Not everyone is familiar with the benefits
that are available from the combination of prayer and meditation. If you
have never attempted this, fear not. This technique is for anyone who wishes
to listen to the inner self and connect with higher powers. All it takes
is a willingness to relax your body and mind and unite your heart and soul.
The first step to enjoying prayer meditation is to pause for a moment and
become perfectly still, totally alone with the pounding of your heart and
the hum of your brain. This is where you will find a place for you alone,
a place for your unique inner self. This is where you will be free from the
roles you play to insure your survival, free from the demands of the people
and the institutions that absorb your daily life. Whatever the issues you
may desire to address, this is the place where you choose the warm feelings
of love over the coldness of harm. This is where you create a partnership
of equals between your head and heart, left and right, wants and needs, self
and others.
To enter into a meditative state, find a quiet spot where you will not be
disturbed. Start by sitting in a comfortable chair, eyes closed, spine straight,
head effortlessly balanced on the shoulders, feet on the floor and palms
upright on the lap. Focus on the pulsing of your heart until your mind quiets
down and you have settled into a relaxed and yet focused state. Draw as many
deep breaths as necessary to relax the mind and all the muscles of the body.
With practice, you will be able to obtain a state of deep relaxation within
seconds. The main objective is to become perfectly still and silence the
mind. When we eliminate disruptions, we are able to go deep inside ourselves
and attain pure introspection. Here, the guidance of Pure Love awaits us
all.
"Picture a Pure White Light while listening
to the words
LIGHT-LOVE-ONE"
Silently chant the word "LIGHT" in time with
each beat of your heart, doing so until you eliminate all other thoughts.
Then, picture a brilliant and Pure White Light starting to glow from the
inside of your mind. Gradually slowing the timing of the chant, switch your
focus to the rhythm of your breath, using a single breath for each word.
As you inhale, draw the Light into the physical mind. As you exhale, feel
the Light spread throughout the body: your mind, torso, arms and legs.
Concentrate on the visualization of this Light glowing and radiating throughout
your entire being. The Light is representing all of the goodness, virtue,
purity and perfection that exist in the universe.
Now, immersed in this Light, chant the word
"LOVE" with the same rhythm that you obtained with the word "Light." Concentrate
on a feeling of pure and selfless appreciation for all the love that you
have ever known. Concentrate on growing your internal love for your physical,
intellectual, emotional and spiritual powers. This is where your brain enters
into a deeply personal space that exists between resting and sleep. Pure
Love's essence is unconditional Love; the joyful desiring of what is right
and what is best for all. It is an absolute Love of infinite proportions
that does no harm. Bask in the glory of Pure Love, allowing this beautiful
and caring feeling to grow ever-more pervasive in your life, opening yourself
up to its new and better solutions.
This partnership of Light and Love compounds
the power of your human love, a love that wants what is right for the self,
and stimulates the growth of your higher love, a universal Love that wants
what is right for others. When you succeed in partnering Light and Love together
in a partnership of equals, to the exclusion of all other thoughts, you are
empowering your personal partners within.
You will feel an "energizing" or "tingling" sensation bristling throughout
your being as your brain enters a meditative state. This energy will feel
like it is coming from deep inside you as your left and right brain come
together in a partnership of equals that wants what is best for both. You
will also feel a profound sense of peace as the love and wisdom of the universe
enters your world. Concentrate on the powers of your partners within for
a few minutes. (You may want to slow the chant at this point, or stop altogether,
resuming occasionally if start to lose focus on the energy of your partners
within.)
This is where you become "ONE" with the Highest Source of Pure Love, the
Power of Pure Spirit. The love of your internal partners will merge with
all of the other Love that exists throughout the universe. It starts as a
desire to do the right thing for you and then intensifies into a passion
to do what is right for others. It allows you to see your own life, analyze
how you have lived and helps you to make creative new solutions that benefit
yourself and all involved. The joyful merging of your internal partners,
and the provocative insights of this journey, is the essence of a prayer
meditation practice. The love released by your partners within is like a
beacon calling to all of the other love that exists throughout the universe,
linking you to new and better Instincts for your Body, Inspirations for your
Mind, Enlightenment for your Heart and Intuition for your Soul.
This is where the dual powers of your left and right brain come together
in a partnership of equals. This is where you release the creative dynamics
of your dualistic nature. This is the power that helps you choose what is
best for all of your partners within: your Logic and Emotions, your Reality
and Dreams, your Inner and Outer self, your Human and Higher powers. Ultimately,
this partnership of human and higher powers will fuse all of the physical,
intellectual, emotional and spiritual energies of your being into a true
partner within. It is here that you connect with the infinite energy of the
universe that surrounds us all. It is here that you will find the simple
new thoughts and feelings that help you go forward with your life. The key
to success is simple: practice.
Mankind has long attempted to connect with a power greater than the self.
Many pursue the classical religious virtues of humility, reason, integrity
and charity. In addition to your cultural imperatives, you have to make a
conscious choice to enter into this personal meditative state. It is like
entering into a gap between the stimulus of your thoughts and your reaction
to those thoughts. It is in this "gap of silence" where the whispers of the
universe come to you through the opening of your Soul. It is like listening
at a crack in the door that opens up to the power of the Cosmos. Even if
you enter into this moment for only a few seconds, it is here that Pure Love
will provide comfort for the Body, contentment for the Mind, warmth for the
Heart and guidance for the Soul.
Excerpt from The Partners Within, a book by Robert C. Felix
© 1995-2003
Free Sample available at
www.partnerswithin.com
|
