8 steps from meditation to true contemplation
13/07/2007 Filed in: Personal
Development
The
scholarly approach I usually take on this
website and blog
would be meaningless if it didn’t translate into our
day-to-day lives. It should go without saying that
intellectual endeavour, spirituality, and everyday
life should balance each other out so that they
produce the most harmonious experience of the world
possible. So now that I have set a workable
theoretical background through other posts on this
blog, I will start addressing the more down-to-earth
concerns we may have, whether we are already
advanced in the spiritual career or not.
As I have spent some time describing the importance of desire and contemplation, I thought I would start with a short how-to approach to meditation and prayer that will help us engage in the “art of contemplation”, which is at the root of an infinite progression towards our ideal. Most of my readers may already have techniques of their own, so I will simply state 8 general steps from the most basic to the most demanding, that can be adapted to virtually any particular system. Make sure you master each step before moving on to the next. Will you need all 8 steps? Probably not. It all depends on your desire, on your vocation, and dare I say, on your calling. But not needing something that you know is better than not knowing something you do need, right?
So, how does one relax, meditate, or pray? Contrary to what one may think, these are activities you get better at with practice and guidance. It is just like sport: kids can play soccer in the street, or can practice a couple times a week in a local team, but to become a pro takes a lot more effort. Skill is actually a big component of relaxation and meditation. Prayer is yet in another league altogether, as its most important achievements do not merely depend on ourselves. But prayer does benefit immensely from our ability to relax the body and focus the mind.
It is easier to do this in a quiet room, but you can learn to do most of these steps even in a overcrowded underground or bus, amidst people and noise. It is a matter of concentration. You might want to print this out and get away from your computer for a while if you wish to put yourself in condition.
Let’s get started.
1- Sit down and breathe normally
Make sure you can devote at least an hour to this. Nothing must be able to grab your attention enough to have you go and “quickly do something”. My favourite positions are to sit on a chair right up with hands on knees, about one foot apart, or with my head on my knees with my arms crossed over my chest (in a kind of “Tuthankhamun” pose). The latter helps reach deeper states of consciousness than the former. I often start upright, and move to the bent-over position as I progress through the steps outlined bellow. Adapt these to your taste, needs and flexibility! Make sure not to force your breathing to do anything special. It will adapt automatically to your body’s needs. You can, however, concentrate on listening to your body breathe, without interfering, if that helps you relax.
2- Relaxation every muscle of your body
Muscles—especially of the face—tend to tighten up when thoughts and especially stress flow in. Every muscle, from your toes, working upwards one by one to the top of your skull, must be visualised, “felt”, and forced to relax. Beginners can massage themselves physically, before doing it only mentally by visualising “invisible” hands running through your muscles. You can work your way through different areas in your body (limbs, torso, hands, head) or segregate by type of tissue (bones and joints, striated muscles, smooth muscles, and skin), but always from bottom-to-top or from inner-to-outer organs. It can help to apply the same relaxation to your brain and nerves… it may sound silly, but try that too, again radiating from the central nervous system to the peripheral nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and nerves branching from the spine all the way out to the skin). I find that this simple technique actually soothes headaches too… give it a try.
3- Empty your mind of stressful thoughts, purify your mind
Everyday life generates a lot of stress, that most of the time is “cold” and suppressed while you’re active. But sitting down to relax and meditate will allow this stress to bubble up and thwart your efforts. For now, just let those thoughts bubble up and watch them from a distance without interfering, making a quick mental note of where they come from (job, relationships, overgrown to-do lists, etc.) and let them go for now. This should get rid of the milder thoughts. If you are more experienced, you will know how to silence the source of these negative thoughts - I will come back to this someday soon.
4- Focus your intent
Many techniques of relaxation and meditation use active imagination (which is the creation of images, such as the one described above) upon which strength their efficacy depends; nothing should be able to pop up in your head at that moment unless you consciously call it up, hence the importance of mastering step 3 above. Lack of concentration creates static, which weakens your thoughts. Try to make the clearest and brightest mental images you can, while going through points 2 and 3 anew. This second pass should reach much deeper within. At point 3 go and actively find those thoughts: what are they, are they yours or are they foreign? Are they positive and heart-warming, or stressful and constricting? If they are the latter, expel them as hard as you can and forbid their return — mentally shout at them if needed. If they are positive, try and identify their source gently: yours or foreign? Try and find what distinguishes them, how they make you feel inside, which ones are most beneficial to you? Repeat this exercise as often as you can.
Once you have mastered these steps—and may I suggest that you practice at least once or twice a week—you can put into practice the remainder of this post. Repeat steps 1 through 3. 4 isn’t needed this time round if you have already included it in your routine.
5- Empty your mind of all words and images, including positive ones
This is part of the art of stillness that is zen. However, I insist that this emptiness is achieved only after having learnt to understand your thought processes as described in point 4. With that under your belt, you can choose how to deal with each thought that comes by, and how to achieve the abscence of thought and image, while being firmly routed in mental peace. Try remaining in this void, motionless, simply present for a while.
6- Open your heart while your mind remains motionless
This involves more feeling and less thought. You should focus on feeling the warmth that a positive thought would bring you in step 4 above, yet without the help of specific thoughts or memories… Focus for a while on the sensation in its bareness, detached from any thought or reasoning. You should feel that your heart is swollen with light. Whatever you do, do not let you reasoning processes back in at this moment!
This is where I’ll introduce prayer. There is obviously a lot more to meditation and relaxation, but in this case, it is just a preparation - a purification - for what comes next.
7- Vocalise a prayer with full intent and a clear understanding of every word
Vocal prayer isn’t just rambling thoughts and random wishes; prayer serves some very specific purposes and must be said with both the fullest understanding you have of them, and the full intent of your will, out loud. Or else, you would be amputating them of an essential part. Traditional forms of prayer are far better than improvised ones for several reasons: they follow a certain rhythm both phonetically and structurally; they are easier to memorise simply because you may have heard them often; they are a convention between you and the spiritual realm—in other words, they are a rite. If you belong to a particular religion, you will know where to find a prayer that suits you. You can also choose a very short prayer that you will repeat rhythmically, first aloud then mentally only, as hesychasm teaches.
8- “Sub-mentally” extend your prayer without visualising anything nor uttering a word, somewhere near the limit of consciousness.
Jewish cabalists call this the extinction of thought. This is a form of prayer where no part of your will, intent, imagination, thought, or feelings can go, and yet your being reaches beyond. This is where negative theology sometimes found in Platonism, Hesychasm, or Suffism can lead, in which the divinity acts through you. Reaching this point is a special grace indeed, an illumination, and the beginning of the contemplation of true Beauty. This small taste of eternity will spur a much greater desire to migrate every closer to complete reconciliation through the practise of virtues and commandments, and as time goes by, will empower you to represent and to truly become your own highest ideal in even the most mundane life. It is all that I can wish you!
As I have spent some time describing the importance of desire and contemplation, I thought I would start with a short how-to approach to meditation and prayer that will help us engage in the “art of contemplation”, which is at the root of an infinite progression towards our ideal. Most of my readers may already have techniques of their own, so I will simply state 8 general steps from the most basic to the most demanding, that can be adapted to virtually any particular system. Make sure you master each step before moving on to the next. Will you need all 8 steps? Probably not. It all depends on your desire, on your vocation, and dare I say, on your calling. But not needing something that you know is better than not knowing something you do need, right?
So, how does one relax, meditate, or pray? Contrary to what one may think, these are activities you get better at with practice and guidance. It is just like sport: kids can play soccer in the street, or can practice a couple times a week in a local team, but to become a pro takes a lot more effort. Skill is actually a big component of relaxation and meditation. Prayer is yet in another league altogether, as its most important achievements do not merely depend on ourselves. But prayer does benefit immensely from our ability to relax the body and focus the mind.
It is easier to do this in a quiet room, but you can learn to do most of these steps even in a overcrowded underground or bus, amidst people and noise. It is a matter of concentration. You might want to print this out and get away from your computer for a while if you wish to put yourself in condition.
Let’s get started.
1- Sit down and breathe normally
Make sure you can devote at least an hour to this. Nothing must be able to grab your attention enough to have you go and “quickly do something”. My favourite positions are to sit on a chair right up with hands on knees, about one foot apart, or with my head on my knees with my arms crossed over my chest (in a kind of “Tuthankhamun” pose). The latter helps reach deeper states of consciousness than the former. I often start upright, and move to the bent-over position as I progress through the steps outlined bellow. Adapt these to your taste, needs and flexibility! Make sure not to force your breathing to do anything special. It will adapt automatically to your body’s needs. You can, however, concentrate on listening to your body breathe, without interfering, if that helps you relax.
2- Relaxation every muscle of your body
Muscles—especially of the face—tend to tighten up when thoughts and especially stress flow in. Every muscle, from your toes, working upwards one by one to the top of your skull, must be visualised, “felt”, and forced to relax. Beginners can massage themselves physically, before doing it only mentally by visualising “invisible” hands running through your muscles. You can work your way through different areas in your body (limbs, torso, hands, head) or segregate by type of tissue (bones and joints, striated muscles, smooth muscles, and skin), but always from bottom-to-top or from inner-to-outer organs. It can help to apply the same relaxation to your brain and nerves… it may sound silly, but try that too, again radiating from the central nervous system to the peripheral nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and nerves branching from the spine all the way out to the skin). I find that this simple technique actually soothes headaches too… give it a try.
3- Empty your mind of stressful thoughts, purify your mind
Everyday life generates a lot of stress, that most of the time is “cold” and suppressed while you’re active. But sitting down to relax and meditate will allow this stress to bubble up and thwart your efforts. For now, just let those thoughts bubble up and watch them from a distance without interfering, making a quick mental note of where they come from (job, relationships, overgrown to-do lists, etc.) and let them go for now. This should get rid of the milder thoughts. If you are more experienced, you will know how to silence the source of these negative thoughts - I will come back to this someday soon.
4- Focus your intent
Many techniques of relaxation and meditation use active imagination (which is the creation of images, such as the one described above) upon which strength their efficacy depends; nothing should be able to pop up in your head at that moment unless you consciously call it up, hence the importance of mastering step 3 above. Lack of concentration creates static, which weakens your thoughts. Try to make the clearest and brightest mental images you can, while going through points 2 and 3 anew. This second pass should reach much deeper within. At point 3 go and actively find those thoughts: what are they, are they yours or are they foreign? Are they positive and heart-warming, or stressful and constricting? If they are the latter, expel them as hard as you can and forbid their return — mentally shout at them if needed. If they are positive, try and identify their source gently: yours or foreign? Try and find what distinguishes them, how they make you feel inside, which ones are most beneficial to you? Repeat this exercise as often as you can.
Once you have mastered these steps—and may I suggest that you practice at least once or twice a week—you can put into practice the remainder of this post. Repeat steps 1 through 3. 4 isn’t needed this time round if you have already included it in your routine.
5- Empty your mind of all words and images, including positive ones
This is part of the art of stillness that is zen. However, I insist that this emptiness is achieved only after having learnt to understand your thought processes as described in point 4. With that under your belt, you can choose how to deal with each thought that comes by, and how to achieve the abscence of thought and image, while being firmly routed in mental peace. Try remaining in this void, motionless, simply present for a while.
6- Open your heart while your mind remains motionless
This involves more feeling and less thought. You should focus on feeling the warmth that a positive thought would bring you in step 4 above, yet without the help of specific thoughts or memories… Focus for a while on the sensation in its bareness, detached from any thought or reasoning. You should feel that your heart is swollen with light. Whatever you do, do not let you reasoning processes back in at this moment!
This is where I’ll introduce prayer. There is obviously a lot more to meditation and relaxation, but in this case, it is just a preparation - a purification - for what comes next.
7- Vocalise a prayer with full intent and a clear understanding of every word
Vocal prayer isn’t just rambling thoughts and random wishes; prayer serves some very specific purposes and must be said with both the fullest understanding you have of them, and the full intent of your will, out loud. Or else, you would be amputating them of an essential part. Traditional forms of prayer are far better than improvised ones for several reasons: they follow a certain rhythm both phonetically and structurally; they are easier to memorise simply because you may have heard them often; they are a convention between you and the spiritual realm—in other words, they are a rite. If you belong to a particular religion, you will know where to find a prayer that suits you. You can also choose a very short prayer that you will repeat rhythmically, first aloud then mentally only, as hesychasm teaches.
8- “Sub-mentally” extend your prayer without visualising anything nor uttering a word, somewhere near the limit of consciousness.
Jewish cabalists call this the extinction of thought. This is a form of prayer where no part of your will, intent, imagination, thought, or feelings can go, and yet your being reaches beyond. This is where negative theology sometimes found in Platonism, Hesychasm, or Suffism can lead, in which the divinity acts through you. Reaching this point is a special grace indeed, an illumination, and the beginning of the contemplation of true Beauty. This small taste of eternity will spur a much greater desire to migrate every closer to complete reconciliation through the practise of virtues and commandments, and as time goes by, will empower you to represent and to truly become your own highest ideal in even the most mundane life. It is all that I can wish you!