Centring, Grounding & Meditation

Transcription

1 Wicca Course Week 12 Centring, Grounding & Meditation Meditation is the art of staying in this present moment. A sleepy person either lives in the past moment or is dreaming about the future life. But a meditator stays in this present moment and is alert about his thoughts and actions.

2 GROUNDING Grounding is a bridge between the physical and the spiritual. It is a way to plug in and connect to the earth's energy. I use it in order to tap into the Universal, to assist me in connecting with a client when I do readings and journeys. It allows me to receive information from my spirit guides. I ground to let go of my ego, to become one with that which doesn't judge, with "all that is". If you have ever gotten light-headed or dizzy while doing any kind of healing, magickal or spiritual work, chances are good, you weren't grounded. Instead of using your own energy, or taking in energy and keeping it inside of you to stagnate, grounding keeps the energy flowing through you. Think of your body as a kind of lightning rod, which directs and grounds energy. I do the following exercise at least once a week; it not only feels terrific, but also is very healing. Find a tree which calls to you. Ask the tree's permission to stand with it, and then lean with your back against it. Feel yourself become one with the tree. Take a couple of slow deep breaths. Close your eyes. Imagine your legs and feet continuing down into the earth, becoming 'roots'. Just as water and nutrients are drawn up the 'roots' into the trunk of a tree, begin to feel the life forces flowing up through your feet, legs, into your body, through your arms and out of your head and hands. As you are feeling this energy flowing up, through and out of you, feel energy coming into you, from above. Like sun shining onto leaves, feel the power coming in your crown (top of your head), down your body, through your legs and into the ground. Feel yourself radiating light. Your feet have become one with the ground and your head is connected with the sky. Feel the energy moving through you. Flowing up from the earth and down from the sky - through you. Remember to thank the tree for it's assistance. When I ground with a tree, I physically feel a kind of vibration or buzzing. I feel clear and centred, as though everything has been put back into perspective. Sometimes when I open my eyes again, I can see the undulating auras of the trees. Try to recreate this feeling without the tree, whenever you need to balance yourself or even just to connect with the earth. Remember to always keep the energy flowing. Before long you'll find you can quickly ground in a crowded shopping centre or even while surrounded by screaming children! Spiritual growth requires balance and a solid foundation. Keeping grounded provides us with both.

3 CLEARING Put yourself into a comfortable position -it doesn t matter if it s sitting, kneeling, or laying down, but it should not be standing, as you may tend to loose your balance until you become proficient in the technique. Visualise wind blowing through you, to blow away the excess energy. I clear and release all excess energy. I release this energy to the Goddess, to be used elsewhere. MEDITATION To meditate means to relax the body, still the mind, and connect with the inner Spirit. Meditation is the gateway to the Universe. All of the answers we seek lie within us. They are easiest accessed through meditation. Many people find that, after a particularly challenging day, meditation is a wonderful way to turn off stress and enter a completely peaceful, beautiful place inside themselves, and find the balance between the spirit, the physical body and the mind. You have already been given a couple of simple meditations and by now you should have gained quite a lot of experience with the Hall Of Miracles exercise that you were given at the beginning of this course. Meditation is used by many religious and non religious people as a method of stress reduction. It is known to lessen levels of cortisone, a hormone released in response to stress. The practice has been shown to enhance recuperation and improve the body's resistance to disease. Mystics from time immemorial have recommended meditation. From the simple injunction of Jesus when he said, "The kingdom of heaven is within you," to the more structured teaching of the Yogis and masters of the east. Meditation can be thought of as a discipline in which the mind focuses on a single point of reference. Eastern mystics may focus on Buddha or any of the eastern deities. Metaphysicians and mystics could simply focus on the "light" within. We Pagans may focus on the God and Goddess. In any case it is simply a means of attaining conscious union with an inner reality. This may be accomplished through visualisation, repetition of prayers, chanting mantras, which are sacred sounds going back to prehistory, or by many other means. The form of the meditation is not so important, but spending at least 15 minutes a day alone in contemplation is essential for the well being of the body and the growth of the Soul.

4 VISUALISATION & IMAGERY Used correctly, the word visualisation refers only to seeing something in the mind s eye whereas imagery is the process of imagining through all our five sense hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch. In this course we often use these two interchangeably. Imagery has been used to promote healing and happiness since ancient times. Shamanism is one kind of healing that employs the use of the mind or imagination, but there are many other forms as well. We can use imagery to help bring about desired changes in our attitudes, behaviour, or physiologic reactions. It is used in a wide variety of therapies and may also be used as a form of meditation. A number of therapies such as biofeedback, Gestalt therapy, neurolinguistic programming and Transcendental Meditation include imagery in their work. Imagery can be taught individually or in groups and is often used for specific purposes, such as bolstering the immune system to attack cancer cells. It has been shown to affect a number of functions, such as brain-wave activity, blood glucose levels, cardiovascular function, gastrointestinal activity, oxygen supply in tissues. Levels Of Consciousness There are several reasons why people meditate. The relaxation process is beneficial for the physical body. Anger, tension and stress are melted away as the body relaxes, and deep breathing is used. Many have been known to regulate their blood pressure. You will already have noticed that, during meditation, you feel different, more calm and more spiritual. There are very good physiological reasons for this. The most important has to do with brain wave activity. The religious ceremonies of many cultures use the beating of drums, candle light and flickering firelight to induce trance-like states. This "light and sound' combination is used to heal the sick, inspire courageous acts, and celebrate joyous occasions. During meditation we deliberate switch off all external stimuli and this literally changes our reality. It's this state of altered consciousness where we enhance our creativity and intuitive powers, produce significant gains in mental functioning and expand our potential for learning and growth. When we meditate several very important things happen. First, we are turning our attention inwards, letting go of the outside world and its worries. This is similar to going to sleep, but without losing consciousness and allows our brains to shift into more stable, stronger brain frequencies.

5 Brain Waves These different frequencies of brain wave activity have specific names (called alpha and theta by scientists) normally reached during sleep. This higher energy helps us rejuvenate faster and more easily. The second thing that happens is that our basic survival mechanism relaxes. This is similar to what happens when we are almost asleep at night or when we first wake up in the morning. We feel more relaxed. That is because the survival mechanism, often called the fight or flight response mechanism, has relaxed. The brain emits electrical signals which correspond with our different states, or levels of consciousness. Researchers recognise four different kinds of brainwave frequency patterns, measured in cycles per second (cps). These are: Beta (14-40 cps) our normal waking, conscious state of alertness, focus and concentration. Alpha (8-13 cps) the optimum relaxed but alert meditative state ideal for visualisation and creativity. Theta (4-8 cps) this state of deep meditation is related to intuition, creativity, sleep and dreaming. Delta (0-4 cps) the deepest stages of sleep, conducive to healing. Meditation at the Alpha and Theta levels is extremely beneficial in several ways. Many successful artists, musicians, and athletes are prolific producers of Alpha and Theta brainwave patterns. Zen monks, yogis, transcendental meditators and others have learned through training and discipline to enter into the Alpha-Theta state of consciousness at will. MANTRA CHANTING Mantras are a useful tool to help you to improve on a particular quality or area of life. To be best utilised, select one and use it everyday for at least a month. While meditating, repeat the mantra to yourself for a selected number of times - usually a multiple of 7 or for a specified period of time. Mantra beads are helpful for keeping track of the number of repetitions that you've done. Do this every day and you will feel when the mantra has become a part of who you are. You may then find your mantra repeating itself within your mind without any conscious instigation on your part. Outside of meditation, repeat the mantra whenever you have time during your day. This can be during any idle time or while doing any kind of repetitive work that doesn't require active thinking - such as when you're doing the dishes, taking a shower, walking, etc. Put yourself to sleep at night while repeating your mantra. Wake up with your mantra. Make it a part of your very essence. A mantra must connect you with the sacred. It can be in any language. A simple positive affirmation such as "My thoughts and actions bring every good thing into my life - so mote it

6 be" is an ideal one to start with. Another famous one is "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better". Some people like to use the Buddhist mantras. Here is a list of some useful ones. They are all in Sanskrit - a holy language from India. Select one that resonates with the area of life or quality that you'd like to enhance. If you don't know which one to select I would recommend using Om as your first mantra. "Om" or "Ohm" is the greatest of all the mantras. In Eastern traditions it is the representation of the Supreme Being - the All That Is. The past, present and the future are all included within this one sound. It is said that meditation on this sacred syllable will satisfy our every need. it is the representation of the Supreme Being. The past, present and the future are all included in this one sound. Meditation on this sacred syllable is said to satisfy every need and leads to liberation. "Om Shanti" (ohm shahn-tee) Is a good one for fostering peace. It literally means "The peace of God". "Om mani padme hum" (ohm mah-nay pahd-may hoom) is good for opening the heart chakra, letting in love and developing compassion. "Shivo ham" (shi-voh-hum) will help to awaken your own spirituality. "Om tare ture tuttare ture soha" (ohm ta-ray too-ray too-t-tar-ray too-ray so-ha) induces a state of fearlessness. "Om namo bhagavate vasu devaya" (ohm nam-o bhag-a-va-tay va-sue day-vai- ya) litteraly means "Oh infinite Lord, dweller in the heart of all beings. Unto you do I turn my consciousness. To see the God within everyone and everything." "Ah" (ahh) is a seed mantra for creativity, or manifesting thoughts into the physical world. Begin by chanting or repeating this mantra, then visualise whatever it is you'd like to bring into being. See it clearly and then repeat the mantra again until your visualisation has been penetrated with the mantra. "Thiru neela kantam" (theeru nayla kan tam) is used to remove current karmic conditions. "Om Gum Ganapatayei Namaha" (ohm goom gana-pa-tie-ay na-ma-ha) can help to remove obstacles that are standing in the way of your progress. "Om Shrim Mahalakshmiyei Swaha" (ohm shreem maha-lak-shmee-yay swa-ha) is a prosperity and wealth attracting mantra. "Om Sri Rama Jaya Rama, Jaya, Jaya Rama" (ohm sree ramah jah-yah ram-ah jah-yah, jah-yah ram-ah) enables one to live a divine life within a human body. This mantra was used by Mahatma Gandhi for over 60 years. "Om Sharavana-bhavaya Namaha" (ohm sha-ra-van-a bha-vai-ya) can be used to brighten and increase the positive effects of everything in your life

7 PATHWORKING PATHWORKING, also known as Guided Meditation or Guided Imagery refers to any of the archetypal guided journeys undertaken in inner-plane travel It is practiced and taught by a wide variety of conventional and alternative health care professionals as well as by many religious and occult schools. Pathworking seeks to enhance our awareness of our existing unconscious imagery and help us learn tools to mobilise their innate healing abilities. In its simplest form we simply close our eyes and imagine a picture that represents a part of our development. We are then guided in an imaginary dialogue with the image to explore and reveal its meaning. Such images can provide information about our problems, as well as our beliefs, hopes, fears, and resources. Guided imagery frequently employs audiotapes and other methods to help the meditator imagine specific images, such as a calming or element balancing situation. The difference between being told about it and actually working the path is the vividness with which the path is created within your imagination. To assist in having this vividness certain aids can be used to help in the creating of 'specialness'. Scent is one of the most primitive of the senses and hence very close to the unconscious mind. Candlelight is helpful because it is both soft and inspiring. Its flickering light can stimulate the imagination. When working alone the pathworking can be recorded on tape. In a group situation one person can read the words aloud. CREATIVE VISUALISATION This subject was polarised by Shakti Gawain in her 1979 book, "Creative Visualization". It refers to the use of mental energy to improve health and life situations through affirmations, exercises, and meditations to make positive ideas and concepts become a reality. We will be going into this subject more deeply further on in the course. MENTAL REHEARSAL

8 Imagery can be used to help prepare for a difficult meeting or situation. It can also relieve anxiety, pain, and side effects from medical treatment. It often forms an integral part of natural childbirth training. A FEW EXTRA MEDITATIONS TO EXPERIENCE Before you start any kind of meditation, here are a few tips: Pick a place where you will not be disturbed. If you want, you may put on some relaxing music or nature sounds to keep you from possible distractions. Get into an upright position keeping your feet flat on the floor. Your head should be over your shoulders and your spine straight but relaxed. Breathe deeply in a calming way. Inhale your worries and exhale them out. After the session don't get up and rush off to any crowded place. Give yourself some quality time to contemplate what you ve just achieved, or simply gaze from the window at the beautiful nature outside. A Simple Breathing Meditation When you meditate this way, you try to do two things. First, you try to pay attention to the breath going in and out of your nose without controlling it. You just watch it. If your mind wanders and you start thinking about something else, when you notice that your mind wandered, you bring your attention back to your breath. The second thing that you try to do is to accept how you are doing without judgement You might ask why you should use your breath as the object of your attention. One reason is that your breath is both conscious and unconscious. You can control it or let go of it. In meditation, you try to let go of it but you will often find that you are controlling it. The second reason that you use your breath as the object of attention is that your breathing is directly related to your mindset. When you are relaxed, your breathing is relaxed, when you are nervous, your breathing changes. There are so many nuances in the way your breath changes related to your thinking. So by paying attention to your breath, you are indirectly looking at your mind. And by practicing accepting how your breathing is, you are indirectly practicing accepting the way your mind is. A Simple Cleansing Meditation

9 Make sure that you have a comfortable chair where you can sit with your feet firmly flat on the ground. Loosen any tight clothing and rest your hands in your lap. Relax and breathe deeply and rhythmically. In. Out. Each time you breathe in, envision yourself inhaling the colour blue. Blue is the colour of elemental water. It will help cleanse out whatever 'gunk' there is. Continue to breathe in the blue colour until it surrounds you, as if you are surrounded in a great luminous blue egg. See some of the blue color collect in a pool at your feet, like sparkling water. You have total control of this water - it will do whatever you bid it to do. Bid it to swirl deosil (anti-clockwise southern hemisphere, clockwise northern hemisphere) around your feet about 7 times and then tell it to stop. It should stop quickly. Bid the water to begin swirling in a tuathail (widdershins) direction. This time, instead of stopping the motion, let the momentum take the water higher and higher through the core of your being. There is an inexhaustable amount of water - feel and see the water binding with all the mental and psychic 'gunk' as it climbs upward until it bursts out of the top of your head like a fountain. Sometimes, certain thoughts and memories may come up as you do this exercise - let them well up. Let them have their say, thank them and let them go into the water. There is no limit to how much 'gunk' the water can bind with - feel and see the water falling and rolling down your body, binding any residual 'gunk' that may be there as well. Let the water collect again at your feet. Continue this until you feel cleansed and then just allow the water to collect at your feet. See it continuing to swirl lightly. Ask Mother Earth to recycle this water and see the water swirl gently into the earth, as if it is going down a drain. Feel and know that you are now cleanse on every level. Guided Mediation - The Search for the Holy Isle (you might like to tape this first) Relax, and permit your eyelids to close. Breathe in, taking into yourself the pure and healing colours of the realms of Land, Sea, and Sky. Permit yourself to become a physical centre point, a connection between these three realms. Relax, and find a peaceful space within, where you feel totally safe, protected from all harm. Within this safe place, begin to feel your conscious self arise apart from your physical body. You know that your physical self will be safe here until you return to it. Walk outside this room through the doorway, and into a deep, old forest which you now find just outside the door. You enter this old forest by way of a path you discover at your feet. This path you see clearly, yet it seems to be otherwise completely hidden from view. You continue along this path, through the deep forest which surrounds you. You notice the

10 shadows of immensely old trees: Oaks, some heavy-laden with golden mistletoe; Rowans, with their red berries hanging ripe on the bough; Willows and Yew-trees, vines of ivy trailing amongst them; Hazels loaded with heavy nuts; dark, twisted Blackthorn, and a thick undergrowth of spiny Holly beneath. The air itself lies heavy and moist. You notice faint fingers of mist creeping through the underbrush along the sides of the path as you proceed deeper through the forest. Slowly, the mist thickens little by little, until it surrounds you so completely that you are barely able to proceed - yet you feel no fear. In fact, the mist wraps you and caresses you - you feel safe, at home. Your senses are stimulated - you feel as if you are a part of the mist, and it is a part of you. You slowly continue onwards, along a path that is not seen, but felt. You step out of the forest undergrowth, and the mists recede until you can see most everything around you except the ground. The mists still swirl around your ankles. The vast expanse in front of you undulates like a great grey ocean. An object moves toward you through the ocean of mist. You realize you must be on the shoreline of a body of water, as what appears before you clears: it is a small, leather boat; a coracle. The mist thins somewhat more, and you can now plainly see this small, sturdy craft gently bobs on the surface of azure-blue water. You enter the coracle - it feels comfortable and safe. Once you've settled into the coracle, you turn back to look at the forest - and see it as deeper and far more ancient appearing than you had imagined. The mists have parted enough that you can see the area at the edge of the waves is lush and green, with tall marsh grasses waving gently along the shore. You feel the coracle ease away from the shore, seemingly guided by an unseen hand. The journey takes you gliding swiftly through the mists, until you feel a gentle bump as the coracle comes to rest on another shore. The mists now part completely, permitting you to fully view the place where you now find yourself. You emerge from your womb-like coracle, and stand on the shore. Before you, the land stretches pure and vibrant with colour. Ahead, your eyes are drawn upwards to the place that appears to dominate the landscape; an immense, terraced hill, crowned by mist-shrouded stones. Below the hill lay gardens of fragrant herbs, and orchards of lush trees heavy laden with ripening fruit. You notice a cluster of small buildings at the foot of the hill, and begin to make you way to them. From the buildings, robed figures approach you. As they draw near, you see their faces glow with smiles as they hold their arms outstretched in welcome. One of these figures, a woman robed in pale sky blue, draws closer to you. Her hair is long, and red-gold. Upon her brow she wears a blue crescent of the moon. She takes your hand, and bids you welcome to the holy isle. Avalon. She guides you forward towards the buildings you had seen at the foot of the hill. As you draw near, you see that these are simple structures, their walls whitened with lime. Some have tiled roofs, but most are thatched. Simple structures, yes, but they seem to nearly glow with an inner

11 light - far beyond normal perception. She guides you to the doorway of one of the smallest of these buildings. Candle light shines from within. The door is open, and she gestures that you enter. You enter, and find yourself in a comfortable, but not luxurious chamber. Standing near the hearth is a woman clothed in a flowing robe of near sparkling blue. Her features are fine and delicate - she is certainly of the Old People - of the Fey. Around her neck rests a fine gold torque, and upon her brow rests a thin circlet of pale gold - set off by her luminous dark hair. She extends her hand to you in welcome, and introduces herself to you: she is Viviane, the Lady of Avalon, and she has been expecting you. She beckons you to sit with her at the fire, for she has something to give you. This gift will be unique and personal for each of you. Share this moment with her now. After a space of time, you realise it is time to return to your world. The woman leads you out of the building, and down once again to the shores of the lake. There, your coracle awaits you. She smiles, and tells you that you are always welcome on these shores. You step into your coracle, and it gently starts towards the opposite shore. You return to the marshy edge of the old forest, and step out of your coracle. Silently, it retreats into the mists on its way back to the Holy Isle. You return down the path through the forest. The journey seems to take less time than before, as now you are more certain of your steps. You emerge from the forest, and find yourself once again at the doorway of this room. You re-enter the room, and once again find your physical self, safe and secure. You re-enter your physical body, and once more enter its relaxed state. After a moment's readjustment, you are able to open your eyes and rejoin this time and place, with you gift intact, rested and refreshed.