Looking at only God

Coming to have some conception of what God is in reality is vital to proper and rapid growth in the field of meditation. Most people have grown up in some type of religious household which was a tradition passed down through the ages having cultural and personal significance on many levels. From the individuals earliest ages he/she is given a concept of the existence of God. This is significant because it plants a seed that can never be removed absent some major debilitation. Even if one chooses to adopt an atheistic viewpoint it cant erase the fact that most people in the world believe in God in some form or other. This is because they are in fact genetically programmed to do so and this genetic programming manifests itself as the deep cultural aspect to religion ie the term Jewish can be interpreted as both race and religion. This belief mechanism is very powerful because it give the individual with free will the ability to bring into a tangible form that which would normal only seen as intangible, ie blind faith conceptions of miracles like Jesus being the only one able to perform miracles as if in an unreal fairy tale type scenario. As a meditator you will eventually come to realize that a figure such as Jesus had in fact made an attainment through many successive lifetimes of vigorous effort in the field of meditation. This is a goal that you will some day hold to be your own. To walk this world or one like it as a Messiah. Not a person with a messiah complex but a person who is fully God-realized, as the Buddhists describe as "receiving the mind of the master".
After having made the highest attainment of meditation, merging ones drop sized soul with the oceanic over-soul of God one can be described as a living liberated being. At this point the possibility of performing miracles becomes well within reach, however the ego and sense of separateness has been all but erased. This means that there would be no desire to flaunt ones powers to impress people or to make money. Therefore the individual having made this lofty attainment will see that as an older brother to an adolescent mankind would do best to be always setting a good example and remain perpetually in meditation and renouncing worldly pleasures and goals. This was demonstrated by a 9th century Buddhist monk who, even after receiving the mind of the master sat in meditation facing a wall for 7 years. This is very realistic for those who wish to develop their consciousness and become God-realized. It is important to realize that almost everything you do in your ordinary life is a distraction from what could be rapid soul advancement. When you realize this and you have become an initiated yogi (one who seeks union with God) you will come to live your life as on a razors edge, every moment, every thought is a chance to grow and to flourish or similarly a chance to fall and become ensnared in the shackles of a worldly life. Or even just one day of indulgence in the pleasures of the senses and the ego can open a gate to a whole new path which is all consuming. This why it is important to achieve a very tight lock down on your desire for sense gratification and ego gratification. To know that if you make the decision to go down that path for a short time that you are only human and this is not the path you choose for your entire life. Usually sense gratification, drinking, smoking, visiting a bar, or even watching some idiotic show on TV will lower your level of perception of reality and thereby take you further away from God. So it is important that when you "wake up" to immediately begin to pray and ask God for forgiveness. To do meditation techniques which will remove the course vibrations from you energy field (aura). This will help to set the pattern into your sub-conscious that when you fall into a materialistic state that you will not let yourself get swept away with that force but you will always be striving to return to a new and heightened state of God-realization.

Learning to Meditate

Chances are if you are reading this you have had interest in meditation at some point in your life. You probably read a book or heard a lecture or have a friend who meditates and have heard about the benefits and of course you think wow, hey I could use some of that in my life. Weather its increased focus, increased perception, stronger intuitive and mental faculties or just simply increased tranquility and emotional stability. all of which can be achieved through regular constructive meditation. So the next question would be where do you start. How do you get your feet wet and start learning the ropes in progressive stages that will not leave you feeling overwhelmed or discouraged. Or even better how can you get instant or nearly instant results with minimal effort? There is a way however, the effort may not be as minim as you like but the reward is that once you begin to achieve meditation it will become easier and easier to reach it and the path of progress will naturally unfold in front of you. Meditation is a path of development which can stay with you your entire life and you will continue reaping the benefits of the positive seeds you plant on a daily basis. Lets compare it to becoming a professional body builder. When you are starting out you may be flabby and pale with no muscle tone. But you know where the gym is and you can, if your intent is strong enough force yourself to begin working out every day even if its just for 15 minutes a day. After just a few day you will begin to see some positive results. These positive results will spark a flame of change within you, "hey I look a little better and I feel stronger and healthier too" Now you are not a professional bodybuilder yet but the seed has been planted, even if you retreat back into laziness and stop working out for awhile that seed that you planted will want to grow, you will desire the results but the intention has not been properly cultivated. Becoming a "professional mediator" is nearly as difficult as becoming a professional bodybuilder, in that there is room for stupendous growth and a achievement in both fields however the amount of work and intention required to get to the top level in either discipline is rarely expressed throughout the vast number of casual gym goers or mediators. Fortunately you don't have to set you goal as being the top tier in you field to still reap the benefits of doing the work. But it does help to set for your self a reasonable goal and once having achieved that you can then look up to the next level of achievement if you so desire. Say in terms of bodybuilding you want to get where you have a visible six pack, this may take several months of dedicated gym time. Similarly if your goal is to be able to sit in meditation for an hour straight without moving or opening your eyes you will have to show a great deal of intention to reach that goal. SO the key is simply this, Daily practice for more than one week with a good system and good techniques that foster growth and eliminate obstacles. After one month of daily practice you will have established a habit that will almost require effort to break, and since this is a good habit there is absolutely no reason to want to break it. In fact both habits are so good for you they will start to push aside you other negative habits and make a space where you can only deal with things that are positive to your discipline and growth. Say that as a non-bodybuilder you had a habit of eating at fast food restaurants almost every day, but as you spend more and more time at the gym and you mingle with others who are have the kind of results you are looking for you will quickly realize that a strict diet is just as important as time at the gym. You will soon find that before when you ate a greasy hamburger and fries it tasted good and filled you up and thus you felt good about it. But as a bodybuilder your body is beginning to function on a higher level that same burger and fries will weigh you down and make you feel lethargic and bloated and the good taste in not nearly worth uncompromising what you gain from being as healthy as possible. Its like if you are driving a Rolls Royce and you pass by the Hyundai dealer you will have no desire to stop in and check out the latest models. One of the similar experiences I have had as a mediator is with watching TV. Whereas I used to watch TV recreationaly for many hours a day now I rarely watch it. Even "educational shows" rarely posess the type of stimulation and intellectual aptitude wicth my meditative consciousness requires to be palatable. My mind only enjoys digesting material that is coming from a point of view of the spiritual reality that I am now aware of. These TV shows are full of speculation and theories and in my mind I know what I know and I just don't have the time to play these never ending pointless games.