Exploring Mind - Body - Spirit

Topics Covered:

• How long should I meditate for?
• Using short meditation sessions
• Divine Light Prayer wording
• Avoiding hurry
• What if we don't visualize anything when we connect with Spirit?

How long should I meditate for?

Longer meditation sessions allow me to explore a technique more deeply or explore and experience more deeply. However, if I only use long meditation sessions, 15 minutes or longer, then I inadvertently train my mind to take a long time to shift into a meditative state.
In order to use meditation techniques practically I need to train my mind to use them quickly. This means I need to use short versions of the meditation technique, 3 minutes or less, throughout the day in a variety of situations. By practicing both short and long sessions I train my mind to move into a deep state of meditation quickly. I explained this in more detail "Real Meditation in Minutes a Day", pp 4-5 (You are invited to check the link to the right for more information about this book if you do not already have it).

When we use meditation as a spiritual tool we need to do two things. We need to train our mind, and we need to develop a relationship with spirit. Imagine we want to develop a relationship with a person who speaks a different language. Then we need to learn the language, and we need to speak to them in that language. That means we need to spend time studying the language as well as speaking with them. If we only study the language using extended study sessions, then we will not learn to use the language in real life. We need to practice using the language spontaneously in order to become fluent in it.

When we use meditation for spiritual purposes we are training our mind to relate to spirit and then need to use those new abilities to relate to Spirit. Extended meditation sessions and short meditation sessions are needed to train our mind to be able to "speak" Spirits language fluently. Then we simply need to use those abilities to maintain a more and more continuous and deeper awareness of Spirit's presence.

Of the two types of meditation I think that the short sessions are more important than the long sessions. So if you are only going to make time to practice one type of session, cultivate the habit of practicing short meditation sessions throughout the day.

Using Brief Sessions

When we practice short meditation sessions then we start practicing them more and more with the flow of the day. We find ourselves using meditative techniques spontaneously and adapting those techniques to our daily lives. For example, when we use the breath as a cue to a short meditation session, then we always have that cue available since we always have to breathe. We can then use that even in a conversation, taking a long slow breath to calm and to center ourselves and reconnect with spirit in order to make the conversation more effective.

I don't think we have to worry about formulas for meditation, doing them for the right length of time, doing it the right way, when our purpose is to relate to Spirit. Our relationship with Spirit becomes deeper when we allow ourselves to express more honestly. There are times I don't want to sit and meditate and it's almost like I'm saying to Spirit I'm not going to hang out with you if you want me to sit and meditate. I'm going to do some yoga or go for a walk and will talk while I do that. So sometimes I take extended sessions of quiet with Spirit and other times I am spending different kinds of time with Spirit. It's like having a partner. Sometimes you're having dinner together, sometimes you're making love, and sometimes you're sitting quietly enjoying each other's presence, or talking, or doing household tasks together, or even going and doing your own duties remembering each other's presence.

St. Teresa mentioned, I think in her autobiography, that she had gotten upset with a spiritual director who told someone with a lot of household duties to ignore them in order to spend more time in prayer. St. Teresa stated that it would have been much more effective for him to teach her how to engage in her duties in a spirit of prayer since ignoring them caused problems for the rest of the household.

We can meditate, or contemplate, that is, think deeply on, the idea of how to make short sessions happen throughout the day. If we are trying to connect with spirit more deeply, then we should reflect on how we can make that an increasingly continuous experience during our daily lives. Think about the various activities you engage in and what it would be like to feel a strong presence of spirit while doing them. Ask yourself how you would speak how you would hold your body, how you agree, how you reduce your senses, how you would interpret what you observed and how you would react or respond.

When we started noticing how our connection with Spirit varies throughout the day, we start to realize there are certain "triggers" which tend to disrupt that connection. We can use meditation to reflect on these and explore various techniques that will help us maintain the connection even if that trigger occurs. This is important because in my experience the times I need that connection most are when the trigger is occurring. So I want to practice and make sure I can maintain the connection with Spirit even with someone pushes one of my buttons.

Divine Light Prayer Wording

A question was asked about using the phrase "I am loved by Divine Light". I think this is an excellent idea, and I think it is fine to add other verbs into that prayer. Remember, it's about relationship and if you are experiencing something from Divine Light then put that into the prayer to affirm it. Because then you are describing your experience of the relationship.

One Method for Avoiding Hurry

I call this "receiving your experience". Allow your visual experience to come to you, allow sounds to come to you, allow your breath to fall into you, and allow the feeling of being in your body to drop into your feet or whatever you are resting upon. This is a very visceral experience and for me is much more effective at slowing me down than  telling myself to slow down. When I am allowing myself to receive the world than I can receive the future as it arrives instead of rushing off toward it.

Do We Need to Have a Visual Form in Our Experience of Spirit?

Based on my readings, the answer is "No". My experience is more of a feeling, or kinesthetic experience than anything visual or auditory. It's like sensing that someone is very very close to me even if I can't see them. Sometimes the feeling is as if that presence is within me looking out through my eyes or feeling with my hands. However, if I look to see who is there a form is not distinct. The presence can have different qualities at different times. I use the word "light" a lot as light is what enables me to be aware visually, and this presence is what enables me to be aware compassionately. When I am sensing the presence and connected to it deeply that is when I feel alive, and when that presence is not there or I am acting in a way that disrupts the connection, then I feel much less alive, though I sometimes notice the difference only in hindsight.