Dimensions of the Heart
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Meditations
Who were you before you became you?
There was a time in life when we were totally vulnerable and dependent as a newborn child. The mind unconditioned at that time was in a 'primitive' state, the vast state of being.
Slowly the sense experiences were linked with the mind as efforts were made to make sense of the world around us. From this, concepts were formed and as time went on, the ego and a sense of self emerged. As the brain and a sense of self matured, we became highly complex beings with a multi-faceted understanding of the world and life, having gained the ability to function in the environment around us.
In daily life, as life became more hectic and the boundary between work and private life risked blurring, over time there is a risk that the mind gets 'polluted' if there is no practice to destress the mind. Mindfulness and meditation are great tools in this. It takes effort to tame a wayward mind and with practice, it becomes easier to still the mind at will. What naturally happens is for the senses and the mind to flow in the habitual patterns they were conditioned to run in over a long period of time. The mind naturally flows outwards and seeks to connect to things and people. The restorative time usually is at night when we're flowing inwards and reach deep states of being during deep sleep. We're however not aware during this deep sleep state. With meditation there is an attempt to consciously reach deeper states of being, which we capable of. Even though we have forgotten, there is a part of us that knows this place. Even when sitting still, the natural tendency of the mind very well may be restlessness, distraction, finding other things to do to keep itself busy with. All that is natural and the first aspect of the meditation practice is going to be concentration. The practice evolves from there.
Dimensions of the Heart - Meditations
In this brief section, the different aspects of the Meditation classes are listed
Sacred Space
Shamanic Prayer within the Sacred Space and setting of the Intent for depth of Meditation
Meditation
Various cultures and various religions describe the processes of creating Sacred Space. Ark Healing is no different in its approach and incorporates Sacred Space within the teachings. Sacred Space not only will be set up for the students by N. Declunder but the students will receive the teachings on how to do this at home to deepen their meditations between classes and during the meditation classes.
A shamanic prayer is similar to a regular faith prayer. The difference is that it becomes linked to Sacred Space specifically. In opening the deeper dimensions of the heart through prayer within the created Sacred Space, there is a surrendering of one's struggles to a higher Reality. Through prayer, one aligns oneself and one's troubles with a Reality in which Unity is already experienced. By entangling oneself with this larger Reality, one elevates ones capabilities.
By aligning ourselves within the group experience of several people making an effort to join together and learn a different way of practicing meditation, the experience field gets larger and stronger. There is something to be said for the Apps available now to learn how to meditate. There is something to be said for forming a small community for a while in order to deepen and open up the meditation practice further.
