Simple Meditation
by Guy Spiro

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There are many forms and practices of meditation. They all have their uses and benefits. Here is a simple but profound technique that is, in my opinion, very close to the essence.

Humanity was first attracted to the physical plane for its density. What we experience at this level of vibration seems so real. The illusion of solidity is much stronger than at higher rates and what occurs is visceral. It is said that the physical plane is Maya, illusion, and that is so. The physical is a dream plane just like any other. But when you stub your toe, it freakin’ hurts, and when you feel pleasure, you feel it so intensely. At higher rates of vibration many wonderful things exist and can be experienced, but the density is lacking and the sense of reality that the physical imposes is not there.

Our problem is that the physical is so dense and seems so real as to block out the higher realms. What occurs, then, is that we forget that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience. We fall into thinking that we’re from here with some possibility getting there, when the reverse is true. The physical body which vibrates to physical sensation, the emotional body which vibrates when we feel emotion, and the mental body which vibrates when we encounter thought become who we think we are. We forget that we are the spirit experiencing the physical through these bodies. This is the fall spoken of in many traditions.

This simple meditation technique reawakens us to who and what we really are. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. Relax the body and observe your breath as it goes in and out. After a time, begin to observe your thoughts and emotions as they come and go. Just observe. Do not judge, change, or try to stop them. The first realization that occurs is that if you are observing these thoughts and emotions, then you are not your thoughts and emotions. This is a very important development. The mass of humanity thinks that they are their minds, that what goes on in their minds is who they are. This is at the root of most of our problems. But if you can observe the thoughts in your mind, then you are not those thoughts. If you can observe the mind, then you are not that mind.

Now find a moment of silence. Some can more easily than others will the mind to silence, but anyone can find a moment of silence between thoughts. Expand these moments of silence from one second to several. What we find when there is a moment of silence is that awareness remains. The awareness that resides in the silence, above or behind the mind, is who we really are. This is the first great initiation. Build on it and you will open to all of existence as a flower opens to the sun.

Some will tell you that you must sit for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, and a formal meditation practice is a fine thing. But the silent meditation so briefly described above can be practiced almost all the time. You can practice the silence during most any activity and you will find that it will enhance the experience. Call it no-mind, mindfulness or any other name and it remains the same. The still small voice, the I AM, inspiration, all come from this same place and we can learn to live in it. When Jesus said pray without ceasing, it was staying in this awareness that he was speaking of.