Writing & New Age

Lesson 6: Mental Enhancement Toward Becoming A Greater Writer.

Section 6-3: Mediation and Self-Hypnosis.

We have touched lightly on self-hypnosis exercises. Learned some simple tricks for understanding how self-hypnosis works. We covered the autosuggestion techniques used by hypnotists where you clasp your hands together and imagine that your palms are tightly stuck and glued together. Then it is suggested that you try to take your hands apart, many people find it is somewhat difficult to separate their hands after the suggestion is given. Other hypnotists will have you stand with your eyes closed, heels together and imagine swaying backwards. Also, using a pendulum making it swing to various directions based on your mind power. We also touched on guided imagery, which is different than self-hypnosis, as guided imagery is more closely allocated to your imagination and mental relaxation. We covered Vipassana Meditations (counting the numbers) and there are other types of meditative resources we will overview here. You will find one or two of these exercises to be more receptive to you as an individual. The ones that you feel you may perform with the greatest ease and result are the ones for you to make a part of your daily regime.

Taoist Meditation.

Bowing is an integral part of Taoist practice. Taoists are extremely humble before their deities and before the Tao, and they exhibit this humility through frequent ritual bowing. There are countless specific methods of Taoist bowing, but we will concern ourselves with one very basic form.

Face the area to which you intend to bow (i.e., your altar, your candles, etc.). Stand with your feet together but not touching. Your body should be like it is standing at attention (strong but flexible) and your spine should be straight from the crown of your head to the base of your tailbone. Start with your hands at your sides, and as you slowly raise your hands place your left palm over your right fist (this is the union of Yin and Yang - Earth and Heaven - Scholar and Warrior - The marriage of Yin and Yang = Tai Chi). You should raise your hands to a level somewhere between chest (heart) and eye level (upper dantian). As your hands reach their destination, execute a short bow from your waist. Your eyes should face down and your head should go lower than the person or object to which you are bowing. This is to show respect and trust.

How to Make Offerings.

Taoist altar offerings are usually quite complicated, and may consist of fruit, grain, herbs, water, and rice wine. For our purposes we will restrict ourselves to candles and incense.

To start you should light two candles. Use your left hand, and light the right one first and then the left one (as you face them).

Next take your incense in your left hand. Light it in the flame from the right candle and shake it out (do not blow). While holding the lit incense in your left hand, place your right hand over your left hand with your right thumb outside or on top of your left thumb. Hold your hands in front of you somewhere between sternum and eye level, and bring to forehead three times. Place the incense with your left hand into an incense burner. Step back and bow one more time with your hands at your sides.

Once you have achieved this part of the ritual you have opened a door to heaven - be very respectful in your manners and language. You may now begin to meditate.

Once your meditation is finished, bow again and thank the Gods for listening to your prayers, helping you with meditation, and accepting your offerings. Bow a final time and distinguish the left candle and then the right one. Do not blow on the candles to extinguish them. If you do not do this correctly the altar doors have not been shut (turned off) correctly, and you may accidentally allow energies to get into our world where they might not belong.

Meditation Basics.

Meditation is fundamental to Taoism. All Taoists meditate, but meditation for Taoists is not a simple psychological or breathing exercise. It is an inseparable part of religious practice. For this reason you should always bow and make offerings at an altar prior to meditation. At times when you do not have access to an altar, you can still bow and make offerings to Taoist deities in you heart and your mind.

After you bowed and made an offering, you should assume your favorite meditative position. Your body should be loose and relaxed and your spine should be straight from the crown of your head to the base of your tailbone. From there simply focus on your breath and do not become distracted. With each inhalation and exhalation maintain your sensitivity to your body's energy. As you become more experienced your sensitivity will grow.

While you are meditating, do not lose focus of the overall theme of that day's Meditation Circle activity. If the meditation is dedicated to a specific deity, keep that deity present in your mind without letting it wander.

Possible Results.

As you become more experienced with Taoist meditation, you will experience benefits of many types. Your breathing will become deeper, your energy flow will improve, your level of health should increase, etc. Equally as important, your connection to Taoism and to its deities will dramatically increase. You may notice that you have discovered the ability to receive visitations from deities, or that you have gained some psychic abilities. These experiences are common, and you should not dwell on them too much.

There is also a chance, albeit an infinitesimal one that you may experience some negative side effects from your practice. You may be causing your own energy to move in some inappropriate manner.

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