‘Anchoring Sense of Self’ Meditation’
The ‘Self’ cannot be objectified, which is not merely an idealistic philosophical idea. It is a fact. Hence the main focus in the initial stages of meditation practice is to develop a greater sense of ‘Self’, which ultimately leads to a more permanent sense of self that forms the foundations towards a deeper state of meditation.
But before we can do that we have to become someone in life, which is our first task, called the life task. That is, we must be able to excel in something and thrive to know something definite in life, before anything else can be done or become possible.
The manifestation of a greater sense of self means that we have come to a turning point in our personal development, at which we want to take full responsibility for our own life. Here we have arrived at a stage where we really understand the difference between order and chaos, recognising the principles of opposite attraction, as well as fully acknowledging and seeing that certain things must be done regardless of how we feel personally right now.
The ‘Anchoring Sense of Self Meditation’ is a simple, yet very powerful practice that is based on ‘conscious effort’, which forms part of our second task, the ‘work task’. Without the ‘work task’, the life task is very difficult to accomplish. However, it is only through the continuous application of conscious effort, generated by oneself that the possibility of lasting change exists, which in very simple words means practice…practice…practice. The life task and the work task have to be executed simultaneously, and the ‘Anchoring Sense of Self Meditation’ can be seen as the binding element (fascia) between the life and the work task.
During the ‘Anchoring Sense of Self Meditation’, we are utilising our physical body as a reference point to the ‘now’, where a greater sense of self can be felt (proprioceptive sense) by being fully present to the moment to moment experience of the almost infinite spacious aliveness beneath the surface experience of our physical body.
In time, and through regular practice, we will accumulate a sufficient amount of living memory of greater sense of self that has enough gravitas to gradually counterbalance all the manifestations of pictures we have developed of ourselves and take as ourselves. This is how the mind turns the ‘Self’ that cannot be objectified into an object, which only exists as pictures in our minds eye we take as ourselves. Hence, this is the true meaning behind the famous philosophical teachings of ‘piercing through the veil of illusion’ and ‘transcending Maya’.
Close your eyes, and whilst keeping your eyes soft you take your attention to the tip of your nose. Become aware of the rising and falling away of your breath, without imposing anything on your breathing. Whilst your eyes disengage rest your awareness with the appearing screen in front of you.
- There your attention follows your most gentle inhalation through the very tip of the nose up to the crown of the head
- stay for only a second within the pause after the inhalation
- Gently Exhale taking your attention down to your coccyx & pause for a second
- Inhale up along the back of the spine through your third eye
- Exhale down the front into your solar plexus
- Inhale mentally saying the word “I” during the inhalation, allowing the solar plexus and the whole body to fill and expand whilst feeling the resonance and reverberation of the silent sound of ‘I’
- Let go into the Exhalation by mentally saying ‘AM’
- Feel and merge with the formless state of ‘AM” during the pause after the exhalation.
Take your attention back to the tip of the nose and repeat the above steps for a total of seven rounds.
Then let go of all breathing and stay absorbed within the formless state of the ‘I AM’.
After six to seven month of practicing this meditation, you might experience more prolonged times in which you won’t habitually place your sense of ‘I’ into what you do, or what you have achieved, and what you want to be.
Thus a healthy state of separation between the formless ‘I AM’ state and the world of manifestations is established, in which you might gain access to greater possibilities and more conscious and creative ways of thinking, as well as experiencing life without constantly loosing your sense of self.
This meditation does not require more than 10 to 15 minutes to practice. Best four to five times a week, and always remember it is not the quantity that counts it is the regularity and quality that gradually will lead to results.
Copyright © Alexander Filmer-Lorch November 2013 All Rights Reserved
