(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
In The Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates The Material World (1995), Amit
Goswami, Ph.D. says, “Meaning arises in the universe when sentient beings
observe it, choosing causal pathways from among the myriad transcendent possibilities.
If it sounds as if we are re-establishing an anthropocentric view of the
universe, so be it. The time and context for a strong anthropocentric principle
has come—the idea that ‘observers are necessary to bring the universe into
being.’” It is time to recognize the archetypal nature of mankind’s creation
myths (found in the Book of Genesis in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the
Vedas of the Hindu tradition, and many other religious traditions). The cosmos
was created for our sake. Such myths are compatible with quantum physics,
not contradictory.”
Here is an example of a one-pointed meditation practice: do diaphragmatic
breathing and stay focused on your breath, especially the out-breath, for
15 to 20 minutes daily. Breath is very important, as the Book of Genesis
2:7 suggests: “And the Lord God formed Adam out of the soil of the earth,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living
being.” In Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Sanskrit, the word for “breath” also
means life and/or spirit—Ruha (or Ruach) in Hebrew/Aramaic, pneuma in
Greek, and Prana in Sanskrit. Say the word Ruha aloud first,
and then repeat it mentallyin synchrony with each breath—Ru as you
inhale and ha as you exhale. Similarly, you can use the word Abwoon (Ab-woon)
or Amen (Aa-men)in synchrony with your breathing. Abwoon means
Father, the Breathing Life of all, the Source. Amen asserts focusing
on the present moment. The sounds Yahwe and Alleluia are
other mantras Christians and Jews may chant. Yesu and Yahshua are
Aramaic/Hebrew names for Jesus and those names can be used by Christians
as mantras. If Jesus resonates with you better then use “Jesus.”
Meditation is now in the hands of the people and out of the exclusive domain
of the monks. The spiritual benefits are readily noticeable, and now there
is mounting evidence that with regular practice of meditation we can experience
health benefits like lowered blood pressure and heart rate, an improved immune
system and mental peace of mind. Brainwave changes occur during deep meditative
states. The inner experiences evoked by such neurological alterations do
resemble the transpersonal experiences of historical mystics. These experiences
allow us to experience the unity of life and how we are connected to all
humanity while in touch with this universal part of ourselves. Nuns, studied
during meditation, show that the location of the brain associated with concentration
becomes more lively. The brain activity in the area responsible for a sense
of self tends to become quiet. The individual who meditates tends to be more
altruistic, considerate of all living beings and experiences them as a part
of his/her own being.
Michael Angelus, a teacher of sound and consciousness, wrote this about the
YHSVH chant:
“The YHSVH (Yod Heh Shin Vav Heh) is the name for Jesus spelled in Hebrew.
The name works best when used and pronounced the way it would have occurred
in Hebrew. The vibration of the name in English (Jesus) may not be as effective.
In the New Testament it states that the disciples cast out demons with the
bibration of the name of Christ. The sacred Hebrew chant of YHSVH works in
rather miraculous ways.
This Divine Name of YHSVH (Yod He Shin Vav Heh) also represents the Intelligent
Spirit entering into the Elements and is the 5-fold name of the Divine. The
Divine name from the Old Testament is the 4-fold name, known as the Tetragrammeton;
YHVH (Yod Heh Vau Heh). This is Divine power expressed through the elements
of fire, water, air, and earth that create the fabrics of time, space, and
matter. The 5-fold name, YHSVH, (Yod Hey Shin Vav Hey) utilizes the addition
of pure Spirit into the Elements, giving life. YHSVH (sometimes chanted as
Yeshua or Yehoshua) is seen as the ‘God’ or the Divine life in matter. This
YHSVH chant creates a living intelligence of Spirit that manifest in matter.”
In “St. John of the Cross”, Thomas Merton tells us that St. John of the Cross (http://www.cin.org/saints/jcross-merton.html) spent
time in prison, but reached bliss, even in the darkness of a jail cell. He
writes like a poet, explaining, “Only the saint and God can tell what distant
echoes of an utterly alien everyday common life penetrated the darkness of
the jail cell and the infinitely deep sleep of the peace in which his soul
lay hidden in God. Touch not the wall… but the religious police
could not disturb the ecstasy of one who had been carried so far that he
was no longer troubled at the thought of being rejected even by the holy!”
This again explains that transcendent place that we can access if we so desire.
Merton continues to explain that no one can become a saint without “solving
the problem of suffering.” He states that “No one who has ever written anything,
outside the pages of Scripture, has given us such a solution to the problem
as St. John of the Cross. Sanctity,” he writes, “can never abide a merely
speculative solution to the problem of suffering. Sanctity solves the problem
not by analyzing but by suffering. It is a living solution, burned in the
flesh and spirit of the saint by fire.” He concludes that Scripture itself
teaches this lesson with Proverbs 17:3 “As silver is tried by fire and gold
in the furnace, so the Lord trieth hearts.”
The Spiritual Canticle was written in a dungeon. The following is
from Thomas Merton’s translations of the writings of St. John of the Cross
while he was detained in prison.
My Beloved is like the mountains.
The strange islands
The rivers with their sound
The whisper of the lovely air!
The night, appeased and hushed
About the rising of the dawn
The music stilled
The sounding solitude
The supper that rebuilds my life.
And brings me love.
Our bed of flowers
Surrounded by the lions’ dens
Makes us a purple tent,
Is built of peace.
Our bed is crowned with a thousand shields of gold!
Fast-flying birds
Lions, harts and leaping does
Mountains, banks and vales
Streams, breezes, heats of day
And terrors watching in the night:
By the sweet lyres and by the siren’s song
I conjure you: let angers end!
And do not touch the wall
But let the bride be safe: let her sleep on!
(from the translation by Professor E. Allison Peers.)