This "something" at the centre of our being has many names:
SOUL, DEEP SELF, ESSENTIAL SELF, SPIRITUAL SELF, INNER SELF, TRUE SELF, ESSENCE, WISE & LOVING SELF, NAPHSHA (aramaic), NAPHESH (Hebrew), DUSHA (Russian), DVASA (Lithuanian), AME (French), ALMA, (Spanish)
Applying the Forgiveness Processes and developing our capacity for Unconditional Love and Joy depends absolutely upon acknowledgement of, acceptance of, and identification with, our essential spiritual nature (by whatever name we choose to call it).
Using the Forgiveness Processes is one of the fastest ways that I know for a person to contact this higher part of their nature.
What follows is an attempt to describe in modern terms what is basically indescribable in words, for it is an experience of the invisible and intangible. I am indebted to Edith Stauffer and her book, "Unconditional Love and Forgiveness", and to Dr. Robert Leichtmann's book "Active Meditation".
The Higher Self can be seen as the answer to the question: "Why did my particular characteristics come together at this particular time and place in this particular way?" In this sense, families, groups, towns, cities, nations, etc., can be thought of as having a Higher Self. The Group Higher Self would be related to the collective consciousness, purpose, and potentials of these.
It is the Essence, Heart, Core, Soul, the Life hidden deep within.... It is the invisible, intangible, organising centre of energy, the controlling core, the source of the pattern of potential unfolding in mental and physical development. The inner space-time blue-print, with the knowledge of the whole pattern, and thus of any healing process. The storehouse of our not-yet-conscious potentials and higher qualities awaiting expression in the world. It "breathes" life into us. In fact the lower self could have no separate existence without it. The lower self is a projection, reflection, or partial expression of the Higher Self and Its qualities.
It pressures us to grow. It releases energy and awareness into our consciousness as we are ready for it. It creates energy fields. As the source of healing it works through the mental and emotional natures or "bodies", the etheric or energy body, (the bioenergetic fields of the human being) and the physical body. The ancient teaching that energy flows down from the Higher Self into the body's etheric field and into the seven energy centres of the body known as the chakras, which are located in relation to the endocrine glands, is beginning to be understood now by modern science. The Higher Self creates energy fields - mental, emotional, etheric. These fields reflect the state of mind, emotions, body and attitudes and also communicate with others and mass consciousness; also with the planetary fields - magnetic, electrical, gravitational, lunar, solar, and cosmic.
In some way it already has "knowledge" of the higher universal laws which have always existed but only gradually been released into the awareness of humanity. As we lift our consciousness up to this level we come more into alignment with these laws.
It is the part "that cannot be destroyed". It remains constantly present until withdrawing at physical death. The body may undergo many changes during a lifetime, but the essence does not change.
It is also related to the basic purpose of an individual, city etc. Cities, groups, etc., disband when their purpose is fulfilled. Individuals can get sick or die when the energy of the Higher Self is blocked or withdrawn, - or if they have lost connection with their sense of purpose. The effect is like a disconnection from the Higher Self's life-giving energies. After they have reconnected with their Higher Selves, people often describe a "remembering" or rediscovery of their purpose for living. When we live our lives in accordance with it's will, or plan for us, we "sing the song of the Soul", we cantillate, we live with the maximum love and life energy of which we are capable. We become who we are.
It is a cause, not an effect. It causes effects. We may experience tension when we go against it's plan for us, or against the higher natural laws which at this deep level we do know.
Where is it? Something is centred above the head, but is not visible or tangible to our ordinary perception. Note the frequency with which this idea appears in many cultures with respect to "great" people - haloes, crowns, bishops' mitres, chieftain's expansive headgear. Maoris and other sensitive races have a taboo on being touched on the top of the head. Various martial arts techniques use this knowledge. Its energies flow down, and are subtler than the electromagnetic forces we know of in physics - they may be magneto-electric forces. Dr. Richard Gerber in "Vibrational Medicine" has sought to unify our theories about energy fields and different medical systems.
Modern electronics, laser technology, crystallography, subatomic physics, holography and our knowledge of genetic coding have shown us that vast amounts of information can be stored, transmitted and received in electrical and light patterns of exceedingly small dimensions. Size is not as important as we used to believe. We may not think much about it, but we are in fact quite used to the idea that many vibrational patterns can coexist in the same physical space every time we tune in to a particular radio or T.V. programme.
The Higher Self can also be thought of as our connection with the Source of Life, and somewhat like a transformer, stepping down very high energy to a level we can receive safely.
Note:- Despite the separation we make for the purposes of discussion, there is, in fact, potential continuity of the levels of consciousness. But:
1. The personal self is generally unaware of the Higher Self, even to the point of denying its existence. The Higher Self is latent. It very rarely reveals itself into consciousness directly. I find it easiest to think of it as the Source within a person of life energy, and of the invisible intangible healing blueprint which comes into play whenever healing occurs, which is all the time.
It is also the source of the capacity to express the psychospiritual energies and qualities that we admire - unconditional love, wisdom, inner strength, patience, deep understanding, and so on. Symbolising it in words or other images, as is often done for the purposes of psychosynthesis exercises, reveals that there can be distortions in the way we perceive it. For example, for some people their image of the Higher Self is still contaminated with the idea of a "wrathful God". An unenlightened Self-image can inhibit the expression of the very qualities that we may very much want to express, or even believe we are expressing.
The lower self is not always aware of the Higher Self, due to (i) excessive busy-ness, or (ii) attitudes or actions which shut it off from the Higher Self, and which may lead to disease, decay, loss of vital force. The Higher Self signals to us when we are out of alignment (pain, tension, disease). People always know, deep down inside, if they are not aligned with the laws of life, or not living out their purpose. If the personal self uses its will against the will of the Higher Self, there can be signs of conflict in the conscious mind - promptings, feelings of uneasiness, anxiety, stress, warning dreams, discontent, unrest. If ignored these may lead to illness in body, emotions, mind, or relationships. These messages from the Higher Self can be cut off by drugs, alcohol, excessive busy-ness etc., all of which block off the intuition and premonitions, or other experiences of sensitivity. But the messages still register unconsciously and lead to conflict between the lower self and the Higher Self, which could be called a cleavage in the psyche.
The Higher Self was called the "Wise Doctor Within" by Dr. Albert Schweitzer, and its streams of energy hold the key to all healing.
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It is interesting how the Lithuanian word "dvasa" has a similar meaning to The Higher Self. Lithuanian is a unique language which has survived from the ancient Indo-European root-stock. It is similar to the Aramaic word, which was Naphsha. The Russian word for soul is "dusha", also used for "heart". Aramaic words will be discussed later, for they carry powerful ideas not usual to our modern languages, but extremely useful for understanding the anatomy of Love in action.
The right use of the mind, through what might be called active meditation is the process of contacting the qualities and energies of the Higher Self, our potential, and bringing them into a fuller expression in our daily lives.
A uniting of mind and heart is essential for survival of both humanity and the great wonders of other life forms on this planet.
2. The Self is One. It manifests in different degrees of energy, love, will and qualities. The personal self and the Higher Self have different functions. It is a task for the personal self to become aware of the Higher Self and to learn to cooperate with it, to become a partner with it, and to express its qualities. You will see this in action during the Forgiveness Process.
3. Contact with the Higher Self demonstrates by:-
(a) A growing sense of responsibility and purpose for living.
(b) A willingness to accept responsibility for one's thoughts, choices, and actions.
(c) Making choices that lead to growing wisdom, inner serenity and gratitude.
(d) Gratitude.
(e) Spiritual Will. Goodwill in action.
(f) Joy, Harmony, Unconditional Love and Peace.
(g) Genuine Service.
It can be easier to make contact with your Higher Self in a supportive group energy. It is easier for healing to occur in the heightened energy of a group of soul-infused people. This is why group healing methods will increasingly be used in the future.
First comes the practise of self-respect and self-esteem. Without this, an unenlightened self-image tends to block the gifts of the Higher Self from flowing into the personality, or distorts them.
Self-respect is independent of accomplishments - it is due simply because you are alive, a miracle on earth .
Do you not respect the flowers of nature?
Self-esteem does derive from accomplishments - but usually you do not acknowledge the range of your accomplishments enough to yourself. There have been many times when you have overcome some difficulty - learning to walk and talk was not easy, yet you did it.
There have been many times when you overcame real crises, held your tongue when it might have been easier to blurt out something harmful, or simply held out a helping hand to someone.
It is the little things you have done that need to be recognised as well as the great, and not just those competitive things of which the world approves.
Concentrating on your purpose of bringing the qualities of the Higher Self into daily expression will bring you into contact with your Higher Self. The Self-identification exercise and active meditation outline at the end of this section are very helpful, when repeated over time.
Simple "requests within" - e.g. on rising or before going to sleep, "Teach me to love", or, "Teach me my next step in growth", or, "Help me to get ready for my next step in growth".
Drawn with gratitude from the writings of Dr. Robert Leichtmann, in his book Active Meditation
1. Focus on the purpose in meditation - to contact the life of the Higher Self so as to be nourished by its strength, wisdom, and love; to learn how to serve its purposes better.
2. Relax the personality (body, emotions, mind) to release excess tension and become comfortable focusing our attention on the goals and themes we intend to pursue, to fill our interest.
3. Identify with the Higher Self by thinking about the drill in detachment - the Self-identification exercise - realising that we are something more than and greater than the aspects of the personality. We are an agent of the Higher Self.
4. Attunement - to the love, wisdom, and power of the Higher Self by loving its strength, goodwill, and intelligence, and being thankful for its intimate involvement in our life. We look for some degree of its infinite, benevolent power embracing us and moving through us.
It's rather like learning about electromagnetic phenomena. We build our own TV set, turn it on, and adjust it, and then discover the Higher Self has been broadcasting all the time to us, but we had not been able to receive its input adequately, if at all.
We do not build a set with only one channel - e.g. only the emotions and not the mind. Or emphasise exercise for the body and ignore the emotions and the mind. We take care not to have the substance blurred by dogma or obscure language.
You have to build it yourself - gurus and religious faiths can not guarantee it. The nature of the contact varies - easy or difficult, and will be different for scientific, religious, creative, artistic types.
It is also like learning a new language, for the input from our Higher Self often comes in symbols, and these have to be distinguished from the symbols of our lower unconscious minds and mass consciousness.
The Higher Self and the personality are in different dimensions or worlds. Until contact is made in meditation there is no direct contact between the personality and the Higher Self. The personality thinks, feels, acts in concrete ways; the Higher Self by nature is abstract and free of mundane limitations.
The goal is to integrate the life of the Higher Self with the personality. True meditation transcends the level of contact with the wish life of the subconscious, which can create images which it believes to be the Higher Self.
True contact will be an awareness of a new ability to think more clearly and with greater understanding; to be more forgiving and have better rapport with others; the knowing there is a powerful presence within us - a wonderful source of healing, courage, strength, unconditional love, and new motivation.
This is more than just hopefully contemplating the virtues and wisdom of God; more than just adoring our divine origins; more than just thinking about the Higher Self.
It is to identify primarily with our spiritual nature, and secondarily with the personality.
Not easy. The personality lives in an imperfect world of finite events, concrete themes, and small concerns, frequently hassled and frustrated by human error and pettiness. It lives with constant reminders of its mortality, weakness, and limitations. The Higher Self lives in a realm of universal themes and abstract forces, constantly aware that it is a divine and immortal being with tremendous resources of power, wisdom, talent, strength and dignity..
The subconscious may throw up barriers to self-identification. Why is life unfair to some? Why do so few know about the Higher Self? Why is there so much conflict? Personality may perceive itself as a kind of orphan who becomes suspicious of the parent when it reappears with gifts. "Where were you when I needed you?"
The orphan/parent idea is an illusion - the Higher Self never abandons the personality. Rather we lose our contact with it by identifying with the experiences of life and the innate sensations of the personality. Rediscovery of the Higher Self may go through various stages - e.g. of thinking of it as a year-round Santa Claus with free gifts, or as a wrathful vengeful God keen to punish us. We outgrow these as we realise the Higher Self is a part of us not apart from us. It is a higher octave of our being. We come to see the personality as an agent of the Higher Self, connected with the treasures and noble life of the Higher Self, which enhances its stature and importance in our eyes.
As for a university training, you must be active (study, attend classes, take tests, work diligently, for example). The resources are always there, like the professors, texts, classes, library and more. It is your responsibility to use them to get the education, or it all remains just latent possibility.
Like a mother with her infant, the Higher Self is more concerned for our contact and true welfare than we may be. It does understand us, love us, seek to help and support us.
But we must make a start.
Prepares the household and himself. Cleans the house, showers, dresses for the occasion. Primes his attitudes with enthusiasm. Avoids arguments and irritations with others before the visit. Welcomes. Does not leave to have a nap, nor sit motionless expecting the guest to do all the talking. Does not go into a trance, nor focuses on something other than the guest. He converses, sets at ease, serves their needs.
In meditation we entertain the saintly and angelic nature of our Higher Self - with graciousness. We greet it with charm, dignity, intelligence, good humour, affection.
The good host is receptive, to the benevolence, intelligence and power of the Higher Self. This is not passivity, numbness, parasitism, nor feigning deadness so that spirit can resurrect us. It is not lying in the sun and getting a good tan. It is not tuning into our prejudices, emotions, or just what the body or our feelings tell us. It is the attentiveness of a child to the radiance of goodwill, concern and affection of its parent sharing a story, - the child wants the whole story!
We quieten and relax the body. We focus our emotions in tranquillity and quiet devotion to the life of the Higher Self.
We make the mind receptive, to reflect upon the nature and wisdom of the Higher Self and what this means in terms of our daily activities.
We must put out cleaned "pots and barrels" to collect the "rain" of the outpourings of wisdom, love and inspiration of the Higher Self. We do not want contamination with irrelevant thoughts or prejudices, crabbiness, fear, hostility, resentment, purely personal urges and desires.
We are building vessels to receive new life from heaven. Each person has their own difficulties:-
a. A kind, devotional person will have no difficulty with reverence, but may have trouble preparing his mind to respond to wisdom and intelligence.
b. A passive gentle person will have no trouble with accepting the authority of the Higher Self, but may have trouble harnessing strength, conviction, hope.
c. An intellectual person may easily receive insights and new understanding, but have trouble mobilising the forces of devotion, faith and action.
Find the rhythm of Relaxation, concentration, detachment (self-identification), and attunement.
Beware of emphasising one aspect at the expense of others:-
a. Excessive emphasis on the relaxation stage may prevent going much beyond that stage.
b. Excessive emphasis on concentration may end up concentrating most of the attention upon problems and failures.
Aim for poise. Release tension from the body, Set aside emotional concerns in favour of calmness, Still the concrete mind. The image of a lake settling to calmness (emotions) as the wind drops, and the air becoming still (mind), is helpful to some.
If serious problems are encountered in relaxation, a long-term programme of healing major conflicts, fears, and irritations must be pursued. Individual psychotherapy with a transpersonal or spiritually oriented psychotherapist may be appropriate, if you want to retain the context of spiritual growth for your work - virtually all dis-ease can be seen as being associated with inhibited soul life.
Has always been easy for what we are interested in, so we cultivate interest in this work. If we value the work and goals of the Higher Self more than our worries and irritations, if we value the treasures of heaven more than food, and then it holds our attention easily.
Beware of "addiction to concentration" - labouring to achieve one-pointed concentration on a symbol, object, one's breath, or a mantra repeated over and over. This is not meditation it is boredom! True concentration does not limit us to a single thought. Kinesiological testing often reveals that people are being weakened by a mantram they are using which may not be suitable for them at that time in their lives.
The Higher Self entertains a whole universe of inspiration.
Concentration is best attained by holding certain themes for the meditation. The many details are then held in focus by the theme, and we avoid digressions and irrelevancies.
Warning - over-emphasis upon enforced focusing on a single point or idea undermines the natural capacity of the mind to seize detail and manage thoughts. It is definitely possible to damage the associative mechanism of the mind if doing this too long, - a short term venture into catatonia. Dehumanising and antispiritual because it disconnects the mind from the body and the Higher Self, It is the antithesis of meditation. Being bored with doing this can be a sign of mental health, not a sign of a failure to meditate properly.
This is the most easily misunderstood part of meditation.
Meditation is not to make us indifferent, but to expand our awareness and perspective on life to include more than the mundane.
We cannot learn about divine love and goodwill by teaching ourselves to care less. We cannot learn about intelligence and wisdom by teaching ourselves to think less.
We cannot learn about active steward-ship by cutting our self off from our involvement in life.
We cannot learn about cooperation by isolating ourselves.
Meditation is not trying to escape from the material world. The attitude of escaping from our problems emphasises them all the more, and we can become obsessed with escaping from them and forget that the Higher Self is the source of solutions.
Meditation is not a withdrawal from the personality. The personality is the "child" of the Higher Self, to be valued, not vanquished or neglected.
Meditation is not trying to "space out" in trance and absorption in the bliss of our higher emotions - these are not the true power and support of our higher Self.
Meditation is not a denial of our thoughts, feelings, intentions and actions, good or bad.
"Detachment" means to identify with the Higher Self and our personality's role as its agent in the world. It is to make room in our awareness for the qualities of the Higher Self - love, courage, wisdom, joy, peace, and dignity. It is to be fully conscious that we are in truth spiritual beings having a human experience.
It is to see our attachments for what they are - matters of practicality and convenience for manifesting in the physical plane, not the be all and end all of our existence. The body, emotions, mind, memories and attachments are basically good. But we are more than they.
We are a being of intelligence, will, wisdom, love, and divine origin. We are the Higher Self, and have the power and ability to change our attachments and focus of concern at will, because we are greater than they are. We are to learn to control, direct, and enlighten all these elements of our personality.
We must learn to understand the difference between sensation (personality) and consciousness (Higher Self).
Sensation is the capacity for awareness in the personality. Not just physical senses, but emotional sensitivities, and mental perception mechanisms.
Consciousness is the capacity for knowingness in the Higher Self - our awareness of the intelligence, love and power of God, and our divine origin. E.g. fatigue, irritation, sleepiness are sensations; the knowledge that our work is meaningful and important, which enables us to work and finish in spite of the fatigue, is consciousness at work.
Overemphasis on sensation (physical, emotional, mental) as a means to self-discovery and enlightenment entraps us in the world of the personality, ties us to the robot of our subconscious. "Self-nurturance" and self-indulgence can be confused. The fruits of the latter are seen in our going back into childishness with a weakened ability to act, over-reactiveness and addiction to the physical plane.
Self-denial has other traps, including the loss of love for life, and eventual self-destructive behaviour.
The secret is that there is a difference between who we are and what happens to us, between who we are and what we feel or think from time to time.
We learn to interpret the meaning of our sensations from a higher and more reliable perspective. We learn to act and not just react to our reactions. We learn to direct our body, speech, attention, thoughts, emotions so as to express the best within us.
This is not "going with the flow" and not knowing whither the flow in going. Doing this we can become slaves to subconscious and unconscious impulses.
We transcend sensation to identify with the qualities of consciousness of the Higher Self. We are designed to exert dominion over our personality; the Higher Self stands ready to add wisdom, discipline, goodwill, joy, harmony, and strength to our life expression. The implications of this idea are immense and worth exploration in depth.
The end result of true detachment and self-identification is a well-balanced personality which effortlessly and fully expresses the qualities of the inner self in daily life - the qualities of joy, love, wisdom, strength, courage, and steadfastness. It corrects the weaknesses in our personality with intelligence and compassion. It frees us from fears, worries, doubts, frustrations which subvert our attempts at personal growth. It enables us to work in a state of relative objectivity and create changes which are truly improvements" .
Attunement only comes after relaxation, concentration, and detachment, lest we attune to our fears, worries, or wish life.
It is linking our strength to the power of the Higher Self, our emotions to the love and goodwill of the Higher Self, our mind to the wisdom of the Higher Self.
We magnetise our awareness to these by loving.
1. By loving the strength, power and authority of the Higher Self and its capacity to support us, guide us, heal our weaknesses, and enrich us with strength. Rather than fear it, we are grateful for it and reverent towards it.
2. By loving its benevolence and affection, rejoicing in its capacity to care for us, teach us, enlighten us. We release feelings of unworthiness of this love, for that would diminish our receptivity. Rather we sense the loving response of the Higher Self and increase our love and devotion for it.
3. By loving its intelligence and knowledge. It has vast resources of understanding, and the capacity of our own talents, skills and comprehension to grow in its loving aura of wisdom.
As we do this, we begin to experience that there is something there, loving us in return; there truly does exist a great, benevolent intelligence within us, embracing us, helping us, nourishing our ideals and plans, healing our weaknesses and flaws.
Be active in this - you cannot get the programme without turning on and tuning in! The earth's magnetic field only helps you find your way if you use your compass. It is the responsibility of the personality to attune itself to the inner dimensions. The resources of the university do not just descend upon your home and intrude upon you, you must sign on , go there, and apply yourself to the tasks of learning.
Working with abstractions and subtleties is facilitated by using symbols - but do not confuse the symbols for the qualities and forces they are used to represent, and which are to be applied in daily life.
Useful examples include:-
1. The Ideal Parent,
2. The Wise Person within,
3. Our true Essence as being a single, perfect idea in the mind of God or the universal life force, energised by the life force of the transcendent dimensions of life to vivify the personality and the body.
4. Our self as being bathed in a light which emanates from and incorporates the qualities and forces of the Higher Self's love, wisdom, and power.
The symbols give the subconscious a theme it can relate to, but they are effective only if we concentrate on the love, the force, or the awareness which is associated with the picture. The Higher Self is not a picture, it is alive and dynamic, actively nourishing us with vitality, inspiration, love. It becomes "visible" by "seeing" what its qualities are and expressing them, so that they show through; it becomes "tangible" by recognising what has been touched by its qualities, and by doing. We can sense them in ourselves and others when we attune to them.
All the following are indicators which are phenomena of the personality only:-
a. Depth of relaxation.
b. Seeing white light - or any colour.
c. Changes in body temperature.
d. Alterations in states of consciousness whatever they might be.
e. Sudden changes in feeling.
f. A feeling of peace or bliss.
Genuine meditation can occur without immediate sign of change. It is only as our efforts to meditate build up that we may notice subtle important changes in our outlook or comprehension. Its first effects may be in our unconscious and deep subconscious.
The best evidence is the growing realisation that we are indeed loved and understood by a great, benevolent intelligence, which has been in and around us and continues to be there, every time we reach out and contact it. The subtle presence becomes real. An intimate experience beyond words and descriptions. An inner knowing which comes by degrees, slowly building, sometimes fading temporarily.
As it builds, we identify more and more completely with the Higher Self, and express its qualities in daily life.
Close eyes, and relax the physical body; be aware of your breathing calming, becoming deeper and more regular. Allow gratitude to enter - that life is breathing us all and causing our hearts to beat, and for the opportunities to grow in consciousness that life offers us all. Calm the emotions, setting aside concerns for this time, and still the concrete mind.
Raise your consciousness upward to contact the Higher Self. The themes of the Self-Identification Exercise can assist this.
This version is a synthesis from many sources. It can be used on its own. It can be used as a preliminary centring exercise before meditation. After you have become familiar with the principles underlying it you can shorten it, simply recalling it will have a momentum that helps to restore your awareness to your own central Self.
The regular use of the above exercise will be followed by an increasing sense of centredness.
Next, and giving it enough time, practise self-respect, self-esteem and self-appreciation for a moment to maintain an enlightened self-image to host your Higher Self.
Choose a theme, goal, or quality of the Higher Self, - such as Goodwill, or Unconditional Love, or Forgiveness, for example*.
Concentrate on this quality for 2-3 minutes, seeing the value of this quality, and of its being expressed in your life, and in the world generally. (e.g. at different "levels" - goodwill, good will, and the Will-to-Good).
Discontinue the reflective thoughts, and reaching further towards the Higher Self, hold the thoughts or ideas that came to you in stage 2, open to, or "in the light of", the Higher Self.
Imagine the seed thought or idea ("thought child") like a vessel to be filled with the light, love, and power to act and grow of the Higher Self, for 1-2 minutes.
With the seed thoughts and ideas you received in stages 2 & 3, and from the quality of the Higher Self you chose, see that quality as a creative energy and force.
Imagine this force changing something about yourself in your life that you want to improve, or contributing in some way to some world situation - impersonally, omitting personal judgments about the participants and your personally desired outcome.
Experience this energy in yourself - draw it down into your body, your feeling nature, your memories and thought patterns, as fully as possible.
Using visualisation and your creative imagination, create positive, active pictures of this in action and of the benefits occurring. Overflow the quality into your own actions, or, if meditating to help others, to all those involved in the situations you have chosen. (i.e. to all parties or to all people with this particular disease or problem). This is protective, for it helps to keep it impersonal. Do this for several minutes.
Let all the images go.
You may want to make a will statement about your personal intentions/goals arising out of your experience with the meditation - e.g. "I will to ......... ......... comfortably. " , or, "May .......(goodwill)........ be the keynote of my life this day (week, year, etc.)".
Always include the idea that you will do this comfortably, without any unnecessary stress.
Become aware of your breathing and of the room. Open your eyes when ready, refreshed and alert, able to carry and express the quality in daily life.
In the beginning, limit meditation to 10-15 minutes, If you become overstimulated during or after meditations, discontinue for a few days, and use a shorter period when you begin again. Short regular meditations are more effective and safer than infrequent, long ones
.There are six other extremely sound meditation outlines in the book "Active Meditation" and much information about how to meditate wisely.
Follow up. Record in your journal the effects of this in your life over a 6-12 month period. The process may not be immune from "crisis", or change!
Link here to go on to: Psychological Laws
Link here to return to Forgiveness Programme - Contents
The Need for forgiveness and the Purpose of using a Forgiveness Process
Demythologising forgiveness - truths and untruths
Getting your Forgiveness Agenda
Emotional Health - Feelings & befriending the so-called negative emotions
Higher Self and some thoughts on Meditation
Patterns of Unconditional Love in Action - The Goodwill Patterns