We begin to develop our intuition by adopting a regular meditation practice during which we create the appropriate inner structure and atmosphere through which our intuition can function.
There are several progressive steps to follow during the meditation of inner preparation. These steps should be followed systematically until their practice becomes second nature during meditation sessions. In the beginning, it is advisable to practice them one by one. After having experienced each meditation individually, you can practice them all together during one sitting.
The steps of the Ritual of Inner Preparation are as follows:
To benefit fully from the preparatory steps which create the inner structure essential to the functioning of the intuition, you must practice regularly. Program into your daily schedule a period of time between twenty minutes and one hour, during which you systematically practice the meditation and visualization techniques presented in this chapter.
Meditation posture: seated on the floor (figure 5, front view, and figure 6, side view).
Meditation posture: seated in a chair (figure 7, front view, and figure 8, side view).
For many people, the best time of the day for meditation is the morning, before daily activities begin. Another possible moment is at the end of the day, before retiring. When beginning, give yourself twenty minutes and slowly increase the amount of time you spend in each session. The more time you spend practicing, the more your intuition will develop and the more you will benefit from the engagement of your time. If you have a tendency to worry about time, you can use an alarm clock for your sessions. Set the alarm for the desired amount of time and begin your session. Give yourself two or three minutes after finishing your meditation to readapt yourself to the external world before resuming your other activities.
It is important that you create a quiet place you can go to for your sessions, and that you feel comfortable in this space. You can meditate in bed, in a comfortable chair, or sitting on the floor on a cushion with your legs crossed. It is essential for practice that your back be straight and your shoulders relaxed. You should wear unrestrictive clothing that allows you to breathe in both belly and chest. If you wear glasses, remove them before beginning the session. It is also advisable to remove your shoes.
To assist the flow of each meditation, it can be useful to have the guidance of a voice leading you through the several steps of inner preparation. Using the guidelines of the text, you may create a meditation by recording your own voice onto a cassette. You can also read and memorize the text of the written meditations and remind yourself of the steps as you practice. Alternatively, you can work with a friend, leading each other through the exercises and, afterward, sharing the feelings, images and messages you have received during the session.
The breath is our connection to life, the means through which our survival is assured. Essential to life, and essential also to our wellbeing, the breath is a wonderfully simple and effective tool for altering inner states of awareness. Too often taken for granted or completely ignored, the breath has become a forgotten wonder, a function that occurs, luckily, without need of our conscious intervention. Bringing our awareness to the breath reveals the importance and essential power present in this bodily function. The breath is a direct reflection of our state of being, of the way we live within our bodies. It is through the breathing process that we express our willingness to receive life-force energy and light into our bodies, into our lives. In the constant rhythmic movement of inspiration/expiration, we participate in the very movement of life all around us. At birth, we begin with the breath and it is through the breath that we take the first steps of coming back to ourselves in the practice of meditation.
In this second step of the ritual of preparation, we consciously embark on an imaginary journey, leaving the world of the rational mind to enter the inner world of the subconscious mode of functioning. Through the use of guided imagery and suggestion, we evoke the functioning of the inner senses—vision, touch, taste, smell, and hearing—to enter into an altered state of consciousness, a light trance state, in which we can gain distance from the habitual linear structure of the conscious mind.
We create, and then regularly enter into, a world of nature, of living plants and elements. In this imaginary world, where everything is organized according to our needs and desires, we find an atmosphere that is relaxing and easy to be in, where we can resource ourselves through a conscious and intuitive contact with the elements of nature present in the setting we have chosen. Restabilized by the earth, purified in water, vitalized by the air, and warmed by the Sun, we enter into contact with the elements of nature to give ourselves the qualities we need, taking time to enjoy this imaginary walk, which allows us to appreciate the qualities and beauty of nature.
Within the beauty of the natural setting, we imagine a sanctuary, a temple. A sacred place. It is to this temple that we go to enter more deeply into contact with our intuitive self. Using the imagination as a creative tool, we create the temple according to our wishes. The only criteria for creation is that this sacred space pleases us, so that, each time we go there, we feel at home, at ease and at peace, with the desire to return again.
The Resource Natural Setting and Inner Temple are utilized as triggers to switch from rational to imaginary mode, from left- to right-brain functioning, from conscious to subconscious, and as such, are essential triggers for entering into the intuitive mode. But perhaps, as importantly, these imaginary inner places serve as a protection, as a sort of buffer zone, shutting out the noise and energetic pollution of the external world, so that we can work quietly, without psychic disturbance, in our inner world.
Initially the Natural Setting and Temple are created atmospheres, brought to life by our invention and organization. However, after a time, this inner world begins to take on another dimension—a living dimension of its own. In the same way that all living nature has its rhythms and all dwellings have an atmosphere, these places can begin to transform and “speak for themselves,” assisting us on our inner voyage. Given that the garden of Nature and Temple exist through our imagination, it is natural that, as we change and evolve, our needs will also evolve. Very often, these inner states of transformation can be noted through sudden changes observed in the natural setting and the Temple. Periodically, the Temple should be spring-cleaned and renovated, allowing this imaginary space to be a correct and comfortable reflection of our inner state.
Symbolically, the voyage through the Resource Natural Setting to the Temple, represents a return to the essential self that is necessary in order to have contact with the wisdom of our deeper selves. We renounce (temporarily) the external world, to embrace the inner world of our imagination, through which we rediscover our intuitive self.
It is important to take your time with this step of the ritual. You may stay as long as you like in nature, in the Temple. Use this step as part of the self-healing process of meditation and visualization. Allow yourself all the time you need to create this inner world according to your requirements. Use your imagination freely, without restraint. Think of yourself as a magician, creating your world. You are in fact doing just that!
Having traversed the beauties of nature to install yourself (your awareness) in your inner Temple, you are naturally protected from external disturbances on both a mental and energetic level. At this point, the next step is to enter into contact with the energies of Earth and the universe as means of support, aid, and nourishment.
Realignment with the vertical describes the process of creating a conscious contact with the energies of Earth and the universe, imagining that they are beings with which you can enter into a relationship of exchange, communication, and consciousness. In the philosophy on which the intuition teachings are based, we believe in the concept of Earth and universe as Mother and Father archetypes or divinities. Earth is a being, a nourishing feminine energy, a being following her evolutionary path and experiencing her existence with a certain level of awareness, in much the same way that we experience our own. The universe for all its vastness, is also a being, intelligent, aware and in relationship with the Earth. We can enter into conscious relationship with these beings if we so choose.
The essential qualities we find when we enter into contact with the Earth are security and stability. Through the universe we find light and communion, the sense of belonging, of having a place and a purpose. By opening our awareness toward the Earth and extending our inner senses to create an energetic contact, we can find all the security and stability we need to feel safe and protected. We can imagine the Earth as Mother, offering us her abundance, the fruit and flowers of her being. Energetic contact with Earth creates a sense of grounding, of anchoring, and is achieved through breathing in the belly and becoming more present and aware in actual present time. Preoccupations with the past and future can be managed and even mastered, through the practice of regular grounding exercises and meditations, which help us to stay concentrated with our attention in the here and now. Grounding increases our awareness of the experience of our physical body and our relationship with it.
Figure 9. Grounding: connecting energetically to the Earth.
To balance the density and stability of Earth, we also enter into contact with the universe, with the vastness of heaven, experienced through our perception of light and our sense of communion with existence. Extending our awareness toward heaven, we ask the light to be with us, to flow in us, to heal us. We imagine light from the universe in the form of a color and a quality of communion, and energy from Earth as a quality of stability—two energies which flow into us as a form of liquid light. The relationship with Earth and universe creates a flow of subtle energy entering through the pelvis and the crown of the head, reinforcing the vertical axis of the body. Reinforcement of the axis in this fashion gives us the balanced qualities of firmness and suppleness, stability and lightness.
Regular practice of Realignment of the Vertical eventually leads to the development of greater detachment, independence, and emotional maturity. Once we give a place to the Earth and the universe, they can begin to function for us in the subtle world of inner consciousness, communicating, guiding, and offering us their presence as a welcome accompaniment through life.
Having connected energetically to the Earth and universe through the vertical axis of the subtle body, light can be distributed throughout the subtle and physical body for purification, nourishment, and balance. We imagine light as a liquid substance, clear, alive, and flowing, with the ability to flow throughout all the systems of the body.
At the same time, we shift our center of awareness from the center of the head to the chest region, imagining the heart as the center point of our consciousness, as the seat of the wisdom of the soul. The heart receives both the energy of Earth and universe—two types of liquid light that arrive, meet, and merge in the heart and, from there, circulate throughout the body as nourishing healing light.
Figure 11. Flowing Light Meditation: energetic light connection between belly, heart, and head.
In this step of the meditation we surround ourselves in light, protecting ourselves from external energetic disturbances and creating an envelope of nourishing light that reinforces the boundaries of our subtle body.
In the final step of the Ritual of Preparation, we bring all the previous steps together into one coherent meditation, at the end of which we create an anchoring of the intuitive state by connecting the thumb and index fingers at the appropriate moment when we feel well-installed in intuitive mode. Once the anchor is installed, it is used in all future meditations as a trigger reflex to bring us quickly and efficiently into intuitive mode.
Figure 12. The Ritual of Preparation: anchoring thumb and index finger.
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From now on, always use this finger/thumb anchoring every time you wish to enter into your intuitive mode. As soon as you close your eyes and begin to breathe calmly and regularly, connect your finger and thumb in the same fashion, ensuring that you will enter simply and deeply into your intuitive mode of being.
