One Spirit MinistriesChange Your Thinking, Change Your Life! |  |
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Tools and procedures common to all the yogic paths include mind-body purification (exercise, yoga, and diet), Pranayama, prayer, mantra, and meditation. Find out more about these tools and techniques. Please a selection:
LIST OF HEALING TOOLS & TECHNIQUES: There are a diversity of healing modalities at the physical, mental, emotional and/or spiritual levels. There are innovative psychotherapies incorporating the Psychoanalytic, Jungian, Adlerian, Person-Centered, Existential, Gestalt, Rational-Emotive, Transactional Analysis, Gestalt, Behavioral, Ericksonian, and Reality principles and techniques, resulting in an endless list of traditional and creative tools and techniques, crossing cultural bounds, which can be used on an individual or group basis: Meditation, Hypnotherapy, Self-Hypnosis/Auto-suggestion, Age Regression, Past Life Regression, Affirmations, Creative/Guided Visualizations, Pranayama, Prayer, Muscle Relaxation, Cognitive Desensitization, Flooding, Implosion, Focusing, Role Playing, Psychodramas, Fantasy, Fairy Tale Writing, Journal/Letter Writing, Dialoging, Rebirthing, Touch, Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), One-Brain, Acupressure, Acupuncture, Chakra Healing, Shiatzu, Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, Herbal, Chinese, Ayurvedic Medicine, Macrobiotics, Yoga, Polarity Therapy, Co-Counseling, Dream Analysis, Astrology, Tarot, Numerology, Reflexology, Creative Dance, Sufi Dancing, Creative Drawin, Chanting, Music, Herbal Healing, Medicine Wheel, Play and Humor (fun), Reframing, Modeling, Mindfulness, Confrontation, Gestalt Therapy, Crystal Healing, Hakomi Therapy, Biofeedback, Body Centered Therapy, etc. Addressing all of the above techniques warrants another book or ten. However, a sampling of a few techniques, to include meditation, past-life regression, and co-counseling is presented below. (Note anything that leads to an altered state of consciousness (e.g. meditation, dream analysis, age regression, creative visualizations, etc.) is considered a form of hypnotherapy). A few techniques that you can use on your own or with another follow. MEDITATION: Meditation is a state of higher consciousness or awareness that is very peaceful, joyful and enlightening. In meditation, the mind is stilled or silent in the presence of awareness, allowing new insights, knowledge, and wisdom to be realized or experienced. The relationship of Self to the universe, cosmos and higher forces are understood, not necessarily through thought forms or visualizations, but through actual experience or awareness. Meditation enhances personal activity and effectiveness in the physical world; it eliminates mental obstacles and misconceptions which hinder functioning. The process of meditation, when carried into daily life, teaches us how not to be attached, absorbed or distracted in thoughts or objects. This keeps us from forgetting our essential nature. In meditation, we learn to let go of our thoughts and attachments, as we ascend to higher plains of consciousness. Meditation is used for a variety of reasons: for mental clarity, to reduce stress, to lower vital signs (blood pressure, pulse), to eliminate insomnia, to improve creativity, to expand awareness, and for spiritual realization, and so on. Meditation is a state of mind described as 1) a stilling of the body and mind, but in a state of expanded consciousness or 2) "an appointment with yourself". By this we mean that its an experience or state of being, and as such, it cannot be described, but must be experienced. As a quick experiment, try to clear the mind of thoughts, making the mind silent and empty. Observe what happens. Unless you have been practicing meditation for years and have obtained centeredness and clarity, you most likely experienced the "monkey mind", filled with a steady flow of thoughts and images. In the experiment, you became a witness to your thoughts. Many ask what the difference is between concentration, contemplation, sleeping, and meditation? In concentration, your thoughts are focused or centered on one object or subject; in contemplation, you examine a particular object or subject; in sleeping you either enter the dreaming state or deep sleep; in meditation, you enter your alpha state where your conscious mind is awake in the presence of an opened subconscious mind. The state called consciousness is a subjective experience which we can contemplate. For example - "The conscious, subconscious, and super conscious mind are psychological terms used to visualize and capture the different depths and functions of consciousness. There are also different states of consciousness: awake, dreaming, sleeping, and turiya (merging with pure consciousness)." The foregoing has been a demonstration of "contemplation". As a collective mind, we just contemplated the notion of "consciousness". There are are different types of meditations. We can meditate on thought (impression, image, emotion), speech, action, or object. We can place the types into two basic categories: External and Internal: External meditation: focuses on an external object (candle, picture, figure) or action (gardening, dancing, chanting) or body (breadth). Internal Meditation focuses on the mind (bubble, self-inquiry, mantra, images/visualizations). Regardless of the type or category, the key is to LET GO OF THOUGHTS. Don't dwell on thoughts; dwelling empowers thoughts. Instead, recognize the thought as "thinking" and simply return to your meditation (e.g. counting breaths). Never get angry with yourself for having thoughts or having difficulty letting go of the thoughts. Getting angry at yourself is like fighting yourself; how can you win? A regime to promote your meditation follows:
By self-discipline, we mean giving up our dependencies and addictions, freeing ourselves from the demands of the senses and habits. It does not mean giving up material possessions or self-denial. Useless talking, reading bad literature, indulging in meaningless conversation, watching excessive TV, thinking about irrelevant matters, excessive eating, etc. are examples of behaviors to be curtailed. By self-study, we are referring to self-awareness and objectivity in the way things affect us in our daily life. By self-study, we learn to observe ourselves and see how we are tossed about by our own thoughts and desires, and how we ordinarily react to external situations. We gradually learn to become less identified with thoughts, desires, and external forms, and realize our true nature which is behind our major life dramas. By surrender and devotion, we mean surrendering preoccupation with self, our insecurities or worries, ideas and desires which create a false sense that we are basically separate from others and alone. Through surrender of this self-centered ego to higher consciousness, we re-establish awareness of our intimate relation to all creation and higher consciousness. Other powerful aids facilitating meditation include diet, mantras, breathing, prayer, and silence. Diet: Yoga classification provides three categories of food which are described below in ascending order of preference:
MANTRA: Mantra, which are chanted (mentally or verbally) before prayer or meditation, are vibrations/sounds which are experienced in higher states of consciousness that are also evident in nature. "AUM", "OM", "AMEN" are examples of mantra which reflect a curved vibration or logarithmic spiral that occurs repeatedly in nature. It is found in outer space, in the design of spider webs, in conch shells, in the sound of waves, in the design of seeds, in the roar of the ocean, etc. For example, the conch shell forms the same curve as a wave just before it breaks and if we put our ear to the shell, we can hear the sound of the ocean. These natural sounds, at the physical level, are approximations of the vibration "AUM", which is considered the seed sound of creation, or the source word containing all sounds or vibrations. Interestingly enough, the Bible refers to this sound as the "Word": "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with The Great Spirit, and the word was The Great Spirit". Mantra cannot just be taken from a book and used by the initiate meditator. Mantra represent various aspects of different kinds of enlightened states which are preliminary to the ultimate state of total unification with The Great Spirit. They must be gained experientially from the higher consciousness or given by a meditation teacher (e.g. swami, guru, yogi) who has been directed by higher consciousness to bestow a particular mantra to you based on your personality, circumstances, or needs much in the way that a doctor prescribes medicine. Each mantra is a seed that is actually planted inside of you; each time the mantra is remembered, it has powerful effects on the unconscious mind, giving guidance, joy, direction, and purpose. PRANAYAMA: Breathing is the link between us and the environment. When we die, it is the last function to cease. Breath is a nurturing life force; without breath there is no life. Inhalation provides life force nourishment and lung expansion, while exhalation removes toxins. By focusing on breathing, we become subtly aware of this connection between "I" and nurturing life. In time the distinction dissolves, while the body is simultaneously energized and relaxed. PRAYER: Prayer, as a psychological tool, develops our consciousness and personality by a) changing consciousness or attitudes through self-surrender and b) giving as opposed to actually receiving something from a higher force. Observe some of the prayers used by spiritual leaders or saints. For example, "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love.... where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy" or "Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console... to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love..." In prayer, we ask to be better instruments of the Lord in serving others, in transforming our personality to a higher level of consciousness with such dominant qualities as love, joy, understanding, giving, forgiving, compassion, etc. Through repetition of prayer, these attributes or attitude changes actually manifest as we become humble, calmed, and centered. We might look at prayers as invocations, bringing higher consciousness down into our present state of consciousness; whereas, meditation is a convocation, raising consciousness up to a higher level of consciousness. SILENCE: The practice of silence conserves energy and develops one's consciousness; it eliminates speech as a defense mechanism; it provides a space for the stillness of a restless mind; and it enhances self-awareness. Through the practice of silence, many find more spontaneous and direct means of sharing with others. "Come share the silence; practice it for the day." SAMADHI: Earth school gives us the opportunity to observe through our experiences that happiness is temporary and illusory when sought through external objects or activities because the source of happiness does not reside in objects themselves, but in a "state of mind" attained, independent of the objects, known as Samadhi. SAMYAMA: There is a strong resemblance between ancient Hindu Sanskrit cosmology (3,000 to 6,000 B.C.) and the theories of modern atomic physics. Similarities in other bodies of knowledge also exist. How did the ancient Hindu's develop such accurate knowledge without modern scientific techniques? According to the Sanskrit scriptures, this knowledge in which the nature of an object is known was developed through the three-fold process of samyama which is comprised of concentration, meditation, and absorption (lower samadhi). This process was developed by the ancients as a technique or tool in attaining the highest state of samadhi (nirvikalpa). However, psychic or occult powers (siddhas) result as side-effects to practicing samyama. For example, by making samyama on the sun, one gains knowledge of the cosmic spaces; by making samyama on the moon, one gains knowledge of the arrangement of the stars. Similarly, by making samyama on friendliness or compassion, one develops the powers of these qualities. Some other types of samyama follow: It is said, by making samyama on:
All the powers of knowledge may also come to us if our mind is spontaneously enlightened through purity without making samyama. However, practice of these powers distracts us from the ultimate objective, namely, reaching the highest state of samadhi. Therefore, be forewarned that psychic powers (siddhis) are in actuality obstacles to attaining the highest state of samadhi. In the Vedic tradition, the Mahavakyas (Great Sayings or Mantra), stated below, are prescribed to meditate on. MAHAVAKYAS (Four Great Sentences):
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