MEDITATION
Although meditation has long been
an accepted practice in the East, it wasn't until
the 1960s that it gained acceptance in the West.
Today, clinical research has proven that meditation
has positive effects on an individual's overall health
and well-being, and many physicians now recommend
it as a way of helping their patients learn to lower
their blood pressure. Interestingly enough, Edgar
Cayce was recommending meditation in the late 1920s
and 1930s, long before its craze in the 1960s. His
approach to meditation emphasized mental and spiritual
benefits as well as physical well-being.
These, as we find,
are slow, yet sure, if there will be kept, not only
the corrections made occasionally, once a month or
such, might be the more often but the meditation;
and in the meditation, don't meditate upon, but listen
to the voice within. For prayer is supplication for
direction, for understanding. Meditation is listening
to the Divine within.
Cayce Reading 1861-19
Meditation promotes coordination at three
levels: physically, we begin to relax; mentally, our
busied thoughts become quiet and focused; and spiritually,
we get re energized and are able to deal more lovingly
and effectively with the people and events around us.
By following a few simple steps, anyone can learn to
meditate; even beginners may experience the calming effects
of a few moments of purposeful silence.
If you would like to try to meditate,
start by getting into a comfortable position. It's probably
best to sit in a chair and keep your spine straight,
your feet flat on the floor, and your eyes closed. Find
a comfortable position for your hands; place them either
in your lap or at your sides. Slowly take a few deep
breaths and begin to relax. Inhale the air deep into
your lungs, hold it for a moment, then slowly exhale.
With your mind, search your body for any obvious tension
or tight muscles. You can try to relieve the tension
by deep breathing, imagining that the area is relaxed,
or by gently massaging any tightness with your fingertips.
When you have finished becoming comfortable and relaxed,
then you are ready to move on.
Join the ARE Staff
in Meditation
May
AFFIRMATION
"Virtue and Understanding"
Let virtue and understanding be in me, for my defense is in Thee, O Lord, my Redeemer; for Thou hearest the prayer of the upright in heart.
262-17
June
AFFIRMATION
"Fellowship"
How excellent is Thy name in the earth, O Lord! Would I have fellowship with Thee, I must show brotherly love to my fellow man. Though I come in humbleness and have aught against my brother, my prayer, my meditation, does not rise to Thee. Help Thou my efforts in my approach to Thee.
262-21
Every weekday the A.R.E. staff meditates from 12 noon
to 12:30 p.m. (E.T.)
We invite you to observe this special time with us, focusing on these
affirmations from
A
Search for God, Book 1.
|
Next, focus your mind on one, single,
peaceful, calming thought. Instead of thinking about
what went on at work or what has to be done with the
remainder of your day, try focusing on a thought such
as "God is love" or "I am at peace." You can use any
spiritual prayer or thought which is meaningful to you.
These thoughts are also called "affirmations." The first
way to work with an affirmation is to try to clear your
mind of everything else.
Actually, from Cayce's perspective, there
are two stages to meditation. The first stage involves
thinking about the words of your affirmation. In one
of the examples cited above, you would think about the
words "God is love." After a few moments of thinking
the words, you should be able to move into the second
stage, which is feeling the meaning behind those words.
For example, you can say the words "God is love"; however,
the feeling of those words can be much more powerful
than the actual words themselves. It's like the difference
between thinking the words, "I love my children" and
experiencing the actual feeling behind those words.
Once you begin to feel the meaning of
the affirmation, you should attempt to hold this feeling
in silent attention. Gently bring your focus back to
the words of the affirmation every time your mind starts
to wander-that is to say, first begin thinking of the
words of the affirmation, then try to concentrate on
the feeling behind them. Don't let yourself become discouraged
when you find yourself thinking more about distractions
than you are focusing upon the affirmation. It will take
time to teach yourself to focus on one thought. Spend
anywhere from three to fifteen minutes trying to hold
the affirmation silently. Longer meditation periods can
take place when you have built up some experience.
At the end of your meditation, send out
prayers, good thoughts, or peaceful energy to others.
If you have been focusing on love, then try to send a
sense of that love to someone about whom you're concerned.
Simply with a thought, you can also send out the energy
of peace to your neighborhood, world leaders, or other
countries.
In simplest terms, meditation is the practice
of quieting our physical bodies and our minds, and focusing
our attention inward instead of upon the world around
us. As you begin to practice meditation daily, it will
become easier. You might also notice that the sense of
peace inside you during meditation will begin to carry
over into the different parts of your day. Although some
schools of thought suggest that the mind should be blank
when you are meditating, Cayce's approach is different.
Cayce's material suggests that the mind is a constructive
force and allows for the closest attunement possible
if used in the right way.
What Is Meditation?
It is not musing, not daydreaming;
but as ye find you bodies made up of the physical
, mental and spiritual, it is the attuning of the
mental body and the physical body to its spiritual
source.
Cayce Reading 281-41
