MAGICAL MEDITATION

Meditation is often misunderstood. Yet it’s a vital key to living a more successful and enlightened life. If our society were to grasp its true value, we’d teach it in school and make it central to daily life.

The practice of meditation has many proven positive biological and psychological effects – reducing stress, sharpening mental focus, increasing effectiveness and creativity, improving physical health and extending life, as well as paving the way for consciousness developments that further human evolution and create a better world. But to gain all these benefits, it helps to have a clear understanding of what meditation is … and how to practice it most effectively.

Essentially, meditation is a method for shifting to a deeply peaceful and sublime consciousness state that temporarily weakens reactive mental mechanisms (sub-wills). It ‘lifts’ us from our usual ego-biased state to a purer, more objective and intuitively open state … whereby we can perceive reality more truthfully and fully, feel more positive and compassionate, act more constructively and wisely, live at a highly inspired and energetic level and know our true creative nature and great potential.

Some meditators are unable to fully achieve all these benefits because they use a limited meditation technique, or they don’t meditate regularly or deeply enough or they treat meditation as an isolated ritualistic practice separate from everyday living.

To overcome some of these limitations, I recommend practicing OPELI MEDITATION and applying the higher consciousness state it produces to every aspect of daily life.

OPELI is a five-part soul-focusing technique (see my 8/12/12 posting); it not only focuses and quiets the mind, as do other meditative techniques, but it also focuses our intuitive energetic body (soul) – the true locus of spiritual empowerment.  

As we bring this more fully focused self to bear in daily life, its wondrous ‘magic’ takes hold, concretely manifesting and fulfilling true soul desires.

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THE SECRET OF TRUE FREE WILL

You may now know that your mind is a mechanism for directing behavior, primarily run by sub-personalities (sub-wills). But did you know that before you’re aware of having a thought, a sub-will has already initiated it ... that your sub-wills are always a step ahead of you? 

This has been shown scientifically -- that the activity of a thought occurs in the brain a split second before we’re actually aware of having it. So our thoughts are formed and actions decided before we actually know them; thus we never really know what we’re going to think or decide before we do it. Even if we make an action plan, the moment we go to execute it, our sub-wills may react to an unexpected event and send us in a different direction.

Yet, we maintain an illusion of free will and control because we usually take ownership of whatever emerges from us, just because it did.  However, when what emerges from us is very out of character with our self-view, we may become aware of our lack of control – that something has gotten hold of us.

This can happen to us in the middle of a fierce argument – in an outburst of rage our lack of self-control can so stunningly confront us that it ‘awakens’ us to self-awareness. At such moments, time may seem to slow down and we can see our behavior more objectively.   

Ironically, at such out-of-control moments we may also unintentionally touch upon the secret of true free will – ACTING IN A CALM SELF-POSSESSED STATE OF AWARENESS.

At this level we perceive more options for action and can exercise free will. Also, at this level we may intuitively sense our soul’s best inclinations and act more lovingly, creatively and constructively.

Self-possession is the key to exercising true free will, and we may achieve it more consistently as we practice meditation and mindful living; the two essential practices of life mastery.

Goodness and joy to all, Joseph.

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