MSM CIRCLE MEETING AUGUST 2002

READING –DISCUSSION – REFLECTION - NEWS

The "Breathing" and "Countdown" steps are introduced in the meditation cycle to give us a sense or feeling of switching into a slower or lower vibration of brain activity. When fully awake we operate at the Beta level which is higher then 14 cycles per second. In meditation we wish to get to the Alpha level of brain activity which is between 7 to 14 cycles per second. So the breathing and countdown steps give us the feeling that we are getting to Alpha. It is a subjective feeling and there is no standard sign when we reach Alpha-just believe we are there.

The taking of three deep breaths at the beginning of every cycle has two purposes:

1. To let more oxygen enter our lungs. This action by itself will cause the body to be more energized. Normally we do not actually breathe to full capacity.
2. To give us a feeling of switching from the Beta to the Alpha mode.

Many other schools of meditation just focus on the breathing alone to get into a deep meditative state and stay there just continuing to meditate on the act itself.

The three deep breaths of our normal cycle can be expended further once we have been in practice for some time. Each deep breath can be inhaled to the count of 1, then held to the count of 4 and exhaled to the count of 2. This will make sure our lungs are sufficiently oxygenated.

(A practice session will follow after this Reading).

The Countdown, too, has a dual purpose:

1. To give us a feeling of switching from Beta to Alpha just like the breathing.
2. To help us develop the ability to concentrate or focus. Concentration is necessary in everything we do from studying, driving, doing our daily work and even meditating – we all know how prone we are to distractions. During the M.S. Course we counted down from 100 to 1 for the first week of practice and then progressed to 50 to 1 during the second week and subsequently to 25 to 1. However, if we can spare the time, it is good once in a way to countdown from 100 to 1 to sharpen our powers of concentration.

During the countdown, we can either listen to the mental counting or visualize the numbers on a descending scale, as if coming down an elevator. This will depend on our mental sense inclination which by now we should be aware of. Remember, during the basic M.S. Course we did a cycle going through all the 5 senses to see which sense is more predominant in each of us. Most of us (70%) are visually inclined and others could be one of the other 4 senses inclined. So if we are visually inclined we should see the lights of the elevator, if we audio-inclined then we can listen to the counting.

At the end of every Cycle too, we have a breathe-in and counting but upwards. Notice there are always a few lesser deep breaths and count-ups compared to when we started the cycle. The reason is we do not want to come back to as high a state of Beta as when we started the cycle. We still wish to retain a little bit of the Alpha feeling for a while after the cycle so that we can function at optimum level. We do not want to return to an immediate high Beta state.

The breathing and countdown must start and end every cycle. The steps in between, like Ideal Place, Universal Light, Affirmations and Projections can be options and varied every day.