Meditation and the Growth of Intuition - Dora Kunz
The Personal Aura, Chapter X
In previous chapters I have indicated some of the basic attitudes and efforts that are needed in order to effect changes in emotional patterns. Now I want to carry this a step further, and talk about self-transformation in a deeper sense.
The desire to learn, to grow, to transcend our limitations, is basic in all of us. We study, take degrees, train ourselves in different skills in order to improve our minds; we exercise, watch our diets, play games in order to improve our physical health. I have tried to show that we can also cultivate and improve our emotions when we find it is important for us to do so. Beyond this, many of us aspire to become more caring and more altruistic—to rid ourselves of narrow attitudes and selfish motives. Having become convinced that there is a spiritual reality that is deeper, more enduring, more joyful, more compassionate, more unitive than anything else we can experience in life, we want to align ourselves with that reality. To do so, we know instinctively that we must try to escape the bondage of the personal ego.
These are some of the reasons why people undertake Zen training, practice yoga or Sufi dancing or study Tibetan Buddhism. All of these methods can help us towards the goal of self-transformation; all incorporate some form of meditation or mental discipline in order to open the student to the possibilities of a different kind of awareness. Meditation is often advocated as a relaxation technique or a method of reducing stress, and it can be very helpful in these ways. But it has much deeper aspects. Its greatest potential benefit lies in the fact that it offers the possibility of access to dimensions of consciousness which lie beyond the personal self.
Meditation may be said to have a twofold purpose. It is a way of relating to the deeper aspects of one's own nature, but it is not only that. It is also a way of relating oneself to a much greater reality which we can think of under different guises: as the unity underlying nature, or the spiritual dimension, or God, or the Divine Milieu. Thus meditation is far from being merely a withdrawal into an inward passive state (as some have asserted). It is a dynamic experience of the identity of the inner self with the whole of things—whose compass is so great as to be, in fact, limitless.
Such an experience can have reciprocal effects. Our need for direction leads us to meditate, and the practice in turn helps to clarify our sense of purpose. This is so because inner quiet gives that purpose a chance to emerge—an achievement which is impossible when we are caught up in the turmoil and conflict which are so much a part of daily life.
Shift of Focus
I have said before that the emergence of purpose arises from that point of consciousness within each of us which is the true or spiritual self--our source of peace and wholeness. Identifying with this timeless self gives us the power of control over our feelings and our actions. It is the source of intuition, of creativity, and of the strength to take the direction of our lives into our own hands. When this power is released within us, it can give us guidance no matter how difficult the circumstances.
Once we become aware of this deeper, more timeless aspect of ourselves we can shift our focus whenever we have a problem, and see it from a larger perspective. The sense of "I" can change with such shifts in focus—away from identification with the circumstances we feel caught in to the freedom of a more universal, less time-bound order. A more open perspective always offers us the possibility of movement and change, because it transcends the purely personal element in our feelings—and it is this which often distorts our relationships with others.
Such a shift of focus also makes us take notice of what is going on in our minds and emotions. We become aware of the level of consciousness at which we are operating at any particular moment, and are able to reestablish our focus where we wish it to be. In this process of developing self-awareness, meditation is useful because it is one of the ways by which we can find the point at which the "I" is focused.
In discussing emotional patterns, I stressed the fact that anxiety is destructive because it makes us feel incapable of coping with the situations that confront us. The reason is that it temporarily blocks the inflow of the higher energies whose source lies within the dimension of wholeness. When our inner connection with the self is blocked, we begin to doubt our self-worth, our confidence is undermined, and we are vulnerable to depression. Even when some degree of inner peace has been achieved, the problem for many people is how to establish such a durable relationship with their fundamental wholeness that it persists in the face of the stresses of daily life. I believe that meditation is one of the most successful means to this achievement.
Fear of Self-Delusion
Unfortunately, many people hesitate to undertake the practice of meditation because they are afraid of being self-deluded. So many of our traditional values have been discarded as irrelevant to the contemporary world that we have the habit of questioning every claim. But there is a big difference between being skeptical in the sense that the Buddha advocated—taking nothing on hearsay, thinking things through for oneself—and the canker of self-doubt, which undermines every value, including the value of our own achievements.
Since it is impossible to prove that anything is absolutely right and true, the fear of being deluded destroys the ability to commit oneself to anything which cannot be measured or demonstrated. But we all know that none of the really important things can be measured, or their value "proved," since they have to do with intangibles.
It is certainly possible to be self-deluded in meditation, just as in anything else. But should this fact prevent us from meditating? If we were afraid that all knowledge might be false we would be doubtful about the usefulness of studying anything. In any event, there is no great danger of self-deception in meditation, because it is not a method of introspection or self-observation, in which one can easily substitute wish for reality. We meditate without expectations of success or failure, concentrating on reaching our own center of peace without trying to define or describe its qualities. This can lead to an experience that is real.
My recommendation, therefore, is that we take the possibility of our access to spiritual reality as a hypothesis which may or may not be true, but which is worth trying out. Then we can experiment and see for ourselves whether this hypothesis stands up in experience. Many people begin to meditate without really believing in it. They are willing to take a chance, even though they are not sure what the results will be. I find this attitude very natural. I also accept the fact that meditation is not for everyone; some preparation is needed, if only acceptance of the fact that the time has come to achieve some inner space and peace. Under such circumstances, one could say to a doubter: Try it, and see for yourself.
I always hope that people will approach meditation as something that can be really enjoyable, even fun, rather than as a solemn task we undertake as a kind of duty to ourselves. It can truly refresh us--give us new energy when we are tired, calm and balance us when we are upset, help us let go of our problems, restore our perspective and sense of proportion. In daily life, our auras are constantly exchanging energies with others, and our attention is usually engaged with what is going on around us. The result is that our focus is outside ourselves. In meditation we intentionally shift that focus within the heart center, thereby creating a concentric flow of energy which is just the opposite of the scattering or diffusing tendency that so much of our daily activity demands.
Stimulating Higher Energies
This is why the practice of meditation not only gives us a feeling of peace, but also energizes us. The experience speeds up the activity of the heart chakra, and this slowly begins to affect the connection with the other higher centers. When this occurs, it opens us to influences from a higher dimension and establishes an emotional pattern which is integrative, in contrast to the conflicting patterns which pull us in different directions during the day. Thus it produces a state of wholeness and inner serenity which can stand us well in times of stress.
In the aura, there are usually many momentary emotional conditions that block the expansion of consciousness. When meditation includes not only a withdrawal into one's center but also a deliberate effort to send peace and love outward into the world, the expansion of the aura which results works directly to break up the scars of traumatic events. The results show in the aura as a lightening of the colors, greater clarity, and a general feeling of harmony, balance and integration. These are subtle differences, but they can perhaps be traced in auras #13, #14 and #18, all of whom were long-term meditators, and also in #7, where meditation had been practiced for a somewhat shorter period.
Meditation stimulates the higher energies, and their release within us changes our perspective radically. The awareness it engenders helps us to see people in a new light, so that we begin to ask ourselves how we affect them, instead of the other way around. We often raise barriers between ourselves and others, but when we try regularly to feel love we lower our defenses and become much more open. In this way we begin to gain a new consciousness of the significance of our interpersonal relations. As we become more sensitive to others, we grow in the ability to interact with them in positive ways.
Meditation Techniques
When we have committed ourselves to finding peace within ourselves, and decided that meditation is a gateway to this peace, then the specific technique we use is not really so important. Some methods suggest reading a passage from the scriptures or chanting mantrams, all of which quiet the mind. Zen and other Buddhist forms of meditation such as Satipatthana stress walking while concentrating on the breath. Rhythmic breathing is certainly important.
Whatever the method, there are certain basic requirements. The first is to relax and become aware that you can experience a sense of stillness within yourself. Therefore it is helpful to breathe in and out deeply several times and relax your shoulders, and then focus in the region of the heart chakra. I always recommend that beginners practice only for a very short time—three to five minutes. The length of time one meditates is not important, so long as the experience is real. People often try to do too much too soon, and therefore become discouraged. Finding that they are unable to still the mind for more than a few minutes at a time, they go on because they think they are obliged to, and so become bored and restless.
For the first three or four months of practice, the main effort should be to find a point of stillness within yourself. Once that has been established, you will slowly get used to meditating, and learn to like it. When I say that, I am also saying that there is an emotional component in meditation. This is true, but the effort to reach a state of stillness transcends ordinary feelings of pleasure and pain, or like and dislike.
At the beginning there may be some ambivalence: you may think you are quiet and at the same time be conscious of a background which is full of distraction. So you will be aware of two things at the same time: your inner peace, and your chattering mind. You can accept this situation without having it distract you from the recognition that at some level you have experienced a real sense of quietude. As you persist, you will reach a deeper level of this stillness, and then you will begin to experience a sense of expansion, a feeling of unity with the universe.
Little by little, as you continue the practice, the stillness will deepen and the mind's chatter will be quieted. Even though your thoughts may intervene and you may be aware of the distraction, you will be able to remain focused within the stillness. The best analogy to this experience I can think of is flying in a plane and breaking through the clouds to the clear blue of the sky beyond.
Meditation in the Heart
I have stressed the importance of focusing in the region of the heart, which I call centering, because the heart is the seat of spiritual as well as physical life. We may ordinarily think that focusing implies a narrowing of attention or awareness, but the opposite is true when we center. The heart chakra is capable of almost unlimited expansion; an analogy might be the circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. So focused, we experience a sense of unity with nature and with the universe as a whole. This stretches the aura and breaks down restrictive patterns, and the feeling of unity can sharpen, giving a new dimension to all our relationships.
When people are uncertain about their ability to meditate, I usually give them a visualization exercise to help them get started. For example, I suggest that you first withdraw your energies into the heart, and associate this with a feeling of unity with the timeless self. This inner self should be visualized as a light within your heart, within which you consciously withdraw. Feel a sense of peace, and think of yourself as one with the light. Then, if you have a painful memory that bothers you, recall it and deliberately visualize it as being slightly detached from and in front of you. You should try to see it as being outside yourself. Then visualize rays of light shining out from the center of light within your heart, pouring right through that painful memory until it is dissolved.
Many people have found this exercise has given them a wonderful sense of freedom from their anxieties. Moreover, if you want to help someone who is ill or in distress, it is effective to visualize the person surrounded by this light within the heart, and then reach out to him or her on that level.
In previous chapters I have indicated some of the basic attitudes and efforts that are needed in order to effect changes in emotional patterns. Now I want to carry this a step further, and talk about self-transformation in a deeper sense.
The desire to learn, to grow, to transcend our limitations, is basic in all of us. We study, take degrees, train ourselves in different skills in order to improve our minds; we exercise, watch our diets, play games in order to improve our physical health. I have tried to show that we can also cultivate and improve our emotions when we find it is important for us to do so. Beyond this, many of us aspire to become more caring and more altruistic—to rid ourselves of narrow attitudes and selfish motives. Having become convinced that there is a spiritual reality that is deeper, more enduring, more joyful, more compassionate, more unitive than anything else we can experience in life, we want to align ourselves with that reality. To do so, we know instinctively that we must try to escape the bondage of the personal ego.
These are some of the reasons why people undertake Zen training, practice yoga or Sufi dancing or study Tibetan Buddhism. All of these methods can help us towards the goal of self-transformation; all incorporate some form of meditation or mental discipline in order to open the student to the possibilities of a different kind of awareness. Meditation is often advocated as a relaxation technique or a method of reducing stress, and it can be very helpful in these ways. But it has much deeper aspects. Its greatest potential benefit lies in the fact that it offers the possibility of access to dimensions of consciousness which lie beyond the personal self.
Meditation may be said to have a twofold purpose. It is a way of relating to the deeper aspects of one's own nature, but it is not only that. It is also a way of relating oneself to a much greater reality which we can think of under different guises: as the unity underlying nature, or the spiritual dimension, or God, or the Divine Milieu. Thus meditation is far from being merely a withdrawal into an inward passive state (as some have asserted). It is a dynamic experience of the identity of the inner self with the whole of things—whose compass is so great as to be, in fact, limitless.
Such an experience can have reciprocal effects. Our need for direction leads us to meditate, and the practice in turn helps to clarify our sense of purpose. This is so because inner quiet gives that purpose a chance to emerge—an achievement which is impossible when we are caught up in the turmoil and conflict which are so much a part of daily life.
Shift of Focus
I have said before that the emergence of purpose arises from that point of consciousness within each of us which is the true or spiritual self--our source of peace and wholeness. Identifying with this timeless self gives us the power of control over our feelings and our actions. It is the source of intuition, of creativity, and of the strength to take the direction of our lives into our own hands. When this power is released within us, it can give us guidance no matter how difficult the circumstances.
Once we become aware of this deeper, more timeless aspect of ourselves we can shift our focus whenever we have a problem, and see it from a larger perspective. The sense of "I" can change with such shifts in focus—away from identification with the circumstances we feel caught in to the freedom of a more universal, less time-bound order. A more open perspective always offers us the possibility of movement and change, because it transcends the purely personal element in our feelings—and it is this which often distorts our relationships with others.
Such a shift of focus also makes us take notice of what is going on in our minds and emotions. We become aware of the level of consciousness at which we are operating at any particular moment, and are able to reestablish our focus where we wish it to be. In this process of developing self-awareness, meditation is useful because it is one of the ways by which we can find the point at which the "I" is focused.
In discussing emotional patterns, I stressed the fact that anxiety is destructive because it makes us feel incapable of coping with the situations that confront us. The reason is that it temporarily blocks the inflow of the higher energies whose source lies within the dimension of wholeness. When our inner connection with the self is blocked, we begin to doubt our self-worth, our confidence is undermined, and we are vulnerable to depression. Even when some degree of inner peace has been achieved, the problem for many people is how to establish such a durable relationship with their fundamental wholeness that it persists in the face of the stresses of daily life. I believe that meditation is one of the most successful means to this achievement.
Fear of Self-Delusion
Unfortunately, many people hesitate to undertake the practice of meditation because they are afraid of being self-deluded. So many of our traditional values have been discarded as irrelevant to the contemporary world that we have the habit of questioning every claim. But there is a big difference between being skeptical in the sense that the Buddha advocated—taking nothing on hearsay, thinking things through for oneself—and the canker of self-doubt, which undermines every value, including the value of our own achievements.
Since it is impossible to prove that anything is absolutely right and true, the fear of being deluded destroys the ability to commit oneself to anything which cannot be measured or demonstrated. But we all know that none of the really important things can be measured, or their value "proved," since they have to do with intangibles.
It is certainly possible to be self-deluded in meditation, just as in anything else. But should this fact prevent us from meditating? If we were afraid that all knowledge might be false we would be doubtful about the usefulness of studying anything. In any event, there is no great danger of self-deception in meditation, because it is not a method of introspection or self-observation, in which one can easily substitute wish for reality. We meditate without expectations of success or failure, concentrating on reaching our own center of peace without trying to define or describe its qualities. This can lead to an experience that is real.
My recommendation, therefore, is that we take the possibility of our access to spiritual reality as a hypothesis which may or may not be true, but which is worth trying out. Then we can experiment and see for ourselves whether this hypothesis stands up in experience. Many people begin to meditate without really believing in it. They are willing to take a chance, even though they are not sure what the results will be. I find this attitude very natural. I also accept the fact that meditation is not for everyone; some preparation is needed, if only acceptance of the fact that the time has come to achieve some inner space and peace. Under such circumstances, one could say to a doubter: Try it, and see for yourself.
I always hope that people will approach meditation as something that can be really enjoyable, even fun, rather than as a solemn task we undertake as a kind of duty to ourselves. It can truly refresh us--give us new energy when we are tired, calm and balance us when we are upset, help us let go of our problems, restore our perspective and sense of proportion. In daily life, our auras are constantly exchanging energies with others, and our attention is usually engaged with what is going on around us. The result is that our focus is outside ourselves. In meditation we intentionally shift that focus within the heart center, thereby creating a concentric flow of energy which is just the opposite of the scattering or diffusing tendency that so much of our daily activity demands.
Stimulating Higher Energies
This is why the practice of meditation not only gives us a feeling of peace, but also energizes us. The experience speeds up the activity of the heart chakra, and this slowly begins to affect the connection with the other higher centers. When this occurs, it opens us to influences from a higher dimension and establishes an emotional pattern which is integrative, in contrast to the conflicting patterns which pull us in different directions during the day. Thus it produces a state of wholeness and inner serenity which can stand us well in times of stress.
In the aura, there are usually many momentary emotional conditions that block the expansion of consciousness. When meditation includes not only a withdrawal into one's center but also a deliberate effort to send peace and love outward into the world, the expansion of the aura which results works directly to break up the scars of traumatic events. The results show in the aura as a lightening of the colors, greater clarity, and a general feeling of harmony, balance and integration. These are subtle differences, but they can perhaps be traced in auras #13, #14 and #18, all of whom were long-term meditators, and also in #7, where meditation had been practiced for a somewhat shorter period.
Meditation stimulates the higher energies, and their release within us changes our perspective radically. The awareness it engenders helps us to see people in a new light, so that we begin to ask ourselves how we affect them, instead of the other way around. We often raise barriers between ourselves and others, but when we try regularly to feel love we lower our defenses and become much more open. In this way we begin to gain a new consciousness of the significance of our interpersonal relations. As we become more sensitive to others, we grow in the ability to interact with them in positive ways.
Meditation Techniques
When we have committed ourselves to finding peace within ourselves, and decided that meditation is a gateway to this peace, then the specific technique we use is not really so important. Some methods suggest reading a passage from the scriptures or chanting mantrams, all of which quiet the mind. Zen and other Buddhist forms of meditation such as Satipatthana stress walking while concentrating on the breath. Rhythmic breathing is certainly important.
Whatever the method, there are certain basic requirements. The first is to relax and become aware that you can experience a sense of stillness within yourself. Therefore it is helpful to breathe in and out deeply several times and relax your shoulders, and then focus in the region of the heart chakra. I always recommend that beginners practice only for a very short time—three to five minutes. The length of time one meditates is not important, so long as the experience is real. People often try to do too much too soon, and therefore become discouraged. Finding that they are unable to still the mind for more than a few minutes at a time, they go on because they think they are obliged to, and so become bored and restless.
For the first three or four months of practice, the main effort should be to find a point of stillness within yourself. Once that has been established, you will slowly get used to meditating, and learn to like it. When I say that, I am also saying that there is an emotional component in meditation. This is true, but the effort to reach a state of stillness transcends ordinary feelings of pleasure and pain, or like and dislike.
At the beginning there may be some ambivalence: you may think you are quiet and at the same time be conscious of a background which is full of distraction. So you will be aware of two things at the same time: your inner peace, and your chattering mind. You can accept this situation without having it distract you from the recognition that at some level you have experienced a real sense of quietude. As you persist, you will reach a deeper level of this stillness, and then you will begin to experience a sense of expansion, a feeling of unity with the universe.
Little by little, as you continue the practice, the stillness will deepen and the mind's chatter will be quieted. Even though your thoughts may intervene and you may be aware of the distraction, you will be able to remain focused within the stillness. The best analogy to this experience I can think of is flying in a plane and breaking through the clouds to the clear blue of the sky beyond.
Meditation in the Heart
I have stressed the importance of focusing in the region of the heart, which I call centering, because the heart is the seat of spiritual as well as physical life. We may ordinarily think that focusing implies a narrowing of attention or awareness, but the opposite is true when we center. The heart chakra is capable of almost unlimited expansion; an analogy might be the circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. So focused, we experience a sense of unity with nature and with the universe as a whole. This stretches the aura and breaks down restrictive patterns, and the feeling of unity can sharpen, giving a new dimension to all our relationships.
When people are uncertain about their ability to meditate, I usually give them a visualization exercise to help them get started. For example, I suggest that you first withdraw your energies into the heart, and associate this with a feeling of unity with the timeless self. This inner self should be visualized as a light within your heart, within which you consciously withdraw. Feel a sense of peace, and think of yourself as one with the light. Then, if you have a painful memory that bothers you, recall it and deliberately visualize it as being slightly detached from and in front of you. You should try to see it as being outside yourself. Then visualize rays of light shining out from the center of light within your heart, pouring right through that painful memory until it is dissolved.
Many people have found this exercise has given them a wonderful sense of freedom from their anxieties. Moreover, if you want to help someone who is ill or in distress, it is effective to visualize the person surrounded by this light within the heart, and then reach out to him or her on that level.