| Will Meditation Get You There?
by Jennifer Palmquist and Dan Cohen Question: Where? Response: A friend of mine has an out-of-body experience when he meditates. Is that where? Question: Not for me. Response: I saw an advertisement in last month's issue of The EDGE on "How to Meditate Deeper Than a Zen Monk!" How deep does a Zen Monk meditate? For that matter, how much wood can a woodchuck chuck? Question: Where have you been? Meditation has become respectable. I even attended a medical conference last year and the catch phrase was "Meditate, not medicate!" Response: Next you'll be telling me that the execs at the pharmaceutical companies are all meditating to combat their stress from reduced sales of antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs. Question: I wouldn't go that far, but meditation has become a commonplace spiritual practice. Response: Why, to what end? Question: It's a quest for unity consciousness. Response: Wow, you're kidding right? Question: Well you don't get there all at once. It's a matter of practice. Response: How much practice? Question: Thirty minutes to an hour a day typically. Response: Do the people who meditate an hour a day get there in half the time? Question: I think there's more to it than that. Response: Like some angel dust when you're riding the 7th ray. Question: Ok, I've got you pegged now -- Age of Aquarius -- you're stuck in the ‘70s aren't you. Response: I'm sure parts of me are stuck in the ‘50s when I was a kid and the majority of my Basic Rights violations took place. Question: What are you talking about? Response: I'm sorry, but talking to me about unity consciousness is like explaining nuclear fusion to a cave man. Like most people much of my functioning occurs at a subconscious level. I'm still at the point where I need to become consciously aware of my old beliefs and coping strategies that cause me to replay my old tapes when I get triggered. I've got to deal with that before unity consciousness appears on the horizon. Question: Maybe meditation will help. Why don't you consider it? Response: I do meditate, a lot. Question: Really. To what end? Response: Meditation helps me recognize my soul, my connection to All That Is. The meditation technique that I use facilitates learning what it feels like to have your soul engaged or grounded in the physical. The soul is perceivable with our physical senses -- it can be experienced directly. Meditation is a quiet, "safe place" for the personality and soul to experiment and allow this process to unfold at its own pace. However, even though we each have an everlasting, evolving soul, our personality has free will. Therefore, only to the extent that the personality is willing to allow it, can the soul more directly manifest in life. Question: How do you know when your soul is manifesting in your life? Response: Meditation is a spiritual practice because it allows you to practice being spiritual. Once you become more adept at experiencing this feeling during meditation you are able to practice it in life, outside of meditation. When you know what it feels like to have your soul engaged more fully in the physical, then you can begin to appreciate the difference in how you think, behave and feel when your soul is more versus less engaged. Question: How does that benefit you? Response: When your soul is more engaged you think, feel and act differently. You have less fear and a greater capacity to perceive yourself, others and events in your life with less partiality and greater equanimity and compassion. This helps us become more connected to all living things including Earth and All That Is. Greater connectedness provides a broader perspective and a greater likelihood to perceive what is true, even about yourself. As a result, you are more open to evolve as a spiritual being, beyond your subconscious processes. Question: It sounds like meditation will get you there. Response: Not on its own in any reasonable timeframe. Even though meditation can help you engage your soul, if you are too resistant to delve into your subconscious mind then you will have difficulty engaging your soul to a meaningful degree. The process is like a spiral. The more you're willing to deal with your subconscious processes, the greater you can engage your soul, which then enables you to better understand your subconscious processes, have less fear of them and then engage your soul to a greater extent and on and on. Question: Then will an unwillingness to face your subconscious fears impair your ability to go "deep" in meditation? Response: Does a woodchuck chuck wood? Question: Why? Response: If you fear what you are not conscious of then your ability to expand your conscious awareness will be limited. Question: But I'm interested in getting to know my soul not my subconscious. Response: Are you consciously aware of your soul? Question: No. Response: Then you must expand your conscious awareness to become aware. Question: So? Response: If you're unwilling to become consciously aware of your subconscious because of your painful beliefs and coping strategies, then you will resist expanding your conscious awareness. Question: What if I don't expand my conscious awareness? Response: Then meditation will get you there. Question: Where? Response: However deep you are willing to go. Jennifer Palmquist and Dan Cohen have created and teach Conscious Unfoldment™, a course designed to increase conscious awareness. It is for those individuals that are ready to better understand and accomplish their life's purpose and for those who wish to be trained as facilitators. Jen and Dan can be reached at (952) 943-4010 or send an email to dcohen@cns.com. Copyright (c) 2003 Jennifer Palmquist and Dan Cohen |
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