Setting an Ideal and Meditation

According to Edgar Cayce's discourses, the most important meditative technique we can do is to first set an ideal. He wants this ideal to be a mindful understanding, even written down. He says, "Know in whom and in what you believe. Know what is the ideal you, as well as the ideal life, attitude, emotional dynamic, and activity. Why do we need to do this? Because the practice of meditation gives life and strength to our ideals - whatever ideals we hold. Cayce said that we can build a frankenstein or a godling of the great God using the same techniques - the ideal held while building this being will determine what the outcome will be. Thus, we need to spend a little time reflecting on our ideals, shaping them in a manner that we feel good about, because they are going to gain strength over the course of our meditation practice - whether we are conscious or unconscious of this. Cayce said that we will gradually be raised to the level of our highest ideal. He encouraged us to set a high, spiritual ideal, one that included the Fruits of the Spirit: love, kindness, gentleness, patience, long-suffering, humility, meekness, and so on. He encouraged us to think of ourselves as channels of God's love and light in this world, and to leave the world a better place for us having lived in it. Our meditation practice will build on these, and we will become what we hold as ideal. Meditation is creation. Let's be mindful of what we are creating. Set an ideal and hold that in heart and mind, both during our meditation and our daily life.

The Life Force and Meditation

Normally during an incarnation, the life force flows mostly through the lower chakras. But as we use the life force for higher purposes - such as creativity, imagination, higher thinking, speech, higher listening and seeing (as in Jesus’ statements, “those who have ears to hear, let them hear….”, as in Matthew 13:9), we raise the life force. It becomes dynamic, increasing vitality and creativity. Cayce identified the four lower chakras (the root, navel, solar plexus, and heart) as the earth within us, and the three upper chakras (throat, third eye, and crown) as the heaven within us. Meditation is one of the best practices for raising the life force. Special breathing patterns are among the best meditative techniques for raising the life force during meditation. A simple but most effective breathing pattern is the Taoist (pronounced dow-ist) “Circulation of the Light.” During every inhalation one is to imagine and feel the energy being drawn up the torso from the lower chakras, through all the chakras, to the top of the head. Then, imagine and feel it unite with the Infinite Breath of Life that was breathed into us in Genesis 2:7. Then, with every exhalation, imagine and feel this Divinely enhanced energy bathe the chakras - all the way down to the lowest one at the base of the torso. One continues this circulation - raising the life force up along the spinal column to the top of the head, receiving the Infinite Life Force, then bathing the body as it flows down through the body - until you feel the energy and vibrations of the body have been raised. Then, raise the mind in a similar manner; using uplifting phrases, mantras, or little prayers, until you feel the little mind of self is united with the Infinite mind of the Creator. Another breathing technique is Cayce’s alternate nostril breathing. It begins by taking in three deep breaths (inhalations) through the right nostril and feeling strength as you do this. With each of these breaths we are to exhale through the mouth, slowly and steadily (with practice this becomes easy). Next we take in three deep breaths through the left nostril, feeling ourselves opening to the Infinite, Divine Forces of Life within us. With each of these breaths we do not exhale through the mouth, but through the right nostril, slowly and steadily. The first three breaths will feel like they are more focused in the torso, the second three breaths will feel like they are focused within the head. Raising the life force is good but it is also problematic in the sense that we now have more energy. This energy must be used. Ideally, it will be used in creative, life enhancing ways. One must be mindful of this raised energy, because there is only one energy, which may manifest in many ways. For example, the raised life force may cause us to feel heightened sexual energy, tempermental energy, agressive energy, which must be channeled properly. Heightened energy can become dynamic physical energy for activities that burn up energy or for creativity that expresses the energy through arts, music, skill-based activity, caring for others, lifting others to higher levels of hope and life-purposefulness. Just be mindful that you have more of the life force awakened and looking to flow through you. You must find the better outlets.

Cayce's Passage in Consciousness Technique

Another technique described in Cayce's discourses is my favorite. I call it, "Passage in Consciousness," because of an instruction Cayce gave to a few students practicing this type of meditation. They were reaching a level in their meditations at which they had out-of-body experiences. When they got a follow-up reading from Cayce, he told them that they wouldn't be able to go as high or as deep in their meditations using out-of-body movement; rather, they needed to "make passage through dimensions of consciousness." In this technique Cayce also required that we use our "imaginative forces" in order to reach beyond the realities we know. For example, if we are going to reach beyond our finite individualness, we are going to have to image the transition to infinite universalness and the nature of that state when we get there. If we are going to move into God's presence, God's consciousness, we are going to have to image how that feels. Here are the steps to this technique: 1. Sit or lie down comfortably; 2. image yourself removing "your earthly portion and your personality," feel these moving out of your body, leaving it lighter and open; 3. image yourself "subjugating" control of your system to your subconscious mind and your autonomic nervous system (the system through which our chakras, lotuses, and souls operate); 4. give your subconscious a powerful suggestion that moves you out of your present state of being and consciousness into an infinite, universal condition within the consciousness of God, the Creator of the universe and all within it; 5. you should image yourself rising and expanding out of your present state into an infinite state; 6. when you have the slightest sense of the Infinite Presence, connect with It firming, plug into It, hold onto It; 7. now become completely receptive, allowing the Infinite to flow into your finiteness, until the two become one; Cayce encourages us to use this phrase: "Not my will, but Thy will"; 8. abide here until the meditation is feels it is concluding; 9. now you must rebalance your body and mind for normal functioning in this world, this dimension - but bring with you the vibrations and awareness you had while in the Infinite Presence.

Cayce's Simple "Magic of the Silence" Technique

There are many techniques for meditating. An easy, simple one is to sit comfortably and combine deep breathing with meaningful phrases. It does require that you use what Cayce called "the imaginative forces," but we all can do that. Let's use the line from Psalm 46:10, "Be still, and know that I am God." Here's how we use this phrase in combination with our breathing. Sit comfortably. Inhale deeply and say to yourself (in your mind and heart), "Be still." Now, as you hold your inhaled breath, FEEL stillness throughout your being. As you do this, exhale gently and leave your breath empty for a moment, continuing to feel stillness. Do this inhalation and exhalation in combination with the phrase a few times. Then, change the phrase on the next inhalation to, "Know that I am God." Now, as you hold your inhaled breath, FEEL God throughout your being - body, mind, and soul. Do this inhalation and exhalation in combination with the phrase a few times. At some point in this process you will become still and will have a sense of God's presence - this is when you stop directing the breath and using the words. Now you abide in the stillness and the Presence. Your job is to abide here in the silence and the Presence, allow them to work their magic within you. Your job is to simply be still and know God. When the meditation begins to conclude, share some of the wonderfully sublime vibrations and clearer, higher consciousness with others through prayer for them as you picture them in your mind and heart while sitting with God's Presence. Then, go live your day fully. The magic will work throughout the day, often subliminally but effectively ways.

The Value and Joy of Meditation

In this incarnation, I would not have endured this far without the many benefits that come from meditating. Edgar Cayce's discourses encourage all of us to budget time to meditate, and now, after 40 years, I understand why. It is one of the best ways to experience personal contact, attunement, and union with God, to enhance the flow of the Forces of Life through our bodies and minds, and to keep ourselves centered and mindful. Meditation brings health, peace, guidance, a good disposition (or at least a better disposition), love toward others, and truth in one's heart and mind. It so enhances our energy levels. Edgar’s son Hugh Lynn Cayce first encouraged me to meditate regularly - if for no mental or spiritual reason, do it because it is so good for the body. Meditation became a part of my daily life, and now, after all these years, I've written may latest book about meditation and meditating. It is my hope that in some small way this blog will encourage and help others to learn how to meditate and to make the practice of meditation a part of their daily lives.