The
differences between meditation, contemplation and Pathworking
By Aurora
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An
enormous range of stilling, centring and explorative exercises
can be found under the blanket banner of ‘meditation’, however
it’s quite important to recognise that they’re not all the same,
and that they can all bring very different results. This is a
huge subject and in this basic introduction for readers who may
not have explored meditation in depth, or who may be a little
confused, we’re going to be looking at the differences between a
few separate techniques, how they can benefit you, and how you
can smoothly incorporate them into your life whatever your faith
background.
There are three main themes in this article, and these are
meditation, contemplation and Pathworking. They are all
significantly different from each other.
What is meditation?
Meditation can be defined as a controlled and active, perfectly
focused state of mind while experiencing profound physical
relaxation. However, this doesn’t mean that you necessarily have
to be sitting still or lying down, because once you feel
comfortable with the technique you’ll be able to enter a
meditative state in many safe situations, such as riding on the
bus, doing housework, or mowing the lawn. ‘Walking meditation’
is a very effective technique for clearing your head and
de-stressing yourself. But obviously it would be irresponsible
to try to meditate while driving, or when you need to be
attentive!
What is contemplation?
By contrast, contemplation is a completely passive state. It is
the practice of emptying the mind and waiting in silence for it
to be filled with the Divine presence, or with Light, gnosis or
wisdom from the collective consciousness, or with a message from
your immaterial guide or Master, depending on your belief
system. In contemplation we learn to completely surrender our
‘Self’ in a very holistic way, and this can only be done in a
secure private environment, because the technique requires a
very deep state of consciousness.
What is Pathworking?
Pathworking is a method used mainly as an explorative tool,
usually practised to either help us to understand ourselves
better, to gain an insight into our nature, and to go on
spiritual journeys. We can use Pathworking to discover our
spirit animal and our immaterial Master, we can discover our
true inner being, and we can use it to help heal painful past
experiences that are locked within us. In this article you’ll be
able to read examples from these three themes, and how to use
them for yourself.
Meditation in practice
If you’ve never seriously tried to meditate, even though you
like the idea, you’re probably placing barriers in front of
yourself, such as believing you don’t have enough undisturbed
time to relax, or you have trouble ‘switching off’. Bear in mind
that your practice is progressive and developed in small steps.
Simple meditation can be achieved during any time in the day
when you’re not actively occupied. When you properly take stock
of your day, you’ll find many more of these periods than you had
realised before. Absolutely nobody is 100% active for the whole
day. Even five minutes will have a great cumulative benefit, and
will help you to cope better.
An effective technique is to sit comfortably, close your eyes,
and focus every morsel of your attention on the breath as it
moves in and out past your nostrils. The aim is to place ALL of
your concentration here, rather than thinking about your
worries, or paying attention to surrounding distractions. After
a few rounds, change your focus to feeling the breath moving
past your throat. Really try to feel the air moving in and out.
Then follow the same process for the upper chest and feel the
breath in your lungs. Then follow this process for the lower
chest lungs. And finally, follow the path of each breath in and
out, from top to bottom. By this time you should be feeling much
more relaxed.
At this point you may have to stop and get on with your day, but
if not, then take things a stage further and occupy your mind by
focusing on gently repeating an inner affirmation, such as, "I
am calm and able", allowing your consciousness to absorb the
phrase. Alternatively, repeat a single word, such as "positive",
and focus on the real true meaning of its essence, absorbing it,
and playing with it in your mind, making it grow and become
real. After you have experienced success with these simple
techniques, you’ll feel more confident to explore meditation
further and for longer periods. Many Buddhist temples offer free
space, classes, or groups in which you can develop your
practice, and many people find these very useful whatever their
faith.
Contemplation in practice
Contemplation is for most people more difficult to achieve than
meditation, and most people decide to try and explore it after
they’ve already had some experience of relaxation and stilling
techniques. However, if your personal aim is to create a deeper
relationship within yourself with the Supreme Being, or the
Light, then you may feel the need to begin working with this
technique.
This is a very deep form of altered consciousness, and it helps
if you are guided by a more experienced person, or are otherwise
mentally prepared for what may be an unusual experience for you.
One thing of great importance is that you MUST be in a safe
environment where no harm is going to come to you when you
detach your consciousness from our reality. For example, it’s
not a good idea to contemplate in a busy rail station late at
night, where you may find yourself in danger from mugging. It’s
also vital to incorporate early into your routine the firm idea
that no sudden noise will distract you, otherwise the doorbell
buzzing will make you leap out of your skin and could possibly
even cause you serious physical damage. You should also
incorporate that if an emergency occurs you will immediately
gently awaken and handle it perfectly. All of these things are
vital for your physical safety, and are important factors that
allow your subconsciousness to ‘let go’.
Contemplation is a complete emptying of your Self, and a silent
waiting for the Divine presence, or Light, to fill you.
Therefore, as a beginner it’s useful to start with a general
relaxation and stilling/centring technique, after which you can
begin the process of ‘emptying’, which is a practice that
progresses slowly for most people, and is a great challenge.
Feel well if you manage just a few seconds during each session
when you first begin. After some time, you will manage far
longer and more successful periods. It assists many students as
they enter the ‘waiting’ for them to literally imagine, feel,
and believe that their skull case is an empty vessel (a vase, a
pot, a sphere) that is filled with indigo. Do not think. Do not
use words. Detach your Self. Rest within the safe secure comfort
of the indigo. Feel the Light around you, penetrating your every
cell and atom. Lose your Self. There is only the Light. These
are the first basic steps in this very deep and profound
technique. Try these beginnings and see where they take you. You
may be astounded and thrilled, and drawn to explore
contemplation further. Traditionally this has been a Christian
mystical practice, and many retreat houses and
convents/monasteries offer interfaith or non-denominational
holidays where you can deepen your techniques.
Pathworking in practice
Pathworking is usually associated with New Age and Native
American faiths, and Wicca. It’s a very useful exploratory
technique that has virtually limitless scenarios and
possibilities. If after some success you enjoy Pathworking and
wish to explore it further, there are many in depth books on the
subject, and workshops, camps, circles and audio tapes, are
usually advertised in ‘mind, body, spirit’ magazines.
Pathworking is generally more effective, especially for the
beginner, if it is lead either in person or by listening to a
tape. You can always make your own tape of a Pathworking you
wish to follow, and then play it to yourself. This is a very
cheap, easy, and personal way of developing your practice. An
extremely useful journey of self discovery that I ask all
students to take approximately every six months, is a technique
to reveal your true inner self, the real true self that we
believe we are deep inside. It is interesting to discover how
our inner perception changes as we progress along our spiritual
path, and it gives us a very useful insight and lots to think
about afterwards. However, the experience can also be very
disturbing for some people. It can be upsetting, frightening,
puzzling, or disappointing. The vital thing is NOT to have any
preconceived notions or images prior to or during the
Pathworking, otherwise the exercise is pointless and
unrewarding. As with all Pathworking, you MUST let your Self go,
and allow your inner Being to be transported by the journey, and
allow the journey to REVEAL its message without any conscious
prompting or interference from your Self. That is the main
difference between this spiritual technique and simply
‘daydreaming’. Don’t be tempted to repeat this journey more than
every few months, otherwise you’ll simply become confused or
disappointed by the insight.
Make yourself comfortable, and in your mind vividly find
yourself in front of a large stately mansion. A wise old
gardener tending the flower beds nods at you as you pass him on
your way into the grand entrance hall. The hall is very large
and every wall is full of doors of different shapes, colours and
sizes. One of the doors appeals to you, so you go to it, you
open it and go into the room. The room is dimly lit and you look
around at its furnishing and decoration. You see a full length
mirror, and walk towards it, knowing it is magical. The surface
of the mirror is misty and unclear. As you stand in front of it
the mist slowly disappears and you examine the reflection before
you, which is your true inner Self revealed. After a few moments
the mirror becomes misty again and you calmly leave the room,
and the house. The sun is shining and the flowers in the garden
are beautiful. As you pass the wise old gardener he stops you
and speaks to you. Listen to his words, he has an important
message for you. You thank him and say goodbye, then calmly and
in your own time, you return back to our reality. It can help to
discuss what has been revealed with your Leader or fellow
students, because sometimes your insights need an ‘outsider’ to
assist in interpreting their real meaning.
Finally, you may also wish to explore Chakra meditation which
can be extremely rewarding, but not something to be attempted
without experienced advice or thorough prior reading. You may
also wish to explore the use of sounds and vibrations and their
effect on the body from external sources, such as chimes, bells,
and singing bowls, and also the effect of your own vocalisations
on the body which can feel terrific and healing, plus the use of
repeated verbalisations, affirmations and mantras. Of course
there are dozens more techniques that can’t be covered in this
brief article, but many of them are not suitable for novices or
even for experienced lay people, such as the methods used by
Yogis, however there’s enough material here to start you off in
the right direction.
The ‘world’ of meditation in its broadest blanket sense is
absolutely huge, but there’s no need to feel daunted by it.
Remember, small steps. Stick your toe in the water and see how
it feels. Have a little experiment, and you may find that one
single technique floats your boat or you may find that you
prefer a variety of methods. Few people receive no benefit from
regular practice, and most people are surprised by how good they
feel and the general holistic benefits they gain. There are no
strict rules with most forms of ‘meditation’ and they can
usually be practiced alone, so please have a go, and enjoy!
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Some Psychic Terms, and types of psychic
Abilities
Animal Telepathy
- The ability to communicate with (but not command or influence)
various kinds of creatures. Think "pet psychic".
Astral
Projection - The ability to leave one's body and travel in spirit
to another location.
Aura Reading
- The ability to see the energy fields that emanate from living
beings. Psychic ability can often reveal itself throughout the seeing of
auras.
Automatic
Writing - Writing through the subconscious mind without conscious
thought, or through the guidance of an outside intelligence. It is
transcribed directly in writing (either handwritten or typed), which
does not originate from the conscious mind; channeling in written
form.
Channeling -
Associated with mediums, this is the ability to act as a channel or
vessel for an outside intelligence. The person who does the channeling
often delivers the information by speaking, but it can also be
written.
Clairaudience
- Put simply, this type of ability is used to hear what is
"inaudible". It is the ability
to hear messages from higher guidance, or through a strong connection
to another. These messages can be heard through the ears, or
internally in the mind, (which is a form of Telepathy),
For example, someone with this ability could be a
thousand miles way and "hear" a loved one's cry of distress,
or hear spirit guides, angels etc.
Clairvoyance
- Usually confused with Precognition, this ability actually has much
more in common with "Remote Viewing", True clairvoyance is not the
abilitly to see into the future, but the psychic ability to see
visions of that which is hidden or far away. It is from a French word
meaning “clear seeing” which refers to the ability to see visions,
receive visual images & impressions, often seen through the "mind's
eye" or "third eye".
Clairsentience
- In this instance the psychic has an insight or "knowing" of and a
hidden or forgotten fact. It
is the ability to pick up energies and emotions from people, places or
things, often called empathy. A clairsentient person is often referred
to as an empath.
Divination -
A broad term that includes fortune telling, precognition, prophesy,
and other methods used in an effort to predict the future.
Dowsing -
Also known as "water witching", dowsing involves the use of a rod,
sticks, pendulum or similar tool to help someone access his/her own
intuition in a way that can be clearly seen and felt, in order to locate water or lost objects.
Empathy -
The talent to sense the needs, drives, and emotions of another. As
with Aura Reading, psychic ability can often reveal itself through the
development of empathy.
E.S.P. -
Extra Sensory Perception. This is the awareness of information about events
external to the psychic that are not gained through the senses and not
deducible from previous experience. It actually
involves using the
five senses in a heightened way in combination with the sixth sense of
intuition. It is a common term for psychic powers of all kinds.
Intuitive – someone who is able to access higher guidance and
information through the use of a highly developed intuition.
Intuition -
Similar to clairsentience, this is the power or faculty of attaining
direct knowledge or cognition without rational thought or inference
from a higher source, in order to guide us with an inner knowing or
"inner voice".
Levitation -
The ability to cause one's body to hover off the ground. One of the
more well-documented cases of levitation involved St. Theresa of Avila
during the 16th century.
Medically
intuitive – a psychic who specializes in issues of
health and disease in the body.
Medium – a person who has the ability to communicate with
spirits who have passed over to the other side.
Mind Over Body
- Suppressing or mentally satisfying the need for water, food, or
sleep. There is some debate over whether this is actually a psychic
ability since many of those who are associated with this trait (monks,
yogis, mystics, etc...) are not generally called "psychics".
Precognition
- Quite simply, "knowing the future". However, since time is a dynamic
construct, no one psychic can ever know every detail about the future.
Usually this ability refers to knowing general outcomes of specific
courses of action, with occasional flashes of detailed insight.
Psychic –
The term used to categorize a person who is able to receive higher guidance and
information through one form or any combination of psychic
powers; usually refers to someone who has highly developed
psychic powers to the point of being a professional psychic.
Psychic Detective – a psychic who chooses to work with solving
crimes or cases of missing persons.
Psychometry
- Also known as "object reading", psychometry enables a psychic to
pick up on psychic impressions (vibrations) left on an object by
someone connected with it through clairsentience. Someone with this ability could use an
unfamiliar object to reveal much about its owner.
Pyrokinesis
- The ability to start fires with one's mind.
Readers – some readers are intuitive or psychic, and some are
not. There are many types of readings that can be performed,
such as reading palms, Tarot cards, playing cards, runes, tea
leaves, etc.
Remote viewing – the ability to see people, places and things
that are remote in time and space.
Scrying – the ability to see images, usually in shiny surfaces,
like a crystal ball, a mirror, a black mirror, or even a bowl of
water. Some argue this is a technique and not a true psychic
ability.
Sixth sense – refers to intuition; often called ESP or
extrasensory perception, because it employs all the senses in a
heightened way in order to receive information. Intuition is called the sixth sense because it
is inherent in everyone. We each have intuitive abilities, just
as everyone has artistic or athletic abilities to greater or
lesser degrees. Everyone can draw a picture or throw a ball, but
some people are naturally more gifted in these areas, and once
they hone and develop these gifts, they can become professional
artists or athletes. The same is true of intuition - some people
are naturally gifted intuitively, and once they focus and
develop these gifts, they can become professional psychics. Just
as everyone can become a better artist or athlete through
training and practice, you can develop and improve your natural
ability to benefit from your intuition and psychic powers.
Telekinesis
- Also known as psychokinesis, the ability to move objects with one's
mind.
Telepathy -
The ability to communicate mind-to-mind with another, also known as
"mind reading".
Trance Channel
– a person who goes into an altered state of deep
trance and allows another entity to speak through them,
presumably an entity who is more highly evolved.
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