Category Archives: Consciousness

Meditation, Consciousness, Sentience, and Enlightenment

In the beginning, the universe came into existence. With the universe came the properties of time and space, and the content of energy and matter. The universe also came with a set of rules, and these rules dictated the relationship between time, space, energy, and matter. These rules are known as the laws of physics.

star-clusters-74052_960_720For a long time, all things in the universe obeyed the laws of space-time-energy-matter (STEM). Energy formed matter, matter warped time and space, matter followed the warping of time and space to form dense masses which became stars, and the matter in stars released energy according to fixed rules.

And then one day, after millions of years of interaction according to fixed rules, living creatures with consciousness emerged. These living creatures continued to obey the laws of physics in the larger sense, but they also developed an ability to utilize matter and energy, and an ability to move through space time with some freedom.

Along with consciousness came a desire to survive, and to survive consciousness needed to surreal-402830_960_720gather nutrients, expel waste, find a suitable environment in which to flourish, and to reproduce. To facilitate survival, a new set of rules emerged, the rules of attraction to pleasure, and aversion to pain (APAP). Consciousness began to identify pleasure with finding suitable nutrition and reproduction, and identifying pain with hostile environments and dealing with competing and predatory organisms.

For a vast amount of time, consciousness obeyed these APAP rules, until one day, the property of sentience or self-awareness emerged from within consciousness.

In a large sense, sentient beings continued to obey the survival laws of APAP and the physical laws of STEM. But with sentience came the willingness and ability to place the needs of others over the needs of self. With sentience a new rule emerged, the rule of love.

Still constrained by the laws of APAP, at first love limited itself to the raising of offspring, but grew to include larger units of family and community.

Some became obsessed with the rules of APAP, and taken to the extreme were trapped by attraction to pleasure in the form of addictions, and by aversion to pain in the form of phobias.

universe-1044107_960_720At some point, enlightened beings began to emerge from among the sentient beings. One enlightened being known as Buddha questioned the law of attraction, and rejected being controlled by desires. In the process he found a love that transcended the constraints of family and community and included the entire universe. He shared his newfound freedom to love without boundaries with his followers.

Another enlightened being known as Christ questioned the law of aversion, and rejected being controlled by the fear of suffering and death. In the process he found a love that transcended the constraints of family and community and included the entire universe. He shared his newfound freedom to love without boundaries with his followers.

Followers of these enlightened beings wanted to experience this newfound freedom to love solar-eclipse-151211_960_720without boundaries, and so began to investigate the longstanding rules of STEM and APAP. They developed rules and techniques for finding this new freedom, but in many cases found the rules (religions) they developed were not liberating but even more constraining.

Some followers developed contemplative techniques for letting go of APAP rules. After long hours of disciplined prayer and meditation, some actually managed to let go of the rules that had constrained sentient beings for so long. But in the absence of those rules, some found a profound sense of loss. They discovered that living without the pursuit of pleasure and the fear of pain left life empty and meaningless.

For those few who continued and persevered, beyond the dark and vast plain of emptiness, 1338259321they discovered the meaning that the enlightened beings who went on before had promised. Love without boundaries, unconditional love, love for all of the universe, love for all living consciousness, love for all sentient beings. Love beyond the constraints of family and tribe and nation. Unconditional Love for all that is, was, and will be. Love that transcends the rules of STEM and APAP.

The progression of creation has been, from the beginning, a progression of increasing complexity and freedom, from matter and energy, to conscious life, to sentient self awareness, to enlightenment. Rules were established and transcended. First the rules of physics were established and transcended by the rules of attraction and aversion. Then the rules of attraction and aversion were transcended by the freedom of unconditional love.

Contemplative practices such as centering prayer and meditation are a tool, a method for increasing freedom and joy. Whether trapped by obsession with desires in the form of addiction, or trapped by obsession with fear in the form of phobias, contemplative practices can help. For those who choose to continue contemplative practices to the release of all attractions and aversions, profound freedom and joy in the form of unconditional love is possible.

We are now opening registration for our next set of introductory meditation classes in the beautiful North Georgia Mountains.  Our next set of classes will be held Saturday February 27th.  Our location is in Sautee Georgia which is near Helen Georgia, about an hour from Gwinnett and about 1.5 hours from Metro Atlanta.

mtn_sunrisePeople who attend our classes learn skills for dealing with stress and increasing enjoyment of life and personal freedom through letting go of negative thoughts and emotions.  More advanced classes explore increasing Spirituality through Divine Communion practice, and exercising Compassion with healthy boundaries for self and others.  People who are new to meditation and people who are experienced with meditation find our classes helpful.

Our Saturday morning class from 10:30-11:30 teaches basic meditation skills including breath centered mind stabilization and mindfulness.  Our afternoon class from 1:00-2:00 will discuss the use of meditation in addiction recovery.  Our classes generally include about 20-30 minutes of instruction and discussion, and 20-30 minutes of meditation skill practice.

Registration is open from 10:00 to 10:30 AM, or visit our Workshops page and sign up on line, or call 678-358-8775.  Our rates are very reasonable, 25.00 for a class or 40.00 for signing up for two classes or bringing a friend.

See you there!

 

 

Atlanta Area North Georgia Mountain Meditation Classes

Just one week left to register for our next set of introductory meditation classes in the beautiful North Georgia Mountains.  Our location is in Sautee Georgia which is near Helen Georgia, about an hour from Gwinnett and about 1.5 hours from Metro Atlanta.

People who attend our classes learn skills for dealing with stress and increasing enjoyment of life and personal feedom through letting go of negative thoughts and emotions.  More advanced classes explore increasing Spirituality through Divine Communion practice, and exercising Compassion with healthy boundaries for self and others.  People who are new to meditation and people who are experienced with meditation find our classes helpful.

Our Saturday morning class from 10:00-11:30 teaches basic meditation skills including breath centered mind stabilization and mindfulness.  Our afternoon class from 1:00-2:30 explores more advanced skills designed to Open our Consciousness.  Our classes generally include about one hour of instruction and discussion, and 20-30 minutes of meditation skill practice.

Registration is easy, just visit our Workshops page and sign up on line or call 678-358-8775.  Our rates are very reasonable, 25.00 for a class or 40.00 for signing up for two classes or bringing a friend.

Blessings!

Open Consciousness Meditation

Open consciousness is one of the exercises we explore in our first Christian Tantric Meditation Workshops. Open consciousness is applied in all areas of Christian Tantric Meditation, including self emptying, Divine Communion, and Compassion. Applications for open consciousness practice include relaxation, stress relief, relief of physical and emotional pain, and increasing empathy for others.

Open consciousness begins with a basic practice known as Open View. Surprisingly easy, but not easily remembered or practiced, open view simply involves opening our eyes and taking in as much as we can. Instead of looking at an object in a room, we take in an entire wall. Instead of looking at a shrub or tree out of doors, we take in an entire landscape, street scene, or an entire horizon. Open view is literally the practice of taking in an entire forest without distraction from the individual trees.

Below are a few written illustrations of how Open View can be helpful in day to day life. The first illustration describes how Open View is an integral part of consciousness in nature. Enjoy!

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cat-mia-703409_640The cat lay in his favorite place on the floor. A beam of sunlight shown in, warming his fur pleasantly. To look at him, one might have thought he was asleep. But his eyes were not completely closed, they were partially open, and he was aware of the entire room. His breath was relaxed and deep, his heart beat at a steady relaxed rate. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a movement, and his focus instantly snapped to attention. A beetle scurrying across the floor. The cat was upon the beetle within the breadth of a heartbeat.

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Jerry had been staring at his computer screen for 4 hours. He groaned, stretched, and recognized the pain in his lower back returning. He loved his work, he loved the way he got into a “zone” when he worked, but he also realized how tense it made his body and his mood. He barely tolerated interruptions when he was working, and often neglected to take care of his bodily needs.

Glancing up from his computer, he saw the office wall in front of him. He recognized individual familiar objects, books, a white board, guest chairs, a coat rack. He knew his eyes were open, but he also knew that his perception wasn’t. He had been focused on a single object, his computer screen, for a long time. He breathed deeply and opened his perception to take in the entire wall rather than the individual objects.federal-chancellery-250605_640

He then rose from his chair and stood at his window. Likewise, he saw familiar scenery, with trees, a parking lot, and some flowers and shrubs. He breathed again deeply and opened his perception to take in the entire landscape.

He noticed how his breathing slowed automatically, and became deeper. He even noticed his heart beat slowing. After a few breaths, he left the office to take care of himself and exchange greetings and ideas with coworkers.

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Chandra was staring at her mother. The air was thick between them. She didn’t even remember how this particular conflict began. She noticed the tension in her muscles, the tightness of her breathing, even the tension in the muscles around her eyes and mouth.

kitchen-691247_640Consciously, she shifted her attention to the backdrop of where her mother sat. The familiar kitchen, with the window, butterfly drapes, ceramic sink, and painted cupboards. Although here eyes were open, she knew she had been concentrating on one place in the room, her mother’s face, which carried so much tension and distress, as much as she knew her own face carried. Breathing deeply, she opened her attention to the entire backdrop behind her mother. Having practiced open view in the past, her peripheral vision was also part of her perception, so she was able to take in almost the entire kitchen.

As her perception opened, she noticed her face muscles relaxing, he breath deepening, and her heart slowing. She noticed that her mother’s face was relaxing also. Smiling, she said “This is important mom, but we need to take a break to clear our minds a little. How about a cup of tea?”

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If you are interested in learning more about Open View, Open Consciousness, and other practices that apply to Christian Tantric Meditation, consider attending a Workshop.

In our first workshops we introduce mindfulness, mind stabilization, and open consciousness practices.  Please visit http://sunrisemeditation.org/workshops/ or call 678-358-8775 for more information.

There are only a few days left to register for our Christian Tantric Meditation Workshops
on Saturday June 13 in Sautee Georgia near Helen Georgia.  It looks like we’re going to another beautiful weekend in the North Georgia Mountains!

New Year, Improved Lives

A New Year is upon us, and many of us view this as an opportunity to improve our lives. Some of us will begin diets, others will start jogging or working out, and others among us will begin practices to improve various aspects of our Conscious well being.

logolargerAs we think about ways to improve different aspects of our lives, we may look to classes, to instruction books, or to our own resources and experience. For many Christians, we look to the Bible for instruction.

In Matt 5:18-19, Jesus speaks about the fulfillment of the Old Testament laws, and begins sharing a set of commandments for living in a way that fulfills the laws. Commandments like avoid anger and sin in our hearts, settle our differences with others, loving our neighbors, and loving our enemies, point us toward living mindful, self controlled, ethical, and compassionate lives.

The core teachings that many Buddhists follow are called the Four Noble Truths. These truths can be summarized as the following:

  1. All things in this world are temporary.
  2. Suffering comes from clinging to the things of this world.
  3. Letting go of the things of this world releases us from suffering.
  4. We can let go of temporary things by living mindful, self controlled, ethical, compassionate lives.

Critics of Buddhism suggest that Buddhist teachings and practice are invalid because on the surface God does not appear to be part of the Buddhist worldview. This is somewhat like saying that a recipe for apple pie is invalid because it contains no reference to God. Just as a recipe for apple pie focuses on using readily available ingredients, Buddhism focuses on living our lives using resources at hand in this temporary existence.

Christianity describes a Kingdom that is offers permanence in the midst of the things of this world. Christianity also suggests that we can be “delivered from” the suffering of this world through maintaining a relationship with God through Christ.

Some suggest that by abandoning the things of this world, including relationships, pleasure in any form, and even neglecting our basic needs of food and sleep, we can enhance our relationship with God through Christ.

While practicing celibacy, fasting, or vigilance can be very rewarding, the commandments Christ asks us to obey are centered on mindfulness of our own emotions and desires, and having healthy, loving relationships. And by living love centered lives, obedient to Christ’s commandments, we have access to “the Kingdom” here and now.

For many of us, loving our own families, much less our enemies, can be quite challenging. Many of us get wrapped up in our own desires for the impermanent things of this world, and love gets lost and forgotten. We struggle with our habits and obsessions, our resentments and attachments, and our fears and burdens. In all this struggle, we experience disappointment after disappointment as the temporary things we try to connect with disappear one after another.

Also for many of us, hearing from others or even telling ourselves to “just quit smoking” or “just stick to the diet” or “just be more loving, dammit!” only serve to sink us further into a cycle of disappointment and regret.

The fact is, if we want to let go of a bad habit, lose weight, or be more loving, we need to change our priorities, change our attitudes, change our lifestyles, for the long term.

This is where the “recipes” provided in Tantric Buddhist meditation practices can be helpful. Mindfulness and Self Emptying meditation practices can help us to let go of our attachments to temporary things that distract us from loving. Communion oriented Guruyoga practices can help us to connect with Divinity within ourselves, and Compassion oriented practices can help us to become more accepting and loving of ourselves and others.

But meditation isn’t a “magic pill” that can solve all of our problems with one dose. Meditation is more like an exercise that needs to be practiced on a regular basis. Nobody expects to go jogging once and become instantly healthy. In fact, the first time we jog can result in some physical aches and pains as our bodies adjust to new levels of activity.

Meditation is an exercise for our consciousness, and like physical exercise, we may feel some discomfort initially. It takes some effort to let go of our long standing resentments and fears, and it takes some effort to accept the joy and love that God blesses us with every day.

Like a cross training work out, Christian Tantric Meditation provides instructions for self emptying, Divine Communion, and growing Compassion for self and others. These practices are in keeping with Christ’s Commandments and Tantric Buddhist practices.

At Ecumenical Christian Wellness Ministries, we hope you have a joyful, love filled, healthy, and successful New Year. If you would like assistance in developing a “healthy consciousness exercise” practice, we offer instruction in Christian Tantric Meditation, see our “Workshops” page for more information. Our book “Christian Tantric Meditation Guide” is also available at Amazon.com in paperback and electronic forms.

Have a Blessed Day and a Blessed New Year!