Meditation 1

I'm going to post a couple entries on meditation. You can see by the previous post how I personally use it. (By the way, the interview went well and I'll let you know the outcome when I hear.) I think that figuring out how to visualize effectively is the number one benefit that I've derived from meditation. So you can tell that I don't spend hours just sitting in silence becoming closer to the central core of being. I just want to effectively control my environment and circumstances. So I practice a form of meditation usually referred to as creative visualization.

In the next post I'm going to walk through the exact steps I use to reach a state where I can visualize most productively, but I thought I'd talk a bit about the stages and the process before I actually go through the ritual.

I find that there are two things that are most necessary for this process to work. The first is achieving a state of total physical relaxation. The second is to find a psychic space in which you can effectively work. So I visualize a journey in my relaxation technique. Each breath I take in the process powers my relaxation. I focus on tightening and relaxing individual muscles so that I can force the tension out of my back (a real sore spot for me) down to my toes. I imagine a kind of electrical frisson that runs from my scalp down my spine and legs and arms. You've probably had that tingling sensation on occasion and called it shivers down your spine or something like that. I find that it is actually a phenomenal way to relax all the muscles in your body.

If you have difficulty sleeping, this stage may be all you need to improve your night's rest. The first time I did it, in a small group, I was out for 30 minutes while the rest of the group continued with their visualization activity. It was one of the most refreshing power naps I'd ever had.

I was taught that certain colors and images could trigger relaxation. I believe that it is the association. I have used the same imagery in my meditation now for close to 20 years. Just thinking of the images triggers the relaxation response. So when you read my ritual, keep in mind that you want to create your own imagery. What will be important in the ritual is the numbers and the colors. You'll understand that comment better, or only in the next post.

So the second piece is finding a psychic space in which I can effectively work. I actually imagine a kind of workshop which I periodically equip with new tools. Now these tools aren't necessarily of the hammer and chisel type, though I've used those as well. I have virtual pain-killer pills in my workshop so that if I'm suffering from some acute pain I can relieve it enough to work on its source. I have a lot of light and heat tools that like the medical tools on the original Star Trek probably could be used as salt and pepper shakers as well. I have formulae that I use for making rigid and pliable casts, for regrowing disconnected fibers, and for entwining filaments. Because, you see the number one thing I use my workshop for is healing my body and preparing myself for whatever new challenges might exist. I also have a huge screen on which I can watch events taking place. The secret of this screen is that I can not only watch the event, I can correct it. As I play through an anticipated scene in my mind, I can rewind and change the script until I like what I see. Then I can replay the finished play the way I expect the actual event to turn out. Again, this is an introduction, so if I'm talking gibberish, assume that it will get clearer in the ritual rather than more obfuscated.

So the meditation and visualization that I'll write about in the next post are designed to take me on a journey in which my physical body relaxes completely and my psychic body can get to work on whatever the subject of my meditation is. That work is done in my workshop where I have all the tools and supplies that I need to help my body heal from injuries or disease and to effect the outcome of events that I anticipate will occur.

Next time, we'll walk through the 21 breath journey that puts me in that space.