Light Meditation
Lesson of Light Meditation by Master Sifo-Dyas
Meditation is as essential to the Jedi as breathing. In fact, it is one and the same. The ability to draw breath and expel it is in its essence a very powerful meditation. Meditation can help you reach inner quiet, and in that quiet you can calm your spirit and open the lines of effective communication with your subconscious. I will discuss in full how a Jedi should meditate and how this is effective.
First of all, meditation may seem too structured at first for you to reach perfect stillness. This is true when trying anything new for the first time. It is when meditation becomes second nature and more of a ritual for you that you will discover the depths to which it can take you, and how effective it is to reach the Force.
A special meditation place could be helpful, but it is not required. Preferably meditate in a quiet, comfortable place with plenty of space so as not to make you feel hemmed in or claustrophobic. A straw mat, a comfortable wood bench, in the middle of a park or in the woods or any area where you can find momentary solitude is ideal. Many people find that a meditation spot near a running brook or waterfall carries their minds better into meditation. Indeed, certain of nature's own noises can be soothing. Just be sure that you will not be interrupted for a while. Eventually you will find it easier to meditate anywhere, at anytime.
Meditation should be open-ended yet a good standard for the length of it is about fifteen to twenty minutes. Do not keep checking your watch. Let your inner chronometer, or time-sense, guide you and tell you when it is time to come out of meditation. You must remain flexible to truly experience the moment of self-introspection and enlightenment, and when you become used to meditation you will miss it in your life if you stop doing it on a regular basis.
You must be mindful of your posture before entering meditation. It is best if this posture is not changed during your meditation but that you remain still. Some Jedi prefer to lie down, although some people may find this makes them more prone to sleep. You may also sit or even sit on the ground in a crossed-legged position. However you decide to position yourself, make sure that it is entirely comfortable so that you do not develop a cramp in your body. Make sure also that your spine is erect, so that all your aura's channels are open and streamlined for the Force to move through you.
Lesson: Light Meditation
The first thing you must be concerned with before entering meditation is one that will become commonplace to all Jedi arts -- although when you first start it might seem silly or difficult to do. Concern yourself with your protection while in your deeper level of consciousness. Slap the floor or ground three times with your left hand (or whichever hand you do not write with; if you are ambidextrous use your left). Then raise your left hand into the air with one finger pointing upward. Imagine that your slaps have awakened or stirred the Force surrounding you, and imagine its Light now entering your fingertip. Technically, you can also use a stick or staff instead of a finger.
Now make a circle of this Light around you on the ground. Imagine it drawing a perfect circle of white or blue Light that surrounds you. Imagine as you close this circle and you say, "May the Force be with me," that the Light expands and forms a perfect sphere around you. This bubble of Force power will protect you from serious damage from ill-intended fluxes of energy or the Dark Side of the Force. It should also help protect your meditation from becoming interrupted by outside mundane forces.
Finishing this, calm yourself with full measured breaths, breathing in and out. With each breath in imagine you taking in the cleansing power of the Force. With each breath out imagine the Force removing the toxins and harmful energies that have resided within your aura. If you are lying down with your back erect, imagine with each breath out an exit point in your navel that all these negative energies are being "sucked out". Your deep breaths will help to calm the mind, so you can reach a perfect state of self-realization.
Do these for a short while and then count slowly backward from fifteen to one. This allows your brain waves to become steadily calmer as well. The alteration of your state of consciousness is normal and healthy. Done wisely, it can bring you to great inner peace and prepare you for Jedi Arts.
Scientific labs using an EEG (electroencephalograph) machine study most of the time brain wave patterns. An EEG reads and prints out the brain cycles used per second. In Beta State, the brain uses an average of 15 to 18 cycles per second. The Beta State involves normal wakefulness, study, and talking. This is your mundane consciousness.
The alpha state is your deeper level of consciousness. It involves meditation, daydreaming, focused Jedi concentration, taking a catnap, or watching television. As of right now, as your eyes scan this page, you are in upper alpha state. Deeper alpha state is necessary for meditation. The alpha state takes an average 8 to 12 brain cycles per second.
The Theta State is the next deep state of consciousness. It is useful for deep meditation, deep sleeping, light unconsciousness, and astral projection. It involves 4 to 6 brain cycles per second. The meditation ritual discussed here will take you to the alpha state, but with more practice and Jedi focus you will reach the Theta State and back with no problem.
The lowest state of consciousness is called the delta, which uses 0.5 to 2.5 brain cycles per second. This is comatose or deeply unconscious state, near death. It is also when a patient is lying sedated under anesthesia before surgery. You do not want to reach the Delta State during any pathworking. It is not natural.
You are supposed to reach the Alpha/Theta State through calming meditation, and you must be closer to the Alpha/Theta State before you can affect the Force or meditate correctly. This transition in brain wave pattern is natural and should occur without you forcing it. Let it happen, and it will.
Once you feel that you are in a trance, it is time to enter your heart, the core of your inner being, and this is the doorway to further enlightenment. It is also the safest place to be to feel serenity. When times are troubled, this is the best place to retreat.
Imagine something beautiful, imagine someone you love or who has loved you. Do not let anything negative in your thoughts and keep those thoughts pure. Now imagine the Force running up from the ground beneath you, from the Earth herself, and imagine its light carrying through your body. Leg, torso, arms, neck, and head, following the path of your spine. If it is difficult for you to tap this energy yet, imagine that you are a tree. Feel your roots dig deep into the earth beneath you, expanding until they tap a nutritious vein. Let your roots drink deep and now feel this energy carry up your trunk and stretch your arms high, imagining they are tree branches and any hair you have is a mass of leaves. I know some people that have practiced this so long with great effect they merely have to say, "Roots down, branches up," and carry on as normal.
For now let the energy center on your heart. Imagine your heart beating, teasing and enticing the Light to enter it. Let all the Light you can enter your heart and feel it grow and beat slower, more measured and powerfully. This state should feel you with calm and meaningfulness. The Force you should realize is not alien to you but a natural part of yourself that you have forgotten and blocked for many years. Let it become one within you.
Once you have reached this state and let the Force move through you and fill your heart ask to know the will of the Force. Do not expect an answer. This question should be silent and undemanding. If you are meant to or have a close connection with the Force you might get an answer, but do not expect that answer or if it comes expect it to make sense to you at the time. Visions have a funny way about them that defies conscious reason. If you bend a vision with reason then it is like untempered steel, it might break. Whether you receive a vision or not, thank the Force for being within you.
Focus on your breathing again and measure it. Imagine again you breathing the Light of the Force. Count from one to fifteen slowly, rising yourself out of your Alpha/Theta State. Do not rush up, or like a scuba diver you could get the "bends". Come up slowly. The counting, reverse from how you entered the state, should help you. Then open your eyes. It is sometimes helpful to stretch out your arms or legs, or if you were lying down, both. Imagine the Force easing from your muscles and entering your area as you stretch. Flex your body and make a small affirmation, "May the Force stay with me."
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