting to ten. Repeat with the other nostril. Practice at least 20 times at each sitting.
Stand before a mirror and make two marks at eye level. Imagine them as two eyes looking into yours. Stand erect, without moving your head. Keep all your thoughts on holding perfectly still. Think of yourself as reliable — someone anyone would have confidence in. Practice deep breathing. This exercise should be practised for 3 minutes.
Focus on a specific sound — a voice, a bird, traffic. After one minute, deliberately switch to another sound. Continue switching. While focusing on one sound, do not hear or think of anything else. This exercise can also be done visually by focusing on the source of each sound.