Rules for Meditation – Best Meditation Tips for True Seeing
I listen to non-duality speakers all the time. My awakening in 2017 has mean a reversal in the thought system of the character ‘Patri’ in ‘this world’ (which always points inwards and it is neverending in depth).
As ACIM (A Course in Miracles) says:
“All that I give is given to myself.” Today’s idea, completely alien to the ego and the thinking of the world, is crucial to the thought reversal that this course will bring about. [Lesson 126, ACIM]
Before the thought reversal took place, clearly the point of the entire Course, all that I gave I seem to give to others. The awakening then is not about changing the ‘giving to others’ in order to ‘give to self’.
The awakening is seeing, unequivocally, that it was always giving to self.
Keeping this idea in mind then, it is easy to see that meditation (seeing the world as it is) and forgiveness (seeing the world as it is) means (is) exactly the same thing.
Amy Torres talks about this. She mentions that in the book “Christian Meditation Inspired by Yoga and A Course in Miracles” (aff link – I haven’t read it) the author says:
“Forgiveness is meditation applied outwardly toward others. … Forgiveness and meditation have a reciprocal relationship. Since forgiveness is meditation applied outwardly, the inverse is equally true: Meditation is forgiveness applied inwardly toward yourself.”
It sounds beautiful but I wouldn’t complicate it too much. When the feeling-thought of separation is no longer there (collapses, disappears, it ‘dies’), the idea of ‘other’ and ‘self’ also disappears (as it was the idea what seemed to cause the separation). It is clearly seen that other and self is the Same (only one, not two). Once this enters our experience, it is ridiculously simple and its obviousness is also seen – something that was always and will always be this way.
So I’d like to collapse here ‘forgiveness’ and ‘meditation’ as one thing also, rather than two. One thing only (Self) means there’s no ‘other’ to forgive… Or that ‘other’ is overlooked (forgiven) because there’s only Self.
Inward and outward also collapses into One (Self), and so Meditation can be said to be True Seeing.
Meditation is not a Tool, Meditation is TRUE SEEING
So, in this sense, there are no rules for meditation. Either you See or you don’t. Sitting for hours on end on a daily basis as a ritual doesn’t have anything to do with True Seeing. You can See Truth without having ever sat down in silence or ‘watching the thoughts’. No doubt meditation as a ritualistic tool keeps you more alert so maybe, just maybe, Truth can ‘dawn’ on you. But it is by no means a necessary tool for Seeing or Knowing your True Self.
Here’s what the Course says about meditation:
Nor is a lifetime of contemplation and long periods of meditation aimed at detachment from the body necessary. All such attempts will ultimately succeed because of their purpose. Yet the means are tedious and very time consuming, for all of them look to the future for release from a state of present unworthiness and inadequacy.
Beautiful. No, you don’t need to meditate to wake up. As clearly stated in the above quote, they might seem to work because you’re already wanting to See. But it is your wanting that brings success, not the tools themselves.
Amy expands on this by quoting another great example from the Course:
Routines as such are dangerous, because they easily become gods in their own right, threatening the very goals for which they were set up. [Manual for Teachers]
Dangerous here is a good word and pretty accurate. You can get lost on the ritual and miss your bus stop.
Ok, with this out of the way, I’m ready to continue with my favourite ‘Rules for Meditation’ by Francis Lucille – the only meditation rules I’ve ever found attractive or that make sense. I highly recommend them. But then I recommend anything Francis has to say.
Rules for Meditation
Francis jokingly talks about ‘the non-rules rules’, and I like that (no mantra, no focus on the breath, none of this).
1. Do it only if you feel like it
Self explanatory.
2. Do it only for as long as you really want to do it
Not meaning ‘for as long as you like’, but for as long as you really WANT to do it.
3. Do it as an experiment rather than a practice
Again, if you make it a practice, you’re in danger of getting lost in the ritual and miss your bus stop.
4. Don’t expect the outcome of the experiment to show up during or after the experiment
The outcome maybe visible or hidden he says. In fact, there’s no outcome. This should make it obvious that there’s nothing to achieve from or after meditating.
5. Welcome all the thoughts, bodily sensations and external sense perceptions with loving indifference
Loving means you allow them to present themselves without any intention to change them or get rid of them. That’s what loving means. Indifference means you don’t want them to stay. You couldn’t care less whether they leave or not. Here’s the nature of the experiment. This is very important!
And that’s about it.
