Meditation Basics

It is said that praying is talking to the Creator.  If this is so, then meditating is listening to the Creator.  In this listening we are able to discern our own personal truth.  We are freed of the cacophony of chatter that goes on in our head and are finally able to listen to the feelings, beliefs, and desires of our heart.  While the mind provides our intellect, it is our heart that provides our truth.  Our heart has a softer voice that is overshadowed by our mind which is engaged even obsessed with the daily events of our earthly lives.

Meditation is the oldest spiritual practice known to man.   Requiring no special clothing or artifacts, it is possible to meditate wherever and whenever you desire.  While there are hundreds of methods to the practice of mediation it does not demand any particular set of rules.  The method that works best for you is the method that is right.

Music or video is not required for meditation.  However, they can facilitate the practice for those who choose to use them.  In choosing either of these aids you only need consider the energy they add to the environment in which you find yourself.  Any calming music or video will do.   Some audio provides guided imagery to assist you in achieving the calm peaceful state you seek.  Some does not.  It is helpful to select music that either has no lyrics or where the lyrics are in a language you do not speak.  Choose this because lyrics you understand can become a distraction to your meditation.  Many people forgo the use of music because they do not wish to become dependent upon it for their meditative practice.  The ability to meditate without music opens a world of opportunity for spontaneous meditation regardless of where you find yourself.

People meditate for a variety of reasons.  The quickest and simplest meditations may be used to reduce anxiety.  Taking a bit more time one finds they can relax tense muscles which facilitates pain relief, reduces stress, and promotes sleep.  With more practice and time one finds they are able to access their true self which is sometimes described as intuition or knowing. This is the level of meditation at which one is able to make the best decisions and choices about the events or problems in their life.  Finally, the deepest level of meditation is the spiritual experience called Samadhi or Oneness.  This is a meditation that is so deep that one’s awareness of the physical world disappears and all that is perceived is a divine unity with the universe described by some as an absolute feeling of love, comfort, and simply being.

No special clothes, no special tools, no particular music if any at all, no one best style or method, and no single purpose to practice meditation.  You are in charge of your spiritual practice.  This includes the amount of time you devote to it.  There is one simple truth about meditation; the more you do it the better the results.  This means meditation would ideally be a daily practice.  Some people prefer two or three short meditations of 10-20 minutes.  Others prefer longer meditations of an hour or even longer.  There is no absolute answer to how often or how long one should meditate.  Do whatever works for you keeping in mind that a daily practice is ideal.

Tracing the Ego of Mankind – Ego Creates Errors in Perception

Ego is like a balloon in which one lives. Everything outside that balloon is part of Oneness. From inside one’s balloon the Oneness cannot be seen; only the self can be seen and it is separate from everything else. Sadly, most people of the world live entirely in their own balloons, failing to see the Oneness. The balloon has become an invisible barrier that creates the illusion of separation. This invisible barrier also limits and controls one’s ability to interact with the outer world. The confinement and separation convinces one that they are unworthy to be part of anything else. To break the balloon, eliminating the barrier, is all that is required to see and become part of the Oneness.

Before we metaphysicians become too excited and rush out into the world with giant needles looking to pop the ego filled balloons of mankind, we would be well advised to check the condition of our own balloon first. In Jesus’ words, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

Ego is clearly the source of the world’s problems and miseries both great and small. Yet to wage war against ego is to fuel the very problem we are trying to solve. In the book, A Course in Miracles, we are told that the actions of the ego are errors in thinking. That means that as metaphysicians we might best view ourselves as teachers correcting errors in how the ego perceives itself and the world around it. This sounds much more loving than the waging of another war. Experience has told us many times that war doesn’t create peace. Consider the war on drugs, the war on crime, and the war on terrorism. None of these wars has been successful, regardless of the time, energy, and resources put into them.

As one prepares to examine their own ego it would be wise to keep in mind the words of author and radio host Garrison Keillor, who introduces us to his mythical Minnesota community with the words, “Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.” These words are humorous yet they also represent a poignant commentary on how the ego really thinks. One’s initial self-examination could very well lead them down the proverbial primrose path if they are not completely open to the truth.

One place to test the ego is in identifying one’s motive for becoming a metaphysician and setting out into the world on this particular spiritual journey. Let’s consider this possible mission statement; I will create peace and happiness in the world by teaching, writing, and healing. If we break this down for analysis we might find that create peace and happiness appeals to us either because it simply is the right thing to do (spiritual) or because it will make us feel good (ego). Similarly we can scrutinize teaching, writing, and healing. One may have chosen these means because one is particularly knowledgeable and gifted in these areas (spiritual) or because it’s easier to make a living (money, honor, fame, security) doing this things (ego).

One’s ego will surely try to convince them that they are making their choices for spiritual reasons. Many metaphysicians even argue that it is reasonable to make a living helping people because the Universe demands an exchange of energy. But this argument comes from the ego which believes that life is finite. The Spirit recognizes that the exchange will come sometime in eternity based on one’s need. Buddhists refer to the ideal exchange as selfless giving. Kabbalists refer to it as receiving from the Creator with the intent to bestow. In both of these instances the giver must release attachment to what is given and to all possible outcomes.

When one finds themselves debating or justifying their financial motives it is pretty clear that the ego is involved. This defense is the egos fear that it will not survive. When one’s spirit is engaged this fear is gone and trust is placed in the law of abundance. One only need look at the lives of the great Masters and Saints, who gave help to those in need without expectation, yet their own needs were always met.

The purpose for this discussion is not to say one must be perfectly spiritual and altruistic in order to become a practicing metaphysician. If we were to become perfectly spiritual we would not be living in the physical realm. Rather, it is to demonstrate the crafty ways that ego will dress itself up in order to convince us of our specialness and our separateness. It is when we are able to recognize those times that we are thinking and acting from ego that we are actually awakening to our true spiritual nature. Change then becomes possible through this awareness. This is a lesson one needs to learn about ego and certainly one to be taught to others.

There are many arenas within which one may work to create this awareness. Many individuals are suffering their own self-imposed versions of hell because they don’t understand what their ego is doing to them. Families are suffering from conflicts and pain created by the selfish nature of the ego. Workers are suffering the abuse of power delivered by egoistic coworkers and superiors. Communities and even whole nations are suffering from fear of each other, fear of hunger and poverty, and fear that they may lose control of their destiny. Ego has so many dark faces; there is no end to where the awakened may choose to bring the light of awareness.

It just makes sense to grow where you are planted. That is to say, begin with yourself. The change in you will naturally create change in many of those around you. When you are able to accept the events of your life and your world unemotionally and recognize them as being the way they are meant to be, then you will know you are on the right path. In other words, change what you can and let the rest be. This is what peace feels like and this is what you will want for your fellow human beings. From this position you can teach as a voice of experience. How you value such a gift to the world can only be determined by you.

Tracing the Ego of Mankind – Living Oneness

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Contemporary economist, David Korten tells us “in the world we want, the organization of economic life mimics healthy ecosystems that are locally rooted, highly adaptive, and self-reliant in food and energy. Information and technology are shared freely, and trade between neighbors is fair and balanced. Each community, region and nation strives to live within its own means in balance with its own environmental resources. Conflicts are resolved peacefully and no groups seek to expropriate the resources of its neighbors. Competition is for excellence, not domination.” (Living Oneness, p. 134)

Point by point one sees how much the world must change to experience such a reality. The greatest change of all must be the relationship between man and his ego. As long as man allows himself to be convinced of his specialness, he will continue to commodify, abuse, and destroy the world around him because he fails to see its relationship to himself.

Author Wayne Dyer describes how the ego convinces one of their specialness, by judging some to be more worthy than others, denying the equality of creation, giving one a fear of not being special, encouraging one to accumulate things (to increase happiness and affirm one’s specialness), and by denying unconditional love. He says our ego is ready to be offended by telling us how we expect to be treated and how others should think, feel and behave. The things that offend one are the things that play to one‟s self-absorption.

People who are discovering their Oneness are no longer offended by what others do for; they are only doing what humans do. From a position of Oneness, you see fellow human beings as they are rather than as how you think they should be.

Dyer offers some suggestions to help transcend what he calls ingrained ideas of self-importance. The first thing one need do is to stop being offended. Offence is the ego at work convincing one that the world shouldn’t be the way it is. Yes, we do need to act to eradicate the horrors of the world, but we can do this from a place of inner peace rather than from a destructive energy that only serves to escalate the horror.

Let go of your need to win. There are no losers in a world where everything is one. When we become observers to the world around us we are able to realize that winning only means that on a certain day, with certain competitors, and with certain circumstance, one performed at a certain level in comparison to the levels of others on that day. It simply is not possible to win all of the time.

Let go of your need to be right. Dyer tells us this is like refusing to be the slave of one’s ego by choosing kindness instead. He suggests stopping yourself in the middle of an argument and asking, “Do I want to be right or be happy?”

Let go of your need to be superior. Superiority comes from perceiving something lacking in another. This is the ego protecting its specialness. In a universe where everything is one, each creation has its special job to do and has been given just what it needs to accomplish that job. The gifts each has are unique to their purpose but no purpose is more or less important than another.

Let go of your need to have more. The ego is never satisfied. To transcend the selfish nature of ego one must allow abundance to flow to and through you. In the words of St. Francis of Assisi, “…it is in giving that we receive.”

Let go of identifying yourself on the basis of your achievements. Jesus said, “It is not I who do great works, but my Father.” Billy Graham said, “I am not a great speaker, I just have a great message.” Jesus and Graham transcended the egoistic desire to take credit. Again, the ego seeks to protect our specialness and we must transcend the desire to believe the ego. We are not our achievements anymore than a hammer is a house or knitting needles are a sweater.

And finally, Dyer tells us to let go of our reputation. Reputation resides in the minds of others leaving us with no control over it. When we are overly concerned about how others perceive us we are allowing the opinions of others to be our guide. Character, on the other hand resides within us; staying on our purpose, detaching from outcome, and taking responsibility for ourselves. Character is where we must place our attention.

As the awakening to Oneness has continued to unfold, many speakers, writers, groups, and organizations are appearing with a consistent message that we are not our ego and that ego is a powerful master of deception. There is an uncanny resemblance of ego to the powers and attributes Christians have ascribed to Satan. Evidence is mounting that the battle between good and evil is not necessarily one between nations, armies, religions, or even gangs of thugs, but rather a battle between the Soul and the ego of each individual.

If this is true, then it must also be true that world peace will not happen out there someplace, but will happen one person at a time wherever they reside and whenever they are ready to make the commitment. Some people will always be called to active service like building bottle schools in Guatemala, offering hurricane relief in Haiti, feeding the hungry in Somalia and attending to the many ways that people are suffering in the world. But many more people will be called to grow where they are planted.

For many people their contribution to Oneness and world peace will come from the simple acts of everyday life. In the book, Divine Nobodies, Jim Palmer recounts the stories of ordinary people who have a divine impact on those around them. A few dollars or the right words delivered in a time of need, an unexpected assist with a difficult task, or even just coffee, conversation or friendship; all are simple acts that can have divine consequences. For when we suspend judgments of others and release our attachment to the outcome of our generosity, we are transcending ego and experiencing the connection to Oneness and creation.

Living in an awakened state to Oneness, and consciously making an effort to transcend one’s ego, will lead to many changes in our society. In place of charity delivered with an attitude of benevolence we will find actual caring, loving, and friendship offered to the needy. Our cars will become a reflection of our need for transportation and our homes will become more functional as they reflect and fit a responsible less consumptive lifestyle. Technology will become the tool it was designed to be rather than the status symbol it has become. As our wants give way to our needs, we will find the time spent working to acquire money shrinking and the time found enjoying our lives, family, and friends will grow.

Some people will return to an earthly connection found in gardening or farming, others will find their place in the traditional volunteer organizations, still others will turn their creativity into other types of production that support them in body and soul. For some, their awakening will take them on a journey down the streets of their community putting them directly in touch with those who are most in need of love and acceptance.

One thing is certain, no law can ever be passed that will ensure peace. Laws are a device used by the ego to tell us how things should be, but rarely are. Humanity, as the collective consciousness of mankind, has created the world in which we now live. To change the mind of humanity, we must first change ourselves.

Tracing the Ego of Mankind – Reviewing the Literature

Ancient Hindu texts are a rich source of insight into the nature of man‟s ego.

“…The ego gropes in darkness, while the Self lives in light…”  ~ The Katha Upanishad

“The ego is like a stick dividing water in two. It creates the impression that you are one and I am another. When the ego vanishes you will realize that Brahman is your own inner consciousness.”  ~ Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Ancient Eastern religious texts are available primarily as translations and excerpts. They are filled with references to ego and advice for living with or managing ego. Ego appears to have been a very key concept in understanding their relationship to God.

The Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions are considered to be Western traditions and are relatively young at about 2,000 years old. The basis of Jewish sacred texts is the Torah, which became the first five books of the Bible used by Christianity. The principal message of the Torah is the absolute unity of God, His creation of the world and His concern for it.

The Koran is the sacred text of Islam. However, most of the Western world is more familiar with the wisdom provided by the poet, Rumi; also a Sunni Muslim Islamic Jurist, a theologian and Sufi mystic. His current popularity is the result of his tolerance of all religions, and the emphasis he placed on love and charity in his teachings.

“If the foot of the trees were not tied to earth, they would be pursuing me. For I have blossomed so much, I am the envy of the gardens.”  ~ Rumi

“The idol of your self is the mother of all idols. To regard the self as easy to subdue is a mistake.”  ~ Rumi

Sylvia Brown provides a concise description of many indigenous and Native American spiritual beliefs in her book End of Days. The recurring theme in these traditions is a deep regard for the earth and for the plant and animal kingdoms. This regard for animate and inanimate creation outside of the human being demonstrates an awareness of the Oneness of creation and sensitivity to the damaging power of ego.

Clearly, man has had ample opportunity to examine the state of his ego long before Sigmund Freud gave us a proper name and definition for it. It appears that Freud ushered in a new era of thought regarding ego. The ways in which he dissected, analyzed, and proposed curing its ailments, removed any and all spiritual consideration. This mentality became the basis for psychology, sociology and much of the self-help literature that appeared through the latter half of the twentieth century.

The Western world has embraced science and disregarded ego almost since the inception of Christianity. The sacred texts of the Western world provided ample guidance on the matter of ego, yet it appears largely ignored. In fact, strong ego is even admired in certain occupations; including lawyers, politicians, sports figures, and business leaders.

Now as we have entered the twenty-first century we are seeing a new kind of literature entering the market. Interestingly, this literature is the result of science proving what spirituality has been telling us since ancient times.

The Divine Matrix by Gregg Braden, describes a web of energy that connects absolutely everything in the universe. Miraculously, this web is affected by emotion pointing directly back to the power of each individual to influence the world by their thoughts.

Blinded by Science by Matthew Silverstone, investigates the ground-breaking principle that everything vibrates and therefore has an effect on everything else. Water is particularly susceptible to vibration, holding on to it for long periods of time. This has implications for sleep disorders, homeopathy, healing, body rhythms, lunar cycles and much more.

The rise in quantum physics, which is where these amazing new discoveries are being made, coincides with a spiritual movement called Oneness. Authors like Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, Don Miguel Ruiz and others, are capturing large audiences, hungry for a gentler life filled with meaning and purpose. 

The literature seems to mimic the circle of life. We begin knowing that ego separates us from the world; we succumb to the darkness of our ego and wreak havoc on the world; and finally we experience an awakening which brings us back to understanding that beyond our ego, we are all one.

The challenge before us is to fashion a peaceful world where some live in ego while others are awakening to the desire to transcend it. The Awakening is in its infancy, and it seems the ramifications of the coming change haven‟t dawned on the world as yet. Books like Suze Orman’s Action Plan: New Rules for New Times may be just the beginning of what we are going to see in coming years. Orman‟s book is an acknowledgement that we are entering a new economic era that promises to be difficult and long term. Practical books like this one help everyone navigate through the changes that are occurring, without regard to one‟s level of spiritual enlightenment.

Tracing the Ego of Mankind – Introduction

With every passing day we see more evidence of the audacity of man’s ego. We are witness to a world that is being thrust forward as man’s inventiveness has climbed exponentially, and we are witness to his ever increasing self confidence – a confidence that leads him to believe, perhaps rightly so, that anything is possible.

Fortunes have been created in ways never before imaginable, through the size and marketing of one’s ideas, talent, and determination rather than through the strength of one’s army or the prominence of one’s ancestors. Luxuries previously available only to royalty have become available to the common man. Monarchies have relinquished their previous status to the new found power and influence of the self-made industrialists and financiers. World leaders are more often the product of democracy than birth; a democracy that is essential to the capitalist philosophy which is now driving the world’s economy.

The road to prosperity has been rough. The world has endured many wars, and has endured increasingly frequent and widespread economic hardship. Collectively we seem to accept these problems as a natural part of life, while we continue to strive for world peace and an end to hunger. Overall, we believe we are making progress on the problems that define our daily lives. Perhaps this progress is the result of man’s ego; his ability to know what he wants, to figure out how to get it, and to take action. Man’s self confidence has never been higher, nor has his ego been more dominant.

We are now seeing the breakdown of moral standards among our world leaders, politicians, teachers and clergy. Hardly a day goes by that a sex scandal isn’t announced; and hardly a day goes by that those stories aren’t spun to make them seem more palatable. Our traditional heroes have become headline news for drugs, promiscuity and reckless behavior. Sadly, ordinary people seem to be losing their own moral compass as well.

The news has become filled with tragic stories of youth who are being marginalized and bullied. Feeling misunderstood and unsupported they turn to suicide or worse yet, mass murder. It’s not just our youth experiencing this disillusionment; vast segments of our general workforce are feeling it as well. “Going postal” has become common terminology for this phenomenon. For many, even home is not a place of refuge from a world losing control of better judgment. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in 1999 there were 791,210 reports of domestic violence with 1,642 resulting in death of the victim.

Among the pressures driving our dissatisfaction is the rise of marketing. Marketers have made fortunes for the businesses they serve by convincing the world that everyone needs their products or services in order to; be sexier, be happier, have more fun, keep up with others, and demonstrate their success. Unlike advertising, which helps you find what you need, marketing caters to the ego. The ego wants to be special; to have at least what others have, and preferably more. Marketers understand the desires of the ego and know how to push ones buttons without regard for individual needs or capabilities. And so, fewer and fewer companies make more and more money, much of which they spend on lobbying to create the political environment that best serves their interests. We call these systems capitalism and democracy, and lost in our egoistic ways, we think they represent the best systems for the rest of the world to follow.

While these problems are substantial, there may be an even bigger problem with man’s ego-centered approach to life. In his zeal to solve medical mysteries, provide cheap energy, end world hunger, and improve daily life, he has rushed into sciences he barely understands. This lack of understanding has steadily depleted the ozone layer, led to earthquakes from fracking for natural gas, poisoned millions of people with radiation, created droughts in some places and floods in others, and led to wars over natural resources and the attendant loss of many lives.

As man works to solve the problems of the world he seems to be creating even bigger problems. The biggest problem may be the tunnel vision that has developed as a result of greed. The wheels of our current science are lubricated with money. Given a choice between money and responsible use of earth’s resources, money usually prevails. All people share in this problem as co-conspirators until such a time as we are ready to exert our collective will to make change happen.

As we have watched man’s magnificent ego solve mysteries and create new things we’ve experienced a time in this world that will go down in history for its innovation, growth, and abundance. At the same time however, we are witnessing a great divide in the minds of people everywhere. The divide seems to be between those who relish in the magnificence of individualism and those who believe we need to develop our capacity for cooperation. This divide cannot be ignored as its ability to polarize people is growing in strength with each new war, epidemic, and natural disaster.

The investigation undertaken here will be a journey through mans understanding of his ego. From the writings of the world’s oldest religions to the contemporary self-help books, we will look at what man thinks he knows about himself and about his relationship with the world around him. From this study will emerge a critical view of the human ego and how it has shaped the world in which we live.

Living Oneness In Your Community

Oneness is the understanding that everything in the universe is connected.  The Golden Rule tells us to “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”  This is a simple solid foundation for how to live in our family, circle of friends, workplace, groups we belong to, and our community.  It’s simple, but it’s not easy.

It’s not easy because our ego gets in the way.  Our ego tells us we are special and our ego is offended when others do not recognize our specialness.  We can see how this works by looking at a loaf of bread.

Think of a loaf of fresh bread coming out of the oven all golden brown and smelling delicious.  This is how we’d like to experience our community; warm and inviting.  Now consider what makes up that loaf of bread; flour, eggs, yeast, sugar, perhaps molasses, raisins, cinnamon or a variety of other ingredients.  Each ingredient has a special purpose in the recipe that makes bread taste so good.  Any ingredient by itself does not give us the same pleasure as we get from combining them in just the right way.  In other words, the ingredients are not special but their purpose is special.

Consider the pleasure derived from a community (the bread) when individuals in that community (the ingredients) work together.  By removing the idea of our individual specialness we are freed to focus on our purpose.  For it is in our purpose that we each contribute unique and necessary talents that will benefit not only our community but ourselves.

One’s ego is a master of deception, however.  Specialness is disguised in many ways; race, religion, political persuasion, education, job title, economic status, health status, age, heritage and more.  These types of specialness build a fence around us that excludes certain less special individuals.  To further complicate matters, when one tries to set aside specialness the ego introduces fear.  Fear of being wrong, different, rejected, ridiculed or worse.  And to complicate matters more, our ego has made these reactions automatic so we aren’t generally aware that we are responding in these ways.

Living in Oneness within a community means overcoming our specialness in spite of our fears so that we can focus on our purpose.  Our purpose is to love one another just as we love ourselves.

Livinging in Oneness; What Does This Mean?

Oneness is the understanding that everything in the universe is connected.  For simplicity, consider our interdependence between humans, plants, animals, and the elements of the earth and atmosphere in which we live.  This outer world responds to events as any family would.  When one member of the family is in distress, the rest of the family feels something; empathy, sorrow, distress, disgust, anger, or perhaps an urge to somehow end that person’s distress.  Likewise, when someone in the family experiences something good the rest of the family feels something; joy, admiration, pride, envy, jealousy, or other emotions.  Clearly, living in a family is messy.  Yet when it works well and we are experiencing the positive emotions, we would rather be with our family than anywhere else.

How then do we create a family environment that is mostly positive?  Remember the Golden Rule:  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”   Living in oneness is thinking of the others as if they were in fact you.  Would you snub yourself?  Would you knowingly deceive yourself? Would you find joy in criticizing, condemning, insulting, or physically hurting yourself?  Of course not!

The simplicity of the Golden Rule holds the most profound lesson anyone needs to learn.  Each time you are interacting with a relative (or friend, coworker, clerk etc) try seeing them as yourself and listen to how you are speaking to them and treating them.  Would you like to be on the receiving end of your words and actions?  If not, consider what you can do differently next time and then vow to make the change.

Are you thinking they deserved what you said or how you treated them?  If so, consider that this thought is your ego taking control over you.  The bigger your ego, the easier it is to offend you.  Letting one’s ego go uncontrolled leads to a life of negative emotion by setting up a never ending chicken-or-the-egg cycle;  I’ll be nice to them when they are nice to me, but they won’t  be nice to me until I am nice to them.  This is no-win thinking.  If you really want to be treated well, you must become the change you want to see in others.

Take it one day at a time and see if you can observe how you are interacting with others. Becoming aware is the first step to living in oneness.