Why Meditation Works

The White Hole Inside the Black Hole

Letting head and body breath together allows ideas in the mind to become actions of the body, allows the movement of the body to inform the mind and bring it to truth. The throat releases. When the throat chakra opens, we are harmonious, we walk our talk. As breath comes in we experience fullness and strength. As breath goes out we experience trust, release and emptiness. The breath finds its natural rhythm; it may become quicker or slower, deeper or more shallow, as tensions release and patterns play out. The breath comes in, the world enters us; it goes out, we are returned to ourselves.

Drawing the world down through us reverses the direction of Evolution. Involution is the return to the Source. Since all Center is One with all Center (by definition), the Center of the Self is One with the Center of the Earth, Center of the Sun, Center of the Galaxy or Center of the Universe. Each of these is a Singularity, or Creation Point. The Source, or Great Mother. Up and out is the direction of male energy, toward uniqueness, separation, individuation. Down and in is the female direction, toward universality, becoming One with all that is, a return to the beginning.

Everything that exists in space and time exists in a polarized state. In our dream, trance or meditative state, the images we see are astral resonances which reflect inner or outer realities. Pulling them back inside ourself and passing them through condenses and collapses the energy field. Polarized fields collapse in inverse order to that in which they were created. Male (outer-directed) energy destroys by explosion; female (inner-directed) energy destroys by implosion. That is, events are reduced to their constituent elements, and the elements themselves to proto-energy. The Womb of the Great Mother not only births the world, but takes it back in and destroys it. She is Fati, Ultimate Fate, Final Destiny, the Black Hole. But in this regard She is also the universal recycling system. For that which is taken in and fully disassembled into proto-energy or creative force, can then be issued out as fresh new creation. The Black Hole of destruction becomes the White Hole of creation.

Much as a recycling plant melts down rusted old automobiles into metal to create new vehicles, that which is destroyed in the meditative process is that which no longer serves. Old thoughts, attitudes, emotions, useless or excessive material possessions, meaningless or unhappy relationships all go into the recycling bin and re-emerge as new possibilities. In some cases the relationship or idea is purged by the passage, and emerges refreshed; in others it disappears from the life of the meditator leaving room for new experience.

Meditation works not only to clear the field for the mediator, but also for whatever is the subject of meditation. This operates as follows: the astral images and resonant feelings in the mediitator are attached to the outside event in the same way that images in a movie, magazine or tv attach to outer experience. A picture of a juicy burger induces hunger. Pornography plunges us into erotic sensation, and glamorous images of cars, vacations or evening wear are meant to induce us to work harder to attain the very items for which our desire has been implanted by the images. Images cause realities to come into being. As do thoughts or words, including mantras. That which we meditate on pulls the world in the direction of our dreams. It is simply a question of the proportion of our (personal and collective) life energy invested in dreams of peace, love, justice and beauty instead of dreams of war, conquest or revenge which determines the world we live in.

Reality is always just as we dream it. Our work in meditation is to bring consciousness to our dreams, for consciousness always prefers harmony and creativity.

An Example of Why Action In Is More Powerful Than Action Out

Many people are taught spiritual practices which include shielding, cutting cords, or other defensive maneuvers. They attempt to keep negative energy out. Equally, they may attempt to do good in the world by sending love, healing, white light out into the world. All of these practices, while based on positive intention, are less efficient than they could be because of misconceptions around energy.Healing is more powerful when we accept the one to be healed – all or any part of the world we live in – as ourselves. First we love it inside us, without separation. Then we have the strength to act in the outer world.

Imagine for instance that a male and female of equal age and each of average body type engage in a contest of arm wrestling. When each one reaches across to the other, the male, larger in body, more armored, and more efficient in musculature, will almost always win. But now imagine that the female does not reach halfway across, but instead holds her arm close to herself, and makes the male reach out to her. Her strength increases while his diminishes. By staying close to her own center, she wins the contest.

This physical illustration by extension illustrates the truth that whatever is done at the center always has more power that what is done exterior to self. The more we push away what we don’t want, the messier it becomes. Only by accepting whatever faces us as part of our world, taking it in and passing it through, do we really ‘clear the path.

Note: of course it is true that sometimes what faces us may seem overwhelming. In such cases, an astute spiritual warrior will adopt the same strategy as a competent martial artist. That is, not to face the enemy directly, but at an angle. This deflects the negative energy and slows it down until it can be directed down and grounded. We still take it through; but in strengths and doses we can handle.

A story: While training in Tae Kwon Do many years ago, my teacher, a 4th degree black belt with large and muscular physique, told me this story. He was training in a dojo which was visited by a small Japanese man proficient in Aikido. My teacher admired the beautiful fluid moves of the Aikido Master, and during a pause, introduced himself to the older man, commenting on how graceful and spiritual were the movements, and then making the mistake of saying, “I know it’s not really about combat..." To which the man replied: "Oh, you think no good for fighting!"

My teacher could not escape, no matter how he tried to apologize. The smaller man insisted that he would hold still and the ‘karate man’ should direct his best punch right at the other’s chest. "No pull punch, your best shot!" Finally, assuming the other would have some fluid block or side-step, my teacher threw his 'break ten bricks' punch. Which, he told me, never got there. But instead seemed to enter a billowy netherworld, slowing down and stopping just at the man's skin. "How did you do that?" my teacher asked. "Easy!" said the man. "You said 'that way'" - pointing out, "but I said 'this way!'", pointing down. He had taken the energy through himself and sent it into the ground.

We don't become Aikido (Path of Chi or Ki) Masters instantly, but knowing the direction, the way is open to learn.