Activated Meditation

While you continue the process described in lessons 1 to 4 that asks you to sit for 10 to 20 minutes a day, relax and get deeper into your own mind, you can also begin to take the ideas being presented in these lessons OUT into your everyday life.

The full benefits of meditation come from ACTING in harmony with the newly developed, inner resources. A strong commitment and desire to achieve your goals is necessary to bring about rapid results. There is a Buddhist story about a disciple who came to a master and said, “What can I do to attain enlightenment.” The master took the disciple out to a river and while the student admired the flow of water, the master plunged the student’s head under the current. The disciple fought passionately for air and finally the master released the gasping and confused student. The master said, “When you want enlightenment as much as you wanted the air, and when you are willing to fight as passionately for its life giving value as you did for the air, then you will find enlightenment.”  A similar story is told in the Gospels. A young man approached the Master Jesus. The young man asked, “How can I attain the Kingdom of Heaven?” The Lord Jesus looked at him with compassion and said, “Keep the commandments, be charitable and maintain a sound character.” The young man said, “I have done these things all my life but now I want to do more.” The Master Jesus said, “Since you have done all these good things and you still want to do more, go and sell all you have and give to the poor and then follow me and you will attain perfection.” The young man shook his head and turned away, for he possessed many material riches.

There are many benefits to meditation even in its simplest forms. Just learning to relax a few minutes a day can provide wondrous improvements in general health and vitality. Yet, there is so much more that can be gained in the deeper mystical experience. The extra requirements are few. What is needed for the strongest benefits is a deeper, passionate commitment to the process. Going at your studies with a vigorous desire will bring you rapid, potent results. You want to give yourself a solid, emotional reason for pursuing this work – it should be something you have a personal stake in. Make the practice worth your while. The difference in what you can achieve is a function of your attitude and your sense of the “big picture.” Once, during the time of the Renaissance in Europe, a young prince road through the country side and saw some construction activity. He got off his horse and approached one of the workers. “What are you doing?” the prince asked. “What does it look like I’m doing?” the worker replied. “I’m breaking my back on these rocks to earn a crust of bread.” The prince turned away from the man and saw another worker employed in the same activity, but this man seemed to be smiling. “And what are you doing?” the prince asked. “I’m building a cathedral,” the man answered, “the most beautiful cathedral in the country.”

Ask yourself what you are building, and why you are involved in this activity. You want to find a reason for your efforts that will help you rejoice at your successes, however small, and keep working even if success is not immediate.

 

Action is Faith in Yourself

The only thing that prevents a person from taking action on an idea is self-doubt. People that act are acting on FAITH. They might not call it that or even consider that they believe in anything spiritual. But they certainly have faith in themselves and their ability to accomplish what they set out to do. That faith comes from the deepest part of a person, the part we have been identifying with God or the Universal Mind. It is a belief in SOMETHING personal and intangible within oneself. It is that certain something extra which every human being possesses. When we identify it as our Higher Mind, or God-Mind, we access it as a focal point for concentration. We permit ourselves to make it more REAL and thus more EFFECTIVE. The acceptance of this part of you can eliminate self-doubt and allow you to act the way you know you should for the achievement of your goals.

We might consider that there are two selves that exist in every person. The impermanent, temporary self, created by the conditioning of society, which usually has a limited appreciation of itself or its possibilities; and the REAL SELF – the spark of life that is part of One Infinite Reality: a reality that exists in all things and is the ULTIMATE aspect of your Selfhood.

As a student of meditation with a desire to put your ideas into action for the benefit of yourself and others, you must come to IDENTIFY COMPLETELY with your True Self or Higher Mind. When you do, you access the mystical power of your own Super-conscious mind, the faith in yourself that can make your ideas realities.

 

Action Unites You With Universal Mind

Another reason for inaction is the feeling of isolation most of us have. Separate as we seem to be from others and even from our own inner self, it appears that we are alone in our hopes, fears, desires and intentions. Daily meditation brings awareness of your link to Higher Mind. Acting on this awareness affirms the Higher Selfhood within you, making the TRUE SELF a reality in your mind. This reinforces your impulse to act and lets you realize that you have a companion in your efforts, the Universal or God Mind, what the Master Jesus called “the Comforter.” With constant attunement to the Presence of this Higher aspect of Mind, you come to realize that you are not alone, that you are being directed and guided. It is this internal knowing that there is a Higher Power at work that will inspire you to even greater ACTION.

Make the key to your life the ACTION you are inspired to perform out of the silence of meditation. The “Action Guide” below is designed to be read over weekly or preferably daily until it becomes a part of you. Study it, concentrate on it, meditate through it till it becomes your own. Its purpose is to help you start doing something with the valuable ideas that fill your mind. Strive to incorporate as many of the sections into your daily life as possible over the course of the next few weeks, months or years. By following the guide, the personal mind should become stimulated by the Higher Mind to take action. What follows automatically are greater success and happiness and the fulfillment that comes from putting forth the ideas of your own soul.

 

Action Guide for Meditation

  • Thinking generates physical reality. Whenever a creative idea or inspiration comes to your awareness from the Inner Mind, tell yourself “My True Self takes action on this idea immediately.” Express gratitude for this ability to form ideas and act on them.
  • Release any doubts in yourself you may have. Remember that the SOURCE of your inspiration is also your COMPANION in taking action and will help you to succeed. Have confidence in your True Self, Higher Mind, or God. Be grateful for the presence of this comforter in your life.
  • You do not act alone. Your TRUE SELF is connected to COSMIC FORCES and this force generates the results.
  • If you must speak to someone else to activate your idea, TRUST that the SOURCE of the idea will guide you in what and how to communicate with the other person. There is no need to feel shy or awkward about it. It is your Core Self that is taking the action. There is a wisdom that comes from your contacts with Higher Mind that informs the necessary conversations. Trust that Higher Mind to serve your best interests as needed. Remember this before seeing someone and keep it constantly in mind while in the other person’s presence.
  • The SOURCE of your inspiration is not limited to just one idea. All the necessary follow up ideas and plans for successful action will be available to you as needed if you TRUST the Higher Mind that works with you. Don’t ever feel incapable of putting your ideas into action. Once again it is not you, but your Core Mind in relationship with the Higher Mind that is doing the work. Repeat to yourself each day, “The Higher Mind does everything and is UNLIMITED in what it can do.” Be grateful for this potential.
  • People act out of FAITH. Have faith, not necessarily in your outer self, but, have faith in the Higher Self within you, your TRUE SELF. Connected as it is to the Universal Mind, your TRUE SELF is more than equal to any task.
  • Constantly visualize that through your contact with Higher Mind and Self, you are ALREADY enjoying and living the idea in your mind – as an ALREADY fulfilled fact. Express gratitude in this.
  • Be prepared to adjust and readjust your actions to better fit the circumstances. Continue to meditate and follow the guidance of your Inner Mind. Any movement forward in your plans, however small that movement appears, is a SUCCESS. Defeat only comes when you choose to abandon your dreams.
  • Each day, while meditating, think that the Higher Mind is constantly guiding and directing you to the fruition of your idea. Be grateful for this guidance.
  • Resist the negative thoughts that come into your mind and create doubt or hesitation. These thoughts stem from your old EGO that is fighting to keep hold of you. Your TRUE SELF is taking the place of your old lifestyle and the old part of you might not readily accept being replaced. If a negative thought writes itself across your mind, nullify it quickly by saying to yourself “Erase, erase, erase.” Fight for your new way of life. Tell yourself constantly that you are a NEW PERSON with new dreams, values and ideals to live for. Persist and your WHOLE BEING will soon come to accept it and you will automatically live the life you choose.
  • Tell yourself every day: “Success and happiness are my right. My ideas are instantly put into action for my good. My Higher Mind works with me and for my benefit. REALITY is success and happiness in my life, made possible by my contact with Higher Mind.” Remember that whatever one truly believes to be real IS real.
  • Acknowledge whatever good comes into your life and immediately give credit and gratitude to the Divine-Mind working through you. This practice, each day, will constantly reinforce the true self-image of your being, which is the foundation of success and happiness in your life.
  • A positive mental attitude creates a conscious state of mind that better allows the Higher Mind to work with you and through you and thus bring you into ACTION. Be positive in the Presence of Higher Mind. Regard the Higher Mind as the TRUE and REAL PRESENCE of your selfhood.
  • Each person in this world is unique and holds a special purpose in life. How else could they exist? You, also have a special purpose, one that calls you to activate, express and share your uniqueness for the good of all – including YOURSELF.
  • The Universe calls upon you to succeed. Who are you to deny the world your gifts? The Master Jesus said, you don’t hide a light under a basket, you hold it up to illuminate the world. You have a special purpose and a unique mission in the world. You are NOT inconsequential. Your action sets up a chain reaction that travels around the world. You are valuable to life! See and accept that value of yourself and you will find the inner motivation to take the action needed to bring you success and happiness and thus the fulfillment of your own soul.

For this lesson:

Continue with the practice of sitting, breathing, relaxing and going deeper into your mind while thinking about and applying the suggestions made above. Do this for as long as you choose and then go on to the next lesson which will add a new and more complex aspect to the practice.

 

Go to Lesson 7