The Art of Guided Meditation
Guided meditation is the art of going into an altered or meditative state of consciousness, then mentally following along a prepared (written, read, or orally plannedout) inner-world journey with the purpose of gaining knowledge, personal insights, or transformation. The process is also known as pathworking, a name derived from Ceremonial Magick, and guided journeying. The term “altered” in this case is not a synonym for something dangerous or aberrant, it simply refers to a deliberately slowed level of brain activity unlike that associated with routine waking consciousness.
All types of meditation have their practical occult applications, and guided meditation is no exception. Having detailed prepared imagery available can help the mind stay in its altered state focused on the meditation. This is an excellent way for beginners to the meditative arts to help train the mind to achieve and stay in an altered state. In any altered state, the mind is more receptive to ideas and symbols, and you are much more likely to discover interesting insights than you would be with straight meditation alone. You will also find that as you reach inward you can more easily reach outward. In other words, what takes place in guided meditation is in the mind, but that does not make it unreal. Remember that in magickal faiths such as Paganism, we recognize that our thoughts have tremendous power. As you journey, you will truly be creating a new reality for yourself, and the beings you meet in this inner world can help or hinder you in ways they would be unable to in the physical world.
Guided meditation allows you to try on other personalities, meet with eities, and visit environments and magickal sites that are usually unavailable to you in physical form. It is also a great way to discipline your mind.
The combination of structure and free thought, which is the nature of guided meditation, allows you to place your right and left brain hemispheres in sync so that they can better work together, both during the meditation and after it has ended. The right brain is the seat of intuition and creativity, the left brain is the seat of reason and analytical thought. When they work in tandem, they both function at peak efficiency. This increases the strength of the corpus callosum, the tissue that connects the two hemispheres—a connection that is already stronger in women than in men. Therefore, the monadic experience your brain gains from guided meditation can be carried over into all aspects of your life in which you need and want to be thinking and intuiting at optimum levels.
Achieving an Altered State
Achieving an altered state of consciousness is not a mysterious or difficult process. It happens naturally to everyone, every day. You may not always recognize it for what is is, but you cannot stop it from happening. When you sleep, read, watch television, or daydream, your brain waves slow and the space between their cycles increases. This can be measured on an EEG ( electroencephalograph), a machine that monitors brain activity. The only difference between these natural altered states and those induced in spiritual disciplines is that your are bringing the process under conscious control.
A rough chart of brain wave levels and their corresponding physical conditions appears on page 283.
Attaining at least the upper levels of alpha is necessary for successful inner world/astral world work, including guided meditation. If you already have a method for inducing an altered state you like and that works for you, it is suggested that you keep it. Part of learning to alter one’s consciousness with ease is to have a routine practice that alerts the mind that a change is about to take place.
|
State |
Cycles per Second |
Condition |
|
Beta |
15-18 |
Normal Wakefulness, Alertness, Study, Conversational Level (Person is aware of all physical sensations and bodily needs) |
|
Alpha |
8-12 |
Light to Medium Meditation, Daydreaming, Focused Concentration, Drowsiness, Cat-Napping, Some Astral Projection, Easy Guided Meditations, Very Light Sleep, Drowsiness (Person finds waking from this level mildly annoying, but not difficult) |
|
Theta |
4-6 |
Deep Meditation, Medium to Deep Sleep, Complex Astral Projection, Complex Guided Meditation, Light Unconsciousness (Person finds waking from this level moderately to very difficult) |
|
Delta |
0.5-2.5 |
Very Deep Sleep, Coma or Deep Unconsciousness (Person has little or no consciousness of physical sensations or bodily needs) |
If you are not familiar with altered state work, there are some simple exercises you can try to help gently take you into the alpha levels. Continued practice will allow you to alter your consciousness almost at will.
For all altered state work, you will need to be in a quiet, private place, wearing comfortable, loose clothing. You may either sit or lie down, but if you choose the latter make sure you will not fall asleep, or your effort will be negated. You should not cross arms or legs; these postures set up stresses that will become apparent after twenty or thirty minutes of motionlessness. Such stress will become uncomfortable, possibly even bringing you out of your meditative state. You may want to gently play some New Age or environmental music in the background to mask outside noises. Incense can also help.
Begin your altered state practicing with any of the following methods. Each practice session should run twenty to thirty minutes.
Counting Your Breaths
As you lie/sit still, count each breath starting from number one. There is no limit to how high you can count. Each breath you exhale is one count. Focus on this to the exclusion of all else. When you tire of this, you can modify the exercise by altering your breathing patterns. For instance, breathe in deeply for four counts, hold for two, and exhale for four. Many mystery schools teach special patterns and what they can do for you, but no such Celtic pattern seems to have been used; or, if it was, the method was not preserved.
Counting Down
Starting at any number you like, begin counting slowly and rhythmically backward. You can coordinate this with your breathing pattern, or not. Start with 100, 500, or 1,000, depending on how long you wish to practice. When you reach zero you can start to bring yourself up again.
Using a Mantra
Using one word, sound, or phrase as a focus for your mind is called using a “mantra,” a Sanskrit word derived from the hymns of praise found in the Hindu sacred writings known as the Rig Vedas. Repeat the mantra over and over in a steady, rhythmic pattern, with or without coordinating it to your breathing pattern.
Focusing on a Symbol
You can use a symbol the same way you use a mantra. This often works better for those who are more visually oriented. Select something basic to start with, like a simple geometric form. Or you can go for a Celtic symbol like a triskele. Hold its image in your mind to the exclusion of all else for as long as you can.
Daydreaming with a Focus
This type of meditation is the closest to guided meditation, and can have the added benefit of leading to a state of mind known as divided consciousness, where you are literally in two places at once. Select an adventure you wish to explore, then relax and jump into it. Pay close attention to homing in on every detail, making each sharp and precise. At this point, try not to allow the inner,world adventure to take on a life of its own. That will come eventually, and can signal that you have achieved immersion in the inner world, but for now you want to improve the mental discipline that comes with com, plete control.
If at any time in your meditation practice you find your mind wandering, simply bring it back where you want it, and keep working. Even the most experienced meditator will have off days, so don’t be too hard on yourself for not being perfect.
Once you are in a relaxed state of mind you can begin your guided medita, tion. You can either plan to work with a partner and have that person read the meditation aloud to you, or you can read it yourself into a tape recorder
and play it back whenever you wish. Allow your inner self to follow along with all the events, seeing and feeling them from the point of view of your inner self.
Unless there is an emergency to deal with, or you accidentally fall asleep, always finish a path once you have begun. It is very important to both your subconscious and conscious minds to make clear the point of separation between the inner and outer worlds. Failing to do this can make both halves of your mind feel out of whack. You consciousness will be sluggish, and given to slight disorientation, and your subconscious will remain wide open to the inner worlds and become an open portal for anything in the inner or astral world to come through and confound your physical reality with its presence.
Sealing this portal is easy and takes no time at all. As soon as you become cognizant of the physical world again do one or more of the following:
1. Make noise. Shout, sing, clap your hands, or make any other sound that strikes you as being an expression of your physical manifestation.
2. Make a statement that tells you the inner world journey has ended and “regular” life is now resuming. Try something such as, “The rite is done,” or “I am home again,” or “The worlds of form and spirit are separate once more. So mote it be.”
3. Eat. Eating is a very physical action, one highly recommended for ending any ritual. Because it serves to ground us in the physical world, this is one of the reasons that feasts in group rituals come at the end of all the other rites.
4. Engage in physical action. Stomp your feet, dance, work out, run, shower, have sex (safe sex!), or do anything else that celebrates your corporealness.
When you are grounded once again, be sure to write down your impressions in your magickal journal or Book of Shadows so you will have a record for later study or comparison. If you want to discuss your pathworking experience with a friend, either one who did or did not do the working with you, it is best to do it only after you have had time to contemplate all its meanings for yourself, so that your judgment will not be clouded by comparison to someone else’s experience.