St Jude's Summary 10-21-2008

Today we are going to continue the practice of experiencing a presence that is not physical filling the body.

Many spiritual traditions describe a relationship between light and Spirit. The intention for the meditation techniques we will explore today is to experience our body as full of light.

Exercise 1: Sit comfortably and place your attention on the sensations of breathing. Rest your attention there until your breath feels comfortable, and natural. Then expand your awareness and place part of your attention on any memory or imagining of light. Scan various memories or imaginings to find those where the experience of light is associated with feelings of peace, joy, beauty, or love. Allow your attention to have this dual focus, your breath and the experience of light.

Exercise 2: Begin as in exercise 1. Place more of your attention on the experience of light and imagine that the light is melding with your body. It is not so much that the light is a substance which you are trying to fill your body with. It is more that the light has been within your body all along and you are now allowing yourself to recognize that. Feel your breath moving through your body and open to the experience of light being present where ever you feel the breath. Allow the light to take on various colors or shapes or move in various directions. Avoid the temptation to micromanage it.

Exercise 3: This is a continuation of exercise 2. As you experience light moving through your body mentally connect the light with the presence of Spirit. Sometimes short affirmations can help this. One that I like is a prayer that I found in a book by Swami Sivananda Radha. It reads, "I am created by Divine Light. I am sustained by Divine Light. I am protected by Divine Light. I am surrounded by Divine Light." I often add the phrase "I am one with Divine Light" or "I am becoming Divine Light". Repeating this or a similar prayer while imagining the presence of light joining and flowing through the body adds a spiritual dimension to the practice.

As you gain familiarity with exercises 1 and 2 you can move through them quickly and simply practice exercise 3.

It is also important to create a brief version of exercise 3 that you can use throughout the day to remind yourself of the experience of the light of Spirit filling you and surrounding you.