in the example drawn by Christ.
“Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, [said Jesus] this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.”
Luke 18:10-14
2. Meditation defined
Meditation is the emptying of ourselves of all that hinders the Creative Force from rising along the natural channels of our physical bodies to be disseminated through the sensitive spiritual centers in our physical bodies. When meditation is properly entered into, we are made stronger mentally and physically. “He went in the strength of that meat received for many days.” (281-13)
Meditation is not musing or daydreaming, but attuning our mental and physical bodies to their spiritual source. It is arousing the mental and spiritual attributes to an expression of their relationship with their Maker. This is true meditation.
Meditation is prayer from within the inner self and partakes not only of the inner physical person but of the soul aroused by the spirit from within. In prayer we speak to God, in meditation God speaks to us.
3. Will prayer answer for meditation?
Will asking a question answer it? No, but it shows that we desire information, and therefore it has its merits. Just so when we pray. We show to our heavenly Father that we are anxious for His guidance and help, for the manifestation of His promises in our lives. It then takes an attitude of waiting, of silence, of listening, to be able to hear the still small voice whisper within, and to know that all is well. Prayer therefore is the basis of meditation.
Only when we are still may we know God, and when we know Him we are willing to say and mean, “Thy will be done.” It is then that He sups with us.
In prayer we ask for cleansing; before true meditation we must be clean in body and mind so that we may be fit to meet our Lord. One is a complement of the other.
III. Preparation for Meditation
A. The Physical Body
1. A knowledge, cleansing, and consecration of the physical body
We are miniature copies of the universe, possessing physical, mental, and spiritual bodies. These bodies are so closely knit together that the impressions of one have their effects upon the other two. The physical body is a composite unit of creative force manifesting in a material world. So all-inclusive is the physical body that there is nothing in the universe that we can comprehend that does not have its miniature replica within it. It is not only our privilege but our duty to know ourselves, and to be aware of our bodies being temples of the living God.
Individuals have found throughout the ages that preparation is necessary for deep meditation. For some it is necessary that the body be cleansed with pure water, that certain foods or associations (with man or woman) be avoided, and that certain types of breathing be taken so that there may be an even balance in the whole respiratory system. This produces a normal flow of circulation through the body. Others feel that odors, incantations, sounds, or music are conducive to producing the best conditions. As the current rises through the centers in the body, these outer influences may help to cleanse the thoughts and quiet the mind and body. So-called savages arouse within themselves the passions or thirst for destruction through the battle cry or the use of certain drones or sounds. This is the same force used negatively. (See 440-12 and 281-13.)
The following is an illustration: An engineer, before going into an electric power plant for work, must take off a certain type of wearing apparel and put on another. His mind must be filled with a thorough knowledge and understanding of the mechanism to be handled, lest death and destruction result. How much more is a cleansing and understanding necessary when we seek to attune our bodies to the source of all force? He has promised to meet us within our own sanctuary. One that goes in unworthily does it to one's own destruction.
While the method may not be the same with everyone, if we would meditate, we must shut ourselves away from the cares of the world and purify our bodies physically. “Consecrate yourselves this day,” is given in the law, “that ye may on the morrow present yourselves before the Lord that He may speak through you!” (281-13) as a father speaketh with his children. Have we wandered so far away that we dare not await His presence? Do we not remember He has promised “If ye will be my children I will be your God” and “Though ye wander far away, if ye will but call I will hear”? (281-41)
We must find that which to our consciousness is the best way of purifying body and mind before attempting to enter into meditation. In raising the image of that through which we are seeking to know the will of the Creative Force, actual creation takes place within us.
When we have found a way to cleanse our bodies so that which is to be raised finds its full measure of expression within, we can readily understand how healing of every nature may be disseminated by thought.
When we have cleansed ourselves in the manner that is to us the best, there will be no fear that our experiences will become so overpowering as to cause any physical or mental disorder. It is when there is no cleansing that entering into such a state brings disaster, or pain, or disease.
2. A study of the glands
When we quiet the physical body through turning the mind toward the highest ideal, there are aroused actual physical vibrations, as a result of spiritual influence becoming active on the sensitive vibratory centers in the body, stimulating the points of contact between the soul and its physical shell. Let us trace this activity.
When we attune ourselves to the Infinite, the glands of reproduction may be compared to a motor which raises the spiritual power in the body. This spiritual power enters through the center of the cells of Leydig glands (located in the genitive system). This center is like a sealed or open door, according to the use to which it has been put through spiritual activities. With the arousing of the image, or ideal, this life force rises along what is known as the Appian Way or the silver cord, to the pineal center in the brain, whence it may be disseminated to those centers that give activity to the whole mental and physical being. It rises then to the hidden eye in the center of the brain system (pituitary body), which is just back of the middle of the forehead. Thus on entering meditation there arises a definite impulse from the glands of reproduction that passes through the pineal to the pituitary gland. Whatever the ideal of an individual is, it is propelled upward and finds expression in the activity of the imaginative forces. If this ideal is material, there is built more and more into the body a love for, and a tendency towards, things of the earth. If this ideal or image is of a spiritual nature there is spiritual development. Psychic forces are only an awakening of soul faculties through activities in these centers. If an anatomical or pathological study should be made for a period of seven years (which is the cycle of change in all body elements), of an individual who is acted upon through the pituitary gland alone, it would be discovered that such a person trained in spiritual laws would become a light to the world. One trained in purely material things would become a Frankenstein [monster], without a concept of any influence other than material or mental. (See 262-20.)
During the rising of the currents along this silver cord and in these centers, a body may become conscious of distinct vibrations. There are three principal motions that correspond to the three-dimensional concept of the conscious mind: namely, the backward and forward, the side to side, and the circular movements. These sensations may be very real. They may cause an apparent vibration or motion in the body itself that is simply a movement within the body, without outward effect. Another very common sensation is that of the current or vibration passing up the spine or through the body from the feet upward, or vice versa. These may also be accompanied or followed by a lightness, or slight dizziness. It may also be pointed out here that the reactions within individuals may differ, for the composite