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Meditation

Contrary to the teaching of some pseudo-spiritual teachers, the purpose of meditation is not to help you get what you want. The purpose of meditation is to connect you with who you are.

We typically live a disconnected life, with personality ignoring its higher counterpart, the soul. Our personal nature is so strongly motivated to go after what it wants, which is often dictated by feelings of lack. We want love, we want support, we want things, we want pleasure, and so on. Soul does not directly support what we want since its primary thrust is to manifest the fulfillment of need through empowerment, love and intelligence.

If we want to live a more connected, integrated life, we must create an inner environment for personality to open to soul, allowing it to impress its empowering, loving and intelligent energies and perceptions on our more personal orientation in life. Meditation is the ideal way of doing that.

There are many different forms of meditation. Some people refer to meditation as listening. That might be part of it, but certainly not all of it. Some use a form that emphasizes detached observation on one’s thoughts or mind operations. That can be very useful. Then there are those who use the meditative state for relaxation and stress release – both necessary for well- being.

The form of meditation that is highly effective in transforming the personality with soul qualities, and activating the soul’s energies for expression through the personality, involves a combination of active and receptive efforts. The procedure, in short, would be as follows:

1. After entering a very relaxed state of body, emotions and mind, you choose a particular soul quality on which to focus with the intention of increasing that energy in your life. This quality can be one that arises within you as a need. Or, it can be determined by reflecting on a situation in your life that needs this particular energy. Some examples of soul energies are: compassion, understanding, tolerance, patience, courage, love, beauty, forgiveness, gratitude, integrity, trust and joy.

2. Think about the quality – what it means, what it is like, examples of it, what images it suggests.

3. Using your imagination, feel the quality within you. How is it unique or distinct from other qualities?

4. Become one with it. Merge yourself into the energy and let it completely fill your mind, emotions and body. Be totally receptive to its influence and effect on you.

5. Imagine how you might express this energy in your daily life. Imagine how very specific relationships could be qualitatively different as you express this quality.

6. Express gratitude for the experience and make some specific decision that will reflect your resolve to use this energy more in your life.

Meditation itself does not solve all our problems. We must still do the personality work of developing our mind, controlling our emotions, dealing with our shadow issues, and acting in ways that reflect the soul’s energies. But without meditation to provide the avenue through which soul can guide and support the personality work, we will find it very difficult to integrate soul and personality.

Exercises: Decide to incorporate the practice of meditation in your life. If you do not now meditate, then begin with part of the process – e.g., relaxation. Then when you are ready you can start reflecting on and thinking about specific soul energies that you need in your life. Decide how much time you will devote to meditation. Begin with at least 5 minutes a day or twice a day. In order to develop a new habit it is better to establish a short daily practice than a long one only periodically. Do the whole process once you are willing to devote more time.

This is one of 150 Soul Perspective articles. For more articles visit Soul Perspectives Index.

Andrew and Bonnie Schneider are now offering personal interactive email coaching for the 4 Level Soul Journey program. Connect weekly with Andrew and Bonnie on how to develop soul consciousness. Read more about this personal coaching from Andrew and Bonnie Schneider by clicking here.