Global Meditation at the Climate Change & Consciousness Conference at Findhorn
April 18, 2019
Watch and participate in this inspiring global meditation at Findhorn with Nayaswami Kirtani and Nayaswami Anand from Ananda Assisi. Recorded April 18th 2019.
This guided meditation focuses on bringing inner peace, light, and unity to help address climate change. The meditation involves chanting AUM, visualizing energy centers in the spine, perceiving inner light, feeling connected to nature, and sending blessings. Calming the mind, lifting the consciousness, and recognizing oneness are effective agents of positive change.
https://ecovillage.org/climate-change-consciousness-conference/
Transcript
Climate Change and the Power of Elevated Consciousness
Nayaswami Kirtani:
So, this is a wonderful opportunity for all of us. Is there anyone here who has never meditated before? Can I just see if there’s, yes, okay?
I thought that it would be attractive here because you know what meditation can be. It's very important for those of us that are in this conference that we continue with our spiritual practices. As Vandana said today, our spiritual practices give us the focus of our energies and the elevated consciousness of our energy to be able to make decisions and choose things for ourselves and for our families and for things that will influence the world, that will be a positive influence.
And one of the reasons that we tend to say that the climate change doesn't stir up fear and anxiety in us is because we have that strength of inner practice, that instead of remaining where the fears are or the anxiety in this lower area of our bodies, we bring the energy up to a space in which we can interiorize our consciousness and our energy, and become more deeply aware of what our purpose in life is, and, specifically for us here in this conference, how that might relate to the topic of climate change.
Guiding a Solution for Climate Change In Meditation
So, our meditation today is focused on climate change, and especially on the aspect of bringing peace into our own lives and into the lives of others and helping to calm the tornado and hurricane vibration of the world that is expressed in climate change in order to bring about a change in climate. So, in our meditation, we can be in our higher self and our higher consciousness and be more effective for change in our own lives in the lives of others.
I'd like to read you something talking about the higher self and realizing that higher Self. Something that Paramhansa Yogananda wrote about Self-realization. He said, “Self-realization is the knowing in all parts of body, heart, mind, and soul that we are One with the Omnipresence of God. And that we don't have to pray that it come to us that we are not merely near it at all times. But that God's Omnipresence is our Omnipresence. That we are just as much a part of God now, in this moment, as we ever will be. All we have to do is improve our knowing.” All we have to do is improve our knowing of who we are and that Oneness that we are in with the Omnipresence of God.
So, we're going to do a chant together, called "One with the Infinite AUM. Many of you know AUM as the vibration that came out from Spirit to… There are many stories of creation, and every one is valid and believed in in different parts of the world. So, Yogananda says that AUM was the vibration that came out from Infinite Spirit. And in that vibration, there was sound created, and that sound, that vibration is AUM or Amen in the Christian tradition or Amin.
And when we vibrate with AUM, if we're chanting it, if we're singing the sound, or if we are feeling it vibrating within us, we can experience that Oneness, that Yogananda, his words, talked about.
So, we're going to chant. The words are fairly simple.
What is this life flowing through my veins?
Can it be other than Divine?
In Thy Light, in Thy Love, in Thy Joy, I am One.
I am One with the Infinite AUM.
And we'll sing it long enough for you to pick up on the words.
[The group repeats the chant to guitar accompaniment]
Now, with closed eyes, with the spine straight in whatever position you choose to sit, become aware of that energy. Chanting often will awaken our awareness of the energy within the body.
And if you want to become more aware of that energy, tense, inhale with a double breath, and tense the whole body now, from toes to head tense, and vibrate and exhale and relax. Again, tense, inhale, exhale, and relax one more time.
And let your breath flow as it freely flows without any attempt to control it, but bring your mind to an awareness of the breath, where it is easiest for you to perceive it. It might be the breath that moves the diaphragm or the lungs. You might be aware of the breath in the nostrils. Wherever you can most easily perceive it, let your mind focus on the dance of your breath within.
This practice of focusing the mind is one of the most important for being able to go deep within in meditation. So whatever outward things take the mind away, when you realize it, bring the mind back gently to its focus on the breath.
And because the mind tends to get carried away with its own inner conversation, we're going to give the mind words to mentally repeat. This technique of Hong Sau is a technique that uses Hong as the sound for the inhalation, but an inward expression not outward, and Sau, repeated with the exhalation.
And if you prefer, you can... it means I am Spirit, I am He, Hong Sau. But you can also repeat words that have meaning for you, I am Spirit, I am Peace. I am Love. I am Joy. With the inhalation, I Am. In the exhalation, the word that you would identify with in this meditation. As the mind focuses on the breath and on Hong Sau, or I Am Peace, the breath becomes calmer and the mind becomes calmer.
And if you haven't yet watched the breath in the nostrils, come to that point now, using the coolness of the inhalation in the nostrils to focus your awareness there. Let your awareness of that cool air entering the nose bring your awareness higher in the nostrils with each inhalation.
So that still without controlling the breath in any way, letting it flow naturally, bring your awareness of the breath ever higher in the nose until you come to the point where the air enters into the nasal cavity just behind the point between the eyebrows and focus there on the breath. And if you have difficulty feeling the breath at that point, visualize it fanning this point between the eyebrows, referred to as the spiritual eye.
Continue to keep the mind focused on the breath at the point between the eyebrows and on Hong Sau, Hong with the inhalation, Sau with the exhalation. And if there's a particular quality you want to affirm in yourself, continue to repeat I am Peace, Joy, Love, Light, Harmony.
Without tension, with the body still relaxed, continue to be aware of the breath and the mantra with the inhalation and exhalation, the natural flowing breath.
If you find the mind trying to control the breath, bring the mind back to focus on the dance, the movement of the breath, and the mantra.
If you're well-focused, you may find that the pauses between the breaths become longer. Without forcing, without trying to hold the breath, become aware of those pauses between the breaths.
And we will continue now in silence. You can stop the mantra if you like. If it's still serving a purpose, continue it. We will continue in silence for a little less than 20 minutes.
Lifting the Light Within
Try to remain very focused at the point between the eyebrows. Yogananda said we must learn to pierce the veil of darkness behind closed eyes with the arrow of our concentration. Focus there. And Jesus said, If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of Light. The Yogi's, in a similar way, say when the mind is deeply calm, the inner Light spontaneously appears. The Masters also teach that in order to deeply calm the mind, the energy in the body has to flow up the spine toward the brain.
So, I'd like to just ask you to visualize with me that we drop our mind down into the base of the spine. And we look up through that tunnel, up toward the spiritual eye. And even squeeze the muscles of the anus slightly, just to help place your awareness at the very base of the spine. Looking up toward the spiritual eye as if you're looking through a tunnel.
And we're going to float up from the base of the spine; our awareness is going to float up toward the spiritual eye through the different centers in the spine. Just like a balloon, begin to float up.
Keep looking at the point between the eyebrows as it becomes slowly evermore near. And as we ascend the spine, all the energy, any energy that we haven't already brought to the spiritual eye, is going to follow from the body and the organs in the senses and it will follow us up the spine. So, we're bringing all awareness and all energy of the body up to the spiritual eye.
And you can even see that energy of the nervous system in the organs as Light. “If Thine Eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of Light.”
Light is within and around me, protecting me, helping me to banish all fear. Light is my indwelling Self. Light is the life of the whole universe. I am submerged in Eternal Light. Light permeates every particle of my being. I am living in that light. The light of Divine Spirit fills me within and without. Light is just behind my reason, just behind my thoughts. Light is every day guiding me to do the right thing always.
Light is the life of the whole universe, and it is in that light that I can bless the universe, bless this world, bless my loved ones, bless Findhorn, bless this blessed community. In the Light, I can bless the world's environment.
Effecting Climate Healing
When mass consciousness is agitated, nature becomes agitated. If we calm the mind and perceive the Light, we can help calm others in this world. We can help Mother Nature.
Feel that you are permeated with that Light. All your energy is at this point between the eyebrows, and it's from that point that we're going to feel ourselves becoming part of this world, part of the life, part of the Light that is sustaining everything in this life, the trees, the rivers all creatures. Feel yourself expanding in that Light. All through creation, the Light that permeates and vibrates all life is in you. Light is the vehicle that allows us to expand our consciousness into nature.
I am one with this Infinite Light. Light is the Divine Light that permeates everything.
With our focalized energy, with our vocalized attention, let us use the sound of AUM and Amen. Let's use the power of that Light that is AUM and Amen. The Light and Sound of creation is AUM and Amen, and let's rub our hands together so that we can feel the vibration in our hands, feel the energy in the palms and the fingers. And we're going to send out through our spiritual eye, this Light blessing throughout all of Mother Nature, all creatures, all beings.
AUM, AUM, AUM
Paramhansa Yogananda’s Prayer for a United World
We’d like to leave you with this prayer for a united world, which Yogananda prayed many years ago when there was equal need in the world for a United World.
Let us pray in our hearts for a league of souls and the United World. Though we may seem divided by race, creed, color, class, and political prejudices, still, as children of the One God, we are able, in our souls, to feel brotherhood and world unity. May we work for the creation of United World in which every nation will be a useful part. Guided by man's enlightened conscience. In our hearts, we can all learn to be free from hate and selfishness. Let us pray for harmony among the nations that they marched hand in hand through the gate of a fair new civilization.
And perhaps in this moment, we could chant AUM, one more time, In deep gratitude, for the gift of life and for all that we are trying to do to create a better future for ourselves and our children, and also to express gratitude to Findhorn as a community for hosting this conference on climate change and consciousness and to all those that we know have worked very hard and are still giving of their time, their energy, their love, and harmony, and peace to make this conference happen.
Nayaswami Anand:
Let's also include those that are tuned in with live streaming because there are people who have meditated with us all over the world, and we acknowledge and are grateful for their presence. We will also include a blessing for them and our blessing for Findhorn and of this conference.
AUM, AUM, AUM
Bless you all. Thank you for your participation. This is very special.
Nayaswami Kirtani:
Thank all of you, and may your life be blessed balance of the wonderful service that we all need to do to work on climate change and deeper and deeper inner experience of your own higher Self in order to achieve all that you are capable of doing in this lifetime.
