There are two general types of meditation: the mystical and the secular. The mystical is considered the highest form of meditation because the person practicing it is usually thought to be attempting to reach the Absolute or Divine. It is usually practiced in a non-secular setting, such as a monastery, where the practitioners also practice withdrawal from the world, asceticism, strict diet, and other regimens. However, there are exceptional individuals who independently choose to live this life-style.
Secular meditation helps practitioners improve their health, creativity, self-esteem, success, and relationships with others and the world around them. It can also improve the individual’s psychic powers and accomplishment of self-knowledge. Meditation by itself will not achieved these goals, but will help the individual to achieve them. Generally the person practices meditation twice daily about twenty minutes at a time. Some scientific research has shown meditation improves health.
Meditation is universally practiced. In the East it has became more formalized into a spiritual discipline in which various techniques are used. Concentration is more involved with the Eastern tradition, especially in yoga, it attempts to transform consciousness through mental control, and go beyond the absence of thought. While some goals of meditative concentration is the achievement of mystical states posture is very important. The concentration is on a single object such as breath control, a mantra, a yantra (geometric shape), a candle flame, a koan (Zen puzzle) and so on. Detached awareness meditation also is more characteristic of the Eastern methods, especially among the many schools of Buddhism. Of the various methods, the best known in the West is zasen, or sitting meditation, of Zen.
The prominent Eastern religions or philosophies using meditation are Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen, and Taoism, and others. The primary objective of the practice of meditation in all of these religious philosophies appears to be the release from the material world into the spiritual. This chiefly means release from the body, its concerns and functions. Also, there is a lessening of the ego. Meditative experiences are continued until the individual reaches a nirvana. Beyond the nirvana is the nirodh (cessation), which consists of the absolute cessation of consciousness and the quiescence of bodily processes. This is an extremely difficult state to obtain because the body’s metabolism drops to minimal level for existence; thus the state can be maintained for no longer than seven days. The mediator` is required beforehand to determine the length he or she will remain in this state.
Meditation in the Western methods focuses more on contemplation. This includes practices of thinking about meaning, such as prayer, concepts, and questions. Generally contemplation does not quiet the mind or effect bodily rest.
The Western tradition begun with Christian monks in the Egyptian desert around the fourth century who lived as hermits. The discipline which they practiced was one of purification and meditation to obtain union with God. It is suspected many of their techniques were borrowed from the East or rediscovered from there. The repetition, verbally or silently, of phrases from the Scriptures served as the Desert Fathers’ mantras. Steadily in the Catholic tradition the path to God was characterized by purification, asceticism, prayer, and contemplation.
Meditation also is practiced in the practices of Judaism and Islam, the Kabbalah and Sufism. It is included in the practices of neo-Paganism and neo-Witchcraft also.
The following is based a section of the study of neo-Witchcraft. To fully understand the purpose and functioning of meditation one has to observe the human as both a physical and spiritual or psychological being. Meditation helps to connect the physical and spiritual levels of the human being. This connection is brought about at the vital centers within the body known as chakras. During the process of meditation psychic energy known as Kundalini or ‘Serpent Power’ builds up and flows through the chakras. As it does, the chakras open in a successive order.
This psychic energy as it increases influences or controls different areas or levels of the person’s mind. Generally, three levels of the human mind are recognized: the conscious, the subconscious and the super-conscious. The conscious usually pertains to or governs the voluntary actions which the person performs during his waking state such as eating, speaking, walking, writing, etc.; the subconscious usually controls all of the involuntary functions of the body such as breathing, the heart rate, etc.; while the super-conscious, which also is frequently referred to as the Higher Self, when developed may control the other two mental levels. For example, there has been incidences where through meditation individuals have voluntarily controlled their rate of breathing.
There are several techniques by which practitioners can meditate. The failure of a practitioner to be able to meditate may rest in the choice of the wrong technique, the technique not being suited to that particular individual, or not completely mastering that particular technique. Many masters of Eastern philosophies recommend the technique of focusing attention upon what is called the person’s "thousand petal-ed lotus" or the third eye which is located in the middle of the forehead. When doing this the individual focuses on the seventh and highest chakra in the body to re-orient the physical self to the mental self, thus forming a transcending association between the gross physical self and the person’s mental identifications, to discover the "true" self.
The proof of the re-orientation process may been seen within the person’s physical and psychological well being, or the lack of it. When the person feels good, or is in relative good heath, his attention more aptly focuses on his environment, the things and persons around him. However, when a person does not feel good, or is depressed and/or moody, his attention may be referred to as subconscious, he tends to think more about himself. His attention narrows being focused more on his own troubles or concerns. This is the reason why it is recommended that an individual keep his mental activity as high as possible to always attain his true self.
Popular Western interest in meditation began the be sparked in the 1960s and most of the adopted techniques were derived from those of Buddhism and Hinduism. During the 1950s Japanese scientists begun studying yogis and Zen monks in meditation. In the 1960s Western scientists began to study the practitioners of Transcendental Meditation (TM), at the invitation of the TM founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Although study results vary, there were similar findings: meditation lowers bodily metabolism, slows brain waves, and induces relaxation. Persons who meditate regularly tend to show more resistance to stress and illness, and claimed they felt better psychologically. Also, meditation has been shown to be a help in treating addition.
Spiritual body
Spiritual body in magical philosophy is the highest aspect of the human individual. It is the essence, or the divine spark, or the soul forming the core of each person and exists eternally. The conscious awareness of this spiritual body, or having it reflected through the ordinary self into the surrounding environment, is considered the highest level of magical attainment, and brings with it the total mastery of powers and potentials of the self.
Spiritual plane
Spiritual plane, occurring beyond time, space, and human comprehension, in occultism is the highest of the levels of existence, the primary level of creative power from which all other levels unfold. This spiritual plane, like other planes pertaining to occult theory, metaphorically speaking is the "above," however in reality all planes interpenetrate the realm of material experiences through the senses.
Mysticism
This is a belief in or the pursuit in the unification with the One or some other principle; the immediate consciousness of God; or the direct experience of religious truth. Mysticism is nearly universal and unites most religions in the quest for divinity. It can also be a sense of mystical knowledge. Dionysius the Areopagite was the first to introduce the concept "unknown knowing" to the Western World. In areas of the occult and psychic it denotes an additional domain of esoteric knowledge and paranormal communication. Even though it is thought that just monks and ascetics can become mystics, mysticism usually touches all people at least once in their lives.
The term "mysticism" comes from the classical Greco-Roman mystery cults. Perhaps it came from myein meaning "to close the lips and eyes, and refers to the sacred oath of the initiates, the mystes, to keep secret about the inner workings of the religion." In Neo-platonism "mysticism" came to be associated with secrecy of any kind. The term mystica appeared in the Christian treatise, Mystica Theologia, of an anonymous Syrian Neoplatonist monk of the late fifth or early sixth century, who was known pseudonymously as Dionysius the Areopagite. In this work mysticism was described as the secrecy of the mind.
Despite the various approaches to mysticism it seems to possess some common characteristics. Such were the findings of the philosopher W. T. Stace, who discovered seven common themes of mysticism when studying Roman Catholic, Protestant, ancient classical, Hindu, and American agnostic mystical experiences. They were (1) a unifying vision and perception of the One by the senses and through many objects; (2) the apprehension of the One as an inner life; (3) and objective and true sense of reality; (4) feelings of satisfaction, joy, and bliss; (5) a religious element that is a feeling of the holy and sacred; (6) a paradoxical feeling; (7) and inexpressible feelings.
From the above is can easily be seen that mysticism is not the same to every person experiencing it. Therefore, there are various kinds or types. Various mystics subscribe to one of two theories of Divine Reality: emanation or immanence. In the emanation view, all things in the universe are overflowing from God. In the immanence view, the universe is not projected from God, but is immersed in God.
Mysticism is usually thought of as being of a religious nature, which can be either monistic or theistic. The objective of monistic mysticism is to seek unity and identity with a universal principle; while theistic mysticism seeks unity, but not identity, with God.
The ultimate expression of monistic mysticism is perhaps best displayed in the Upanishads of India, as in the concepts of "I am Brahman" (the all-pervading principle) and tat tram asi "that thou art," meaning that the soul is the eternal and Absolute Being. Monistic mysticism is also found in Taoism,, which seeks unity with Tao, the ineffable way. Theistic mysticism, unity with God, characterizes Christianity, Judaism (in the Kabbalah, and Islam (the Sufi sect), and is also found in Hinduism.
There are other forms of mysticism throughout the world. Many assume a religious nature according to the beliefs and practices of the practitioners. Most of these states of mysticism commonly possess what is deemed a mystical communion with what is considered sacred which varies from group to group, even subgroup to subgroup, and includes dance, song and chant, the sacred pipe, purifying sweats (a preliminary for undertakings), fasts, dreams, vision quests, and the occasional use of psychotropic drugs.
Apart from religious mysticism, but not entirely separated from it, is nonreligious mysticism. This is more of an experiencing mysticism through, or from, Nature, although some have discovered God or the Absolute of Nature through such experiences. An authentic experience of mysticism derive from Nature is essentially the unity of the subject and the object. In other words, the person becomes one with Nature; all boundaries or separation between the person and Nature disappears. The person becomes part of nature and is not separate from it.
This is clearly seen in the Goddess religion, which includes neo-Paganism and neo-Pagan Witchcraft, which worships Nature. Such worship includes love where the separation between the subject and object vanishes. Starhawk, in The Spiral Dance, defines it as immanence. Immanence is one of the three core principles of the Goddess religion, the other two being interconnection and community. "Immanence means that the Goddess, the Gods, are embodied, that we are each a manifestation of the living being of the earth, that nature, culture, and life in all their diversity are sacred. Immanence calls us to live our spirituality here in the world, to take action to preserve the life of the earth, to live with integrity and responsibility."
A similar point was made in the description of Gaea, previously called Terrebie, or the planet Earth by Otter Zell (formerly Tim Zell), founder and high priest of the Church of All Worlds in Ukiah, California. He redefined divinity and deity as the fulfillment of potential as "the highest level of aware consciousness accessible to each living being, manifesting itself in the self-actualization of that being." So, the cell is thought of as God by its components; the tissue is God to the cells, and so on. The human being manifests a whole new level of awareness, organization, and "emergent wholeness." When describing this level of organization Zell wrote, "We find it appropriate to express recognition of this Unity in the phrase: 'Thou art God.'" And as all things are connected biologically, all eco-systems express a new level of awareness. Therefore, Mother Earth is seen as God. Of this, Zell wrote:
Indeed, even though yet un-awakened, the embryonic slumbering subconscious mind of Terrebria is experienced intuitively by us all, and has been referred to instinctively by us as Mother Earth, Mother Nature (The Goddess, The Lady.)Instinctively every one has done what the neo-Pagan openly admit doing, calling Earth, Mother. This recognition of Earth as our Mother is justified because we all are dependent on her for our survival. Just as the child comes to love the mother who cares and nurtures him, so too, we love Mother Earth who we know loves and nurtures humankind as her children. By definition, this is mysticism.
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