meditation of the week

[Guest guest]

Light or Dark. You Choose.

 

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“Lead me from the unreal to the real! Lead me from darkness to light.”

The Upanishads

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Being nocturnal and having eyes that see well in the dark, cats

probably have an entirely different interpretation of darkness and

light than we do. To the feline mind, darkness probably represents

opportunity, the joy of the hunt and time for eros. To the human mind,

however, the image of darkness tends to carry meanings of insecurity,

fear, sadness and death. Imagery of light, on the other hand, equates

with higher states of mind and spirit, joy, health and healing. Light

and dark are archetypes. They are primordial symbols that are not

culturally specific. Anywhere at any time in human history that you

used terms like, walking in the light or heart of darkness, you could

be understood.

 

When you talk with depressed people, they frequently describe their

emotional state in terms of darkness. “I feel like I’m in a black hole

and I can’t get out,” is a common statement. When you feel sad or

depressed, your imagery of what is inside you is likely to be related

to darkness. When you feel joyful, your imagery is more likely to be

light. We imagine death to be cloaked in darkness while angels are

robed in light. Halloween is dark and scary. Easter is bright and

pastel. So it goes.

 

It is important to understand that if certain mental imagery is

naturally associated with specific mental and emotional states, we can

use that imagery to modify our states. We don’t have to be held hostage

by our emotions if we know how to modify them. If we dwell in anger,

fear, and negativity our mental and emotional experiences will be dark.

If we embrace love, optimism, hope and positivity our mental/emotional

state will be brighter. The process is reciprocal. It works both ways.

If we create dark mental imagery, we may bring ourselves down. If we

fill our minds with light, we are more likely to feel good. That’s how

our nervous systems work.

 

Don’t do this, but if you were to hunch forward with your face pointed

at the floor with a frown on your face and think of evil people doing

bad things and say to yourself that it is all hopeless, you would start

to feel bad pretty quickly. A better idea would be to sit up straight

(so you can breathe fully and so your energy can flow), smile, relax,

imagine a field of spring flowers in the sunshine and tell yourself

that life is good. Unless you are resisting somehow, your

mental/emotional state is likely to change for the better.

 

Posture, facial expression, muscle tension, verbal thoughts and imagery

thoughts can be the effect of your inner states, but the flow of

information in our nervous system goes both ways. They can also be the

cause of our inner states. As we become more conscious, we become less

the victim of our thoughts and emotions and more the director of them.

 

Practice:

Sit or stand up straight. Allow your spine to elongate. Your head rises

up gently as if it were a helium balloon lightly tethered to your

shoulders. Relax your eyes and let go of any tension you notice in your

muscles. Adopt a half smile. Check your feelings. Notice any changes as

you modify your posture, breathing and facial expression.

 

Look inside yourself. What colors do you sense inside yourself? Do you

feel dark inside or light? Where in your body do you sense the most

darkness? Don’t think too much about it, just notice.

 

Now imagine you are surrounded by light. The light can be white or

maybe a beautiful light color—maybe golden or pink. This bright light

is all around you.

 

As you exhale, breathe out any darkness inside you. As you inhale,

bring in the lightness from outside. As you breathe out the darkness,

it dissipates as darkness does when it encounters light. Maybe you

visualize the darkness as like smoke coming out your nose or mouth. In

any case, it dissipates after it leaves your body.

 

As you inhale the light, it flows into your lungs and fills them up.

Your breathing is comfortable and relaxed. You may invite the light to

cleanse and heal your lungs of any impurities or imperfections. It

disperses any fears related to breathing. As you breathe the light,

your breath is relaxed and full and calming. With the light you breathe

in peace.

 

As oxygen flows through your body from your lungs, invite the light to

spread from your lungs to all parts of your body. Send the light to the

crown of your head to the tips of your toes and everywhere in between.

Notice any areas where darkness seems to hang on. Focus the light there

and remind yourself that there is nothing to fear from the light. The

light is good and you are worthy of goodness and light. You deserve

health and happiness. If you feel resistance to those thoughts, say to

yourself, “I renounce beliefs that no longer serve my highest and best

good. I give up fears that keep me from love and joy and connection

with life, goodness, health and wholeness.”

 

Draw the light through every area of your body, through every organ

system, and through every cell. Invite the light to shine into every

molecule of every cell and to vibrate down to the quantum level. Fill

every atom of your physical body with light energy. Allow all of your

energy systems to harmonize. The light is one and your body is one.

Fear is gone. Anger is gone. Attachment to disease is gone. Breathing

in light and goodness, exhale all negative energy. Give up what does

not serve you. Breathe peace.

 

 

This is from Cybermonks http://www.interluderetreat.com/

 

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