Our brains come in two parts. Left Brain and Right Brain. They are connected one to the other. They talk to each other. We have two minds. The Small Mind and The Big Mind. Small is an interpreter. He loves language, lists, categories, judgements, standards, rules, and his biggest failing is that he creates an identity for himself. His name is EGO. Big mind doesn’t know language and he hides. We are unaware of him all the time. When he wants to communicate with us he does so via our feelings. Some people believe that Big Mind dwells in our Heart. Common feelings are happy, sad, excited, emotional etc. The big mind loves life, you might think him primitive but he is a wise old bird with millenniums of experience behind him. There is a theory that a child is born with a Big Mind survival program in place. As the child grows and learns world stuff, the thing called the intellect takes over the navigation of life, and that can be a big mistake. (See materials about Sydney Banks elsewhere on this website). This takeover bid happens at about the time of a child’s 7th birthday. (± a year)
Meditation is largely about quieting the SMALL MIND and observing the BIG MIND (being conscious of the unconscious mind)
Getting ready to meditate.
Successful meditation is NOT possible without a certain amount of preparation. Those who fail to plan, plan to fail, make no mistake about that at all.
Whoops! Some additional things you will need that I completely forgot about.
The most common Meditation.
A guided meditation and this is where ALL beginners start. We are going on a MIND JOURNEY which is narrated by the Guide. Some people find these easy, and some find them challenging. Some people go in mind where the guide is leading them others do not. IT DOES NOT MATTER if you stick to the plot, or go off in another direction. Meditation is similar to a trance state. Remember when in ordinary life you are just staring into space and a voice says “Are you going to be with us soon?”
“Oh sorry! Yes, don’t know what came over me – miles away.”
That’s how it feels. YOU ARE IN CONTACT WITH THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND. You do not have much of a clue what you are being told but it is a feeling. Like coming home after a furiously busy, hectic day. Ahhhhhhh!
I just announced these lessons on Facebook and it occurred to me then that my post talked about freeing yourself from INTELLECT and connecting with the higher self. Sometimes you will fall asleep BUT that is NOT the aim. Some argue that the higher self speaks to us when we are asleep all the time which is true as we have some of our best thoughts and ideas visit us during the night whilst we are asleep. THE AIM is to observe the higher self. We not only want to connect with Big Mind we want to LOOK INSIDE (see Sydney Banks Notes) and discover the OURSELF that we are not acquainted with. The non-EGO is our true nature. The kind, loving, generous, forgiving, self that lay hidden in us all. This self is very close to God. He knows stuff that we can only guess about. He is wisdom that he imparts to us at the moment.
A lot more donkey work remains to be done as we hone in on the finer points of this meditation lark.
Why can’t I just free my mind and stop it buzzzin at 300mph? Why am I always plotting scheming planning and working so hard to achieve what?
In Lesson 4 we review what the heck went wrong in Lesson 3 and how we can create a strategy for calming the mind.
A Study In Silence
Let me introduce you to Tara Brach. Tara is what I would refer to as “A Very Spiritual” person. Her meditation technique is to keep it simple and understandable. Later we will look at her RAIN method of meditation. Initially, though I just want you to experience one of her meditations. I will no longer give you instruction on Seating / Laying / Posture / Breathing / Stress in body preparations / Environment. You now know all this and continual repetition of stuff you already know will drive you nuts 🙂
Lesson 7 (THE Lucky Number)
A Hallowed Space
Each of us needs a “Bolt Hole” which is a place of absolute security where we are free from all thought. A “NOTHING” place which for convenience I will label HOME.
Home is where you feel safe, secure, protected, liberated. A Place where you really can be you.
Where some people live their life is NOT home. (unless you live alone). There are rules, standards, secrets, obligations, duty, fitting in. Life in this place is shaped by everybody and everything in that shares the space. A lot of people go to other homes where they feel more ‘at home’. Might be the church (when it is open but empty of people), the PUB, a music venue, cafe, restaurant, movie theatre, music gig. A place where you can “FEEL” at home.
A lot of self-help books tell you to imagine one in your mind. Sounds like a great idea but it has never worked or come to pass for me. But you might find that this works for you. If so great, you can tell me how this is done.
I would like to make recommendations to you BUT you know you better than anyone else possibly ever can and so you will have to find your own salvation of this one.
In my room where I write and do my meditating, I have created what can only be described as a shrine. It is a shelf upon which I have placed objects that are very special to me. I am not going to explain to you why the objects are there, I guarantee you would not understand. This is my shrine for me, built by me, for me. When I observe it I feel “At Home”. Here is a list of what is on it.
- A buddha
- A cone incense burner
- Figurine of Jesus Christ
- An Illuminated Ronda
- Lotus Flowerpot containing Chrystals
- A Faberge Egg
- A set of Chakra pyramids
- A Celtic Chalice and a bottle of Lindisfarne Wine
- A ‘Rose Crystal Ball’
- Red Indian Totem Pole
- Two Incense stick burners
- A dragons skull
- Three Crystal Angels
- A Model Aligator
- Russian Icon of Jesus tapping on a door
- 2 World War 1 ‘Dead Men’s Pennies’
- An Indian Incense stick holder
- A Russian silver Christ plague
- My grandfathers silver watch chain
- My Fathers Rings
- My Mothers Bracelet
Your shrine has to have things that mean something to YOU!
See the practice recordings at the foot of this column
- Lesson 8 – 1
- Lesson 8 – 2
- Lesson 8 – 3
- Lesson 8 – 4
Lesson 8 – Let’s Practice
Meditation is a skill. The only way I know to improve a skill is to practice. So stop reading about Meditation and Just do it!
THIS IS NOT AN INTELLECTUAL SUBJECT. It is a spiritual subject. You have to come to terms that we are dealing with things here that are formless. You cannot pick up a piece of sadness and measure it. You cannot describe it adequately with mere words. You cannot store it in a can or a bottle. Dump it in a trash can. You are dealing with stuff that JUST IS.
That’s hard. EGO can cope with things it can judge, categorise, list, count etc. BUT give him a big dose of sadness and he will hide and will not know what to do with it.
He is the same with Love and Happiness. In his book, any LOVE is all for him. Any happiness and that is all his as well. EGO with his relentless pursuit of more, better and Different is the cause of all human sadness. That and his triumphant assertion that he is in control of every damn thing. Watch who he blames when something goes tits up. Oh, its not him that got into the mess. It’s YOU what did it, your biggest critic will never let you forget it. After some years of meditation, you will have put EGO firmly in his place and exposed him for the tyrant and liar that he really is. Your trump card is ‘I created you so I can change you into anything I like, so EGO I am the boss and not you!’
George Harrison was said to be able to think of ‘nothing’ for 8 whole minutes! It took him years and a lot of expensive tutoring to be able to do this. Do NOT give up. Persevere. The rewards when you get it right are enormous.
Main Benefits.
- To ‘feel’ calm and relaxed.
- To get rid of muddle and mess in the mind and end up thinking much more clearly.
- An end to anxiety panic (with time and practice)
- Greater awareness of LIFE.
- Broader Mind. Things you thought were rubbish suddenly are no longer so.
- Connection to the real you.
- Connection to higher powers.
- Gratefulness for the gift of Life.
- Feeling more in control of EGO.
Congratulations! You have made a start on the journey to understand more about what is going on inside your mind and body. I started on all this investigative probing because I sincerely believed there was something wrong with me that was caused by traumatic events in my past. Thanks to my tutor and great friend Emma Mallock I discovered that these thoughts are entirely untrue. Our only reality lies in the moment we call NOW. All our lives EGO strives to get us to avoid NOW and live in a dead past and an imaginary future. Meditation forces the MIND into NOW and is the first step to great wisdom about life. Please investigate the rest of this website which will assist you to break free from the moulded self that you have become. A piece of wisdom. Life is about duality. Good things contain some badness AND equally some bad things have inherent goodness that is often hard to spot. There are so few absolutes outside of mathematics. Listen to other people by all means BUT seek the truth of what they say yourself. No ONE is more or less spiritual than you are. We all have the same spark of God within us. We are all spiritual equals.
May your God go with you wherever life takes you. Know with faith that you are never ever alone. You are never in Isolation but connected to the great energy that enables and empowers all of creation.
Some extra help from Tara Brach who is an expert on meditation and mental health.
