A Druid Meditation Primer

©2004 by John Michael Greer. All rights reserved.

How one can meditation that has been segment of Druid traditions since early within the Revival echoes moderately deal of meditation systems in lots of ways, but there’s one foremost distinction. This lies within the attitudes toward the thinking mind. Most systems of meditation educate the pupil to terminate thinking altogether, by the expend of mantras (special patterns of spoken sound) or symbolic visualizations, or focused on concept-stopping paradoxes such because the koans of Zen. Right here is fine ample as a technique to whole meditative states of consciousness, but too customarily it has the awkward side invent of producing mystics who can reach profound non secular states but can’t assume clearly.

In Druid meditation, in distinction, the extra identical old route is to prepare and reorient the mind instead of shutting it down. Druidry, cherish moderately deal of mystical traditions, has long acknowledged that reason divorced from actuality and from moderately deal of (and equally legit) sorts of human expertise is a possess of insanity. Ever for the reason that time of Pythagoras, even though, Western mystics and sages be pleased moreover acknowledged that the mind needn’t be the enemy of the spirit, if it’s brought into unity with itself, with the increased human self of which it styles a segment, and with the cosmos as a entire. The rational customarily is a vehicle for the non secular: right here’s the premise (and the promise) of most Western mystical paths, and this intention turned into once adopted into Druidry from the earliest days of the Druid Revival.

Central to this project the flexibility to assume in a meditative intention. Love all the pieces else, this takes relate, and you’ll receive that the extra customarily you relate meditation, the extra effectively you can even enact this; daily relate is a have to-be pleased whenever you happen to plot on getting lawful at it.

On this possess of meditation, which is named discursive meditation, the thinking project will not be stopped but redirected and clarified; ideas have to not abolished but made staunch into a vehicle for the deeper hurry of consciousness. Right here is customarily completed by focusing the mind on a explicit topic, and permitting it to discover out the implications of that topic through a chain of ideas, while at the the same time holding it centered on the topic with out straying. By doing this, the meditator frequently transforms thinking from half of-random psychological chatter staunch into a highly fine and centered intention of notion; at the the same time, the notion that comes out of meditation of this kind may be pleased a lawful deal of designate on its be pleased phrases.

The mind of the meditator thus makes a speciality of a previously chosen image or concept, which is named the theme of the meditation. The meditator considers the theme and follows out its implications and penalties, restraining the mind every time it tries to stray from the theme but giving it free rein to discover the theme as a ways because it would. Thus this possess of meditation has two sure effects. Love every moderately deal of possess of meditation, it teaches mastery of consideration and consciousness. Unlike most moderately deal of sorts of meditation, it enables the meditator to cherish the subjects of meditation to a depth that customary thinking not in most cases reaches. Furthermore, many of the myths, symbols and teachings of the Druid tradition are namely designed to yield up their meaning easiest to cautious, centered consideration. Discursive meditation thus becomes a key to the interior dimensions of the Druid route.

Sure preliminaries are treasured. The ideal is the preference of a theme. Every aspect of Druid discover and relate can present themes; books price studying are among the most identical old sources. Novices customarily bewitch spacious sprawling themes and both flounder about in them or skate over the flooring, lacking the ability depths of the relate. As a identical old rule, if your theme takes bigger than a fairly short sentence to list, it’s too natty for a single meditation and may maybe presumably be damaged up into smaller bits, then recombined later.

Originate meditation relate by sitting down on a chair with a undeniable, cushionless seat. Sit a ways ample ahead on it that your lower merit isn’t resting against the merit of the chair. Your feet may be pleased to mild be flat on the flooring. Straighten your merit with out stiffening it, and retain your head honest, with out letting it trot ahead. Your arms rest palm down on your thighs, and your elbows are against your facets. This posture for meditation, not like the immoral-legged positions identical old in Jap systems of meditation, doesn’t seal your energies off from the remaining of the cosmos. Right here is a extremely necessary aspect of Druid non secular relate; as Druids, we’re often segment of a increased world.

Most folk receive it staunch to meditate within the the same role each day, and at the the same time of day (or the the same point within the daily cycle for folk that be pleased variable schedules – factual sooner than breakfast, relate). If imaginable, it’s ideal to meditate facing east, to purchase essential thing about currents within the magnificent physique of the Earth. A clock placed so that it’s most likely you’ll maybe presumably be also look it with out appealing your head completes the surroundings for meditation relate.

Once you’ve settled into your place, consciously loosen up every segment of your physique, starting alongside with your feet and appealing step by stap as much as the terminate of your head. Then expend a small while paying awake consideration to your breath, respiratory out and in slowly, evenly and totally. A damaged-down respiratory exercise known as the Fourfold Breath is continually former right here. Breathe slowly in while counting mentally from one to four; retain your breath in, while counting from one to four; breathe out, counting from one to four; and retain the breath out, with the lungs empty, while counting from one to four, and repeat. The counts may be pleased to mild all be at the the same tempo, and the breath may be pleased to mild be held in or out with the muscle groups of the chest and diaphragm, not by closing the throat, which may lead to correctly being complications.

After you’ve paid consideration to your respiratory for presumably five minutes, turn to the theme of the meditation. Relate the theme silently to yourself in about a phrases, or visualize it sooner than you in a single image. Purchase your mind centered on it for a time, and then start all for it, turning it repeatedly on your mind, exploring its implications and connections. Clutch definitely this form of that appeals to you, and discover it out as a ways as you can even. When your ideas veer from it, as they nearly definitely will within the early stages of coaching, don’t simply bring them merit to the theme; discover your straying ideas merit to the purpose where they left the prepare of concept you had been following, and proceed from there. Over time, this may occasionally educate your mind to reach to your theme as readily because it strays from it.

It’s necessary to role a duration of time for the meditation in reach, and keep on with that, even whenever you happen to don’t assume you’re making any growth the least bit. Five minutes of respiratory and ten minutes of staunch meditation makes a lawful size of relate session for newbies. Once you’re completed, listen to your respiratory or relate the Fourfold Breath again for a minute or so to serve yourself assemble the transition merit to customary consciousness.

There are moderately deal of small print of relate, expansions of technique, and additional systems that can also be blended with discursive meditation to provide a defend to its effects and assemble it relevant to many various sorts of non secular relate, out and in of Druidry. All these, and a substantial deal extra on discursive meditation itself, are lined in extra detail in my approaching near book Druidry: A Inexperienced Manner of Recordsdata.

Urged Studying

Precious books with self-discipline topic on discursive meditation encompass these:

• Adelaide Gardner, Meditation: A Purposeful Seek (Wheaton, IL: Quest, 1968).
• William G. Grey, Western Interior Workings (York Seaside, ME: Weiser, 1983).
• Manly Palmer Hall, Self-Unfoldment by Disciplines of Realization (Los Angeles: Philosophical Be taught Society, 1942).
• Gareth Knight, Occult Workout routines and Practices (Albuquerque, NM: Solar Chalice, 1998).
• Mouni Sadhu, Focus: A Guide to Psychological Mastery (No. Hollywood, CA: Wilshire, 1959).
• Meditation: An Outline for Purposeful Seek (No. Hollywood, CA: Wilshire, 1967).
• Ernest Wood, Focus: An Technique to Meditation (Wheaton, IL: Quest, 1949).