Monthly Archives: December 2012

Using Tones as a Meditation Aid

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Beginning regular meditation feels intimidating, threatening. Yet there are technologies which can make the experience much easier in practice.

Two which use audio tones to entrain the brainwaves are of special interest. Try both.

First: Isotones.These require no particular equipment, and do not require stereo headphones.

Download and try the deep meditation tone from Iso-tones.com. It is 30 mins long, and ramps down gradually to a useful frequency: begin 10 minutes in once you are used to it.

I have downloaded a copy (with birdsong) which you can try, or download from here.

Second: Binaural Beats.

These do require stereo headphones, or at the very least decent stereo speakers in a quiet space. This file is a tone at 538 Hz which is said to stimulate the heart, and has a theta wave binaural beat embedded. This file is 30 minutes long. The original is a three hour long Youtube video provided by Eric Bartel, and edited using Audacity.

You can try it below, or download it from here.

 

You will find that using these aids will familiarise your brain with the state required, and it will then be able to reach it without the aid easily, and you will be able to recognise it has done so.

There are many effective free resources which can be downloaded and then used without an internet connection.

Many smartphone apps, such as Insight Timer, have a selection of free meditations with beats embedded.

 

Using Books as a Means of Communication

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Books can also be used as an oracle. The mechanics of this are no different: there is no such thing as a meaningless coincidence for those on the Path. In the West, the Bible has long been the book of choice for this: St.Francis of Assisi used a three verse “reading” when looking for guidance on the rules for his new order. For new agers there are several books which have been produced specifically for this purpose.

The ideal would be a book that covers the full spectrum of human and religious experience, as the Tarot and I Ching do (which makes them ideal for the task). However, there are occasions when it is not appropriate to start shuffling cards or throwing coins. A dictionary, or short encyclopaedia can yield an additional perspective on the difficulties faced in these circumstances.

As always, Oracles are to be used only when the course of action is not clear, and never as a means of escape from duty. Used in either of these circumstances, an oracle can be relied upon to show us the error of our ways! So, take it seriously, and – as with other questions that cannot be answered from a personal perspective – ensure that this is written up in the Spiritual Diary.

Death and Devil in the Tarot

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If you are present when the cards are chosen you might be disturbed and worried if either Death or The Devil come up in response to your question.

All the Tarot cards are symbolic, and have meanings which transcend their surface appearance.

Death in the Tarot usually means the complete end of some situation, usually a period of life. It might signify a complete change of role, as with retirement where one is very attached to one’s occupation, the complete breakdown of a relationship, or other meaning depending on the question asked.

The questioner is usually being encouraged to allow that situation to go in the past, in order to make space for something new to arise in its place. The figure of death holds the scythe, clearing away any remaining stubble from the harvest so that the field can be prepared for re-sowing, that kind of thing.

 

 

 

The Devil in the Tarot is a caricature of the ancient godform Pan, the horned godform of the ancient world. The man and woman chained up are really in fancy dress (or undress), chaining themselves – the chains are always loose enough that if they really wanted to break away, and take their horns off, they could.

Often the meaning is looking at the self-created demons in our own life, and why we are keeping ourselves chained to them. Also, we usually need to have a good laugh at the caricatures we have made of ourselves, and the situations we have got ourselves into – particularly with but not limited to sexual partners! Laughing at ourselves opens up the possibility of freedom from the Devil in the Tarot.

The Devil has an important role in spiritual development more generally: he helps us to find our true spiritual level. By giving in to the temptations he offers, until we can say “No more!” we travel down to the level from which we can start to ascend with a strong foundation in bedrock. Most new students want to start from a much higher place – this is a waste of time, they are like the cartoon character who suddenly discovers he is running on air before plummeting to the ground with a smack!

More Musical Messages

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Some time after being blessed with the “Editions of You” message, and still prevaricating a little, my story to myself was that I was definitely “on the Path” and doing OK.

The Master put His finger on my self-deception clinically with this communication. My self-deception was subtle. It was some time before the awful truth was teased out of this message, despite the smoke and mirrors of the personality, and remedial action planned and taken.

Symbolic messages are like that – they contain layers of meaning. With one flash of energy, an entire message can be sent, and entire story can be told.

A very efficient means of communicating a message, as you would expect from an extraordinary level of consciousness.

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Case History of a Reading.

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Question: What about restarting my work, and shall I set up a website to promote it?

Answer: This is two questions, obviously, but one symbol in the mind. In the past, the motivation behind your work has been the satisfaction of the body’s wants, the feeling of being helpful, the company of others who appreciate you – in short, the primary purpose has been to make YOU feel good about YOU. Now, after a break,  you are wondering whether to restart that work,  and this question is driven by the nostalgia for the good times, good feelings remembered. You were good at the work, but it is not the feeling that the work needs to be done for its own sake that is your motivation for asking this question now. You just want more of a role, and the satisfactions that would come from having that.  You have told me that you are working on a spiritual path, and therefore it is the Higher Self/Soul and not the personality which is to be favoured. The oracle is clearly saying that for the immediate future you are to work, yes, but you are to work alone, and yes, also that the setting up of a website is encouraged. The story suggested is that you are being asked to do the work for its own sake – look up Karma Yoga – rather than to gain satisfaction through direct contact with others, or by gaining others’ appreciation. Apart from doing this work in solitude, you are to accept no limitation on the work: it is to be an outlet for the creative impulse, for the Soul, and not to be subverted for the delight of the personality.