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Dear Friend,
May this find you well and happy. ********************************* This is Part 12 of your 18 segment weekly email course which you requested on "THE ART OF MEDITATION" taken from the book by the same name by Robert Elias Najemy which can be found as a pdf ebook at http://HolisticHarmony.com/ebooks/index.asp May you enjoy and benefit from it. ********************************** Important note: Meditation should actually be learned from a meditation teacher who can guide through your various stages. As you work with these guidelines, you should seek out a teacher with whom you can have direct contact. If at any point you feel that your meditation is causing you to feel any problems, then please seek out professional help. Always remember that you and only can be responsible for your physical and mental health. ********************************** CHOOSING AN OBJECT We will discuss in more detail the various possible "objects of concentration" in the next chapter. I would like to close this one with some guidelines concerning the choice. The "object" must be concrete enough to hold our mindıs attention and, simultaneously, be subtle enough to be able to transmute itself through our concentration into a higher manifestation of its existence as we have already explained a number of times. Thus, theoretically, a bottle of wine, if focused on deeply enough, could bring us into contact with the source of its existence, which is that universal consciousness. But this would work for very few people. The void on the other hand, might be that which is closest to the universal divine consciousness and requires the least transmutations to bring us to that experience. But the void would fail to keep most meditatorsı attention - at least when they are beginners. The example of television may help us to understand this. If we are watching a fast moving program, with plenty of images appealing to our lower centers such as sex and violence, we have very little difficulty in concentrating on what is happening. We do not yawn with disinterest. We do not get up to do something else. The object of concentration is concrete and interesting enough to hold our attention. But it is unlikely at that moment that the scenes we are watching transmute themselves into the higher spiritual reality of which they are a projection. They do not bring us the feelings of peace and, unity which are indicative of that higher stage of consciousness. Now, if someone changes the channel (the object), and there is a symphony orchestra playing a classical piece, fewer persons would be glued to the screen as before, but there are more possibilities of feeling that divine harmony through this new object. If the program ends and there is simply a white screen, it is unlikely that anyone would stay and be entertained by this monotonous field of white light. Thus, you will want to choose an object that is concrete enough to hold your attention but, at the same time, subtle enough to guide you into higher states of consciousness. I repeat that it doesnıt matter what you choose. All will lead you to the same transcendental experience. What is important is to be regular in your practice. What is also extremely important is not to approach this activity with the same programmings that have ruined our social and professional lives. Do not force your concentration. Be relaxed. Be patient. Understand the nature of your mind and, when you realize that it has become distracted, guide it again with love towards the object. You are not going anywhere. You are already where you want to go. You simply have not realized that you are there. Accept every meditation as perfect. Do not judge yourself on the basis of your meditative experiences. Do not compete with others. Do not fight with your mind. Just keep coming back to the object with patience, perseverance and love. Be gentle. There is no time. There is no where to go. Anxiety about spiritual growth is the same as anxiety about any other worldly activity. It does not help. It is a result of a lack of faith. A lack of faith in ourselves. A lack of faith in life and others. A lack of faith in God and the Divine Plan. So approach your meditation without attachment to the result. Let yourself be meditated. Imagine that you are a mound of clay which is being shaped and transformed by a higher being. In closing, I would like to share with you an interesting excerpt from a text by Greek Orthodox Metropolite of Demetrias, who is now the head of the Greek Church on the TOPIC OF GOD IN ORTHODOXY. "The means by which man may approach God has always held the interest of thoughtful persons. In the West, where religious notions have been deeply permeated by Roman ideas, an attempt was made to develop a particular kind of theological thought which, by means of logic, tried to present the subject-matter of the faith in a systematic manner, accessible to the human intelligence. The "natural knowledge of God", as it is called, made use of philosophy, especially the Aristotelian logic, to achieve an initial approach to God. However, as the Western thinkers themselves admit, this rationalization of the faith fostered the presently prevailing atheism, and it opened the way to the formulation of a theory about Godıs death. "Atheism in the West is the natural symptom of the Western attitude, and it is the result of a long thought-process which has tried to contain the infinitude of the Divineıs attributes within the narrow limits of the human intellect. "Contrary to this, Eastern theological thinking operated in a completely different manner and followed a different path which, apophatically, leads to participation in God. It is not, that is, so much the reason which can grasp the infinitude of the Divine essence, as it is the emotion which commands a distinctive power for achieving this. The East did not try to dress the question of the existence of God with the garb of logical proof. It turned, instead, to the method of personal experience, i.e. to manıs participation and communion with God. It did not view God as an object foreign to man, nor man as an independent unit on earth. It taught, in the language of the Fathers, that the topic of God is, in its essence, the topic of man, manıs nature and his destiny. The incarnate God of love, includes the human nature and man can become a "godfilled living being". "The Divine discharge divinises man, and the "creature in the image" of the Creator takes on an ontological character even while in the midst of the human existence itself. All the above-mentioned are components of what is called the mystical or apophatic theology, and are the features of the Eastern spirituality and our Orthodox approach. "It is thus apparent that in the realm of Orthodoxy, faith is not processed and standardized. One labors in vain if he thinks that with the sole resource of his limited human thought he can put to sea in the ocean of the divine activities. The truth is not so much knowledge, as experience of reality - the gift and revelation of God. Because God is indescribable, inexplicable and unnameable. According to St. Symeon the New Theologian, God is "visible and invisible, going and coming, disappearing and suddenly appearing". We do not know the essence of God. However, we can approach His effects and His actions, though only a minute portion of these St. Gregory the Theologian says that "it is only a fraction of what is reaching us and just a tiny glimpse of the great light". Thus, nobody can express God by means of logical categories but in accordance with the degree of his participation in the divine life, each one of us can know something of God. "This apophatic method of the Eastern mystics is founded on the Holy Scriptures, which teach that God does not deliver Himself to the human senses, but only reveals Himself. Of His own Will, He discharges Himself and incarnates Himself; He ceases being a transcendental power and willingly gifts Himself to man, and, thereby, He endorses the human nature which He puts into its natural framework. In the final analysis, the vision and the knowledge of God is a gift of God consequent on manıs collaboration. This means that it is purposeless to seek proofs or indications regarding the existence of God. In fact, such proofs or indications do not exist. However, there is something else which is more essential and more valuable, and that is the vitalizing presence of God in the world. This fact needs no proof, and is similar to light which, when it exists, its presence is luminous. Only a blind person does not see it, or someone with diseased eyes cannot stand it. For all others it is enough that it vitalizes and warms. Therefore, the problem of God, as we have said, is basically the problem of man. Whoever would approach God, must first of all know himself, must study himself, must control himself. If someone is spiritually blind or diseased, he does not have the possibility of approaching God. That is why the Lord said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt. 5.8)". And this purification is the result of repentance and ceaseless prayer. To those who stand incredulously and inquisitively, before the topic of God, the Church offers, simply and convincingly, the approach of "come and see". And that is the best path leading to the appearance and the vision of God. "The Church does not offer solutions and logical answers. The Church itself is the solution, because it is a place of light and truth for the sake of man". ELEFTHEROS KOSMOS (newspaper) 26.2.81. To be continued ******************************** From the book "THE ART OF MEDITATION" by Robert Elias Najemy which can be downloaded as an ebook pdf file or ordered from http://HolisticHarmony.com/ebooks/index.asp ******************************** B> ********* Membership is free and you can access 600 articles, chapters and ebooks for free.Become a Member********* Our Free ezine Claritygreater health, happiness and harmonious relationships. Click to subscribe/unsubscribe to Clarity E-zine May you be well on all levels of your being.
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