4 Stages of Meditation to Take You Deep

First of all, notice the I that observes the you who thinks, dreams, and desires.  There is a part of you that is separate from the mind, from the habits, from the reactions.  This is the part of you that can be empowered through meditation.

This is the part of the soul that is called the silent witness or the detached observer.  This part of the soul is also called the intellect and is continually refined as you study, as you experience, as you learn and as you meditate. The intellect of the soul contains your reserves of wisdom and knowledge, and has the power to discern, discriminate, and decide. The intellect contains the wisdom to calm the mind down and to choose which thoughts make you feel elevated and happy.

Grow this part of the soul.  It is the ‘mother’ to your mind.  It will guide you. Have faith in the intellect.

The 4 steps which will take you into deep meditation follow:

The first step in meditation is called INITIATION. It simply means creating a quiet, comfortable place that is conducive to meditation. A place where you won’t be disturbed or easily distracted.  A place just to be quiet in and to build up the energy of peace and stillness.

The 2nd stage is called MEDITATION. It involves selecting a topic or a theme for your meditation. It could be a quality, value, or virtue that you would like to focus upon in order to understand it and embrace it more deeply.  It might be a statement claiming the quality … such as: I am a Peaceful Soul.  It might be in the form of a question such as: what does bliss feel like? or humility? or contentment ? Concentrate your mind on your chosen statement or question.  If the mind wanders, if there is a struggle, know you have the ability to bring it back, like a loving mother to the theme at hand. Training the mind is important, getting the wheels of a rusty mind going in the direction you want, may take a bit of gently bringing it back time and again.  Be kind to the mind and it will cooperate.

As this loving, guiding relationship develops between you-the soul and your intellect and your mind, you will be able to naturally move into the next stage of concentration where the mind is happily engaged and moving with your topic.

The 3rd stage is called CONCENTRATION. In concentration you have reached the stage where your thoughts are flowing freely upon your chosen theme, circling around your subject like a bee buzzing around a flower, drinking in the nectar.  You are deep into the investigation of your theme.  This will lead you into the 4th and last stage in which you become the topic of your meditation. You become peace, bliss, humility, or contentment, etc.

The 4th stage is called REALIZATION. It is the stage in which you come to know and feel the essence of the topic or theme you have chosen.   In this stage you have gone beyond contemplation into knowing and being.  This is when meditation becomes very practical and has a beneficial effect on the rest of your life.

You may choose to meditate on one theme for a month or longer.  Accomplished meditators are known to stay on certain aspects, qualities, or themes for long, concentrated periods of time. This develops patience and faith.

Contemplating on elevated states of being, such as peace, bliss, humility, true love will produce elevated streams of thought.  You are literally invoking these states to arise within your being.  Doing this type of 4 step process on a daily basis can create a powerful vibration which will affect you physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Daily meditation creates a powerful momentum.  As your meditation begets more meditation, a new consciousness emerges from within.  As you powerfully integrate the themes you have chosen to take up in meditation, they will color your experiences and even uplift others.

As you meditate on these beautiful states and qualities, ask yourself how can I stay in touch with this place inside of myself, with this knowing, with this awareness? How can I hold the preciousness of this consciousness, so it does not fade away? As you continue this process of realisation, you will come to know the qualities of your own essence.