The value of group meditation

Yesterday I was asked why should I attend a meditation course when I can meditate at home. This is a valid question and set me thinking. The whole purpose of the spiritual journey is to raise and expand the consciousness. This is done by raising the energetic vibration of the body.

In the majority of people the energetic vibrations of the body are dense and heavy. This is because of the influence of the personality with its physical, emotional, and mental energy and our bondage to these and our conviction that our personality is who we are. Believing that we are only our personalities keep the vibration low and heavy. Meditation is the tool for raising the vibration and expanding the consciousness.

How does meditation do this. By being still and observing the contents of the mind, there is a separation which is the beginning of the expansion of consciousness. The raising of the vibration follows the expansion of consciousness and is in direct proportion. From meditation we see that while we have thoughts, we are not our thoughts. We have feelings, but we are not our feelings. If I have a headache, there is a part of me which is aware that I have a headache - what is this part. If I was the headache I wouldn't see any separation but we do. We often say I have a pain, who is it that is seeing us having the pain. Pondering on questions like these is the first step to raising the consciousness and hence the vibration.

The purpose and value of group meditation is firstly the commitment to give a certain length of time to practice each week. The meditation teacher is likely to have achieved a level of expanded consciousnes that the students don't and thus the students can benefit from this expanded level by being in the presence and meditating. I think this is why people who receive blessings from Avatars such as Mother Meera feel so good and uplifted in their presence. It is the transmission of a higher energy vibration to a lower to momentarily lift the lower vibration.

The value of a shared purpose and intent for a group meditation cannot be underestimated. Sincerity and a willingness to experiment within a group setting is powerful for expanding consciousness. There is also the value of sharing experiences. I remember when I first began meditating with the Buddhist group I belonged to for many years. I used to sit there bored, looking at the others who seemed to be in some place where I was denied. Afterwards I used to be dying to ask them about their experiences but this was never done. I know that sharing meditation experiences can be a trap because it can cause feelings of envy if someone has managed to enter into a state of meditative absorption. But these feelings can be looked at and let go as 'not me'. I have learned through my years of journeying on the spiritual is that there is nothing in the inner life to be afraid of.

I have my 1/2 yearly review at work today and I am not looking forward to it. I often wonder how is it that I can write about deep spiritual truths, have profound experiences which I consider to be quite right brain experiences and yet function in a left brain working environment. I realise that I was better in this environment in the past. I find that over the last 6 months and especially since I finished writing my book that spiritual insights and intuitions which were largely not part of my everyday experience at work are now interrupting my work and I find myself reaching for some paper each time they come through to write them down. This is throwing me into quite a state of confusion and I am remembered of the great Sufi warning - you can't serve 2 masters. I feel that the time is rapidly coming for me to choose which of the masters I am going to serve......