Avoid Mindfulness, Meditation... Becoming Narcissistic

 Spiritual seekers may enjoy the following I just posted.

Three Spiritual Benefits of Meditation

I just posted a YouTube Short about the spiritual benefits of meditation (link below). It is substantially different than most videos on the benefits of meditation because it educates about the role energy flows play in meditation; a substantial role indeed.

The Wonder of a Snowy Evening

One of my great joys in the winter is to spend some time in reflection or meditation in the woods on an evening with a gentle snowfall. Even a contemplative walk will do the trick. It is so quiet, so serene.

You know at twilight. When the warmth of the day still hangs in the air and has yet to be chased away.

There is a magic to this setting. Robert Frost recognized this and wrote about it in his poem ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”. He understood how unusual it must been to stop in the middle of nowhere on a snowy evening and asks,

My little horse must think it queer   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

It is so peaceful in the woods in the winter time. The snow on the ground muffles any sound. And the gently falling snow creates a veil that blocks out other intruders.

The quiet is deafening. It is this silence like the falling snow that smothers all my competing thoughts and concerns. I can just be and take in the experience of the beauty and wonder of the woods.

Or if I want I can reflect and see clearer because I am shrouded by the quiet of the woods.

Is there anything more peaceful, a scene quieter?

I think not. But then again I grew up in the Finger Lakes and love the snow. I spent a year in Florida a long time ago and hated it.

Frost concludes his poem,

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

I mention the ending because to me Frost is unable to break free. I don’t think that he was contemplating suicide; or it was a larger metaphor in his life, that perhaps he was considering a major change at the time.

No, I think that Frost could not stop for too long, too smell the flowers, in this case to watch the snow fall. You would think that he wrote the poem in 2019 not 1922 and was caught up with social media, friends and a vibrant social calendar.

No he just could not spend too much time in the woods that evening; no way would he have stopped for a long time and been behind schedule.

But you can. Get yourself a cushion to sit on; I have a sportsman’s cushion. I also take with me a small blanket that is plastic on one side and cloth on the other that I can place my cushion on, so that when I sit down on it my pant legs are off of the snow.

Determine the place you want to go. Look for an evening that is not going to be too cold. Most importantly choose one without wind. Snow should not a problem. And layer up.

Enjoy the quiet. Plus no bugs.

One more thing. When I talk about Frost not willing to break free and spend more time in the woods on a snowy evening understand that I left behind global management over two decades ago and never looked back.

Letter to the Editor ASD Digest--Dowsing in a Beta State of Mind

The following is a letter I sent to the Editor of American Society of Dowsers Digest that was published in their summer issue.

Dear ASD Digest Editor,

I was astounded to hear so much mention of brain wave activity at this year’s conference in Saratoga Springs.  Then I remembered reading Alicja Aratyn’s "Ten Commandments for Every Dowser" (ASD Digest, Spring 2017).  She stated that one must enter “alpha state” if they wish to have “accurate dowsing.”  Clearly, she is not alone since several at the conference talked about the same idea.  

While alpha state may be fine for some, I often begin my dowsing with “beta wave” brain activity.

I have no idea what my brain wave activity is when I dowse.  But I vividly remember reading about brain wave activity while researching the use of meditation before beginning a rigorous meditative practice designed to achieve the meditative state of Samadhi.

I read that Buddhist meditation (broadly classified as focus on the breath, mindfulness) begins in alpha state (8 to 12 Hz), while Hindu concentrative meditation (focus on an object) begins in beta state (12 to 38 Hz).  Interestingly, both eventually get to theta state (3 to 8 Hz) and finally to delta (.5 to 3 Hz).

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras teaches us that by concentrating on an object, we eventually merge with it, and in so doing the object reveals itself to us.  When I pursued concentrative meditation on an object, many things were revealed to me out of the blue about the object.  Patanjali also teaches us that once we have achieved Samadhi, we can use deep concentrative meditation (what he calls Samyama) on an object, an image, speech, on the form of the body.  Again, we gain spiritual gifts (powers) or Sidhi’s over those forms that can have us read minds, become invisible, alter our size, levitate, etc.

It seems to me that that the concentrative meditation (Samyama) that Patanjali teaches, and its ensuing Sidhis, would bring innumerable benefits to dowsers -- showering them with insights and answers far beyond anything they are used to.  Granted, many of us may never reach the lofty states of consciousness and meditation required to achieve Samadhi, but I imagine our results would be pretty darn good.

So I ask my fellow dowsers to consider that maybe there is some benefit to learn concentrative meditation and begin dowsing in a beta state of mind.

Blessings,

Madis Senner

FingerLakes Chapter

            Editor's Note:  According to Madis Senner, Swami Satyananda Saraswati’s book, FourChapters on Freedom, Commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, is an understandable and insightful resource. As he noted in his 2017 ASD Convention presentation, Bihar School has many excellent books from dedicated practitioners that are insightful and provide exercises to supplement your practice.  They also have a free online magazine at www.biharyoga.net/bihar-school-of-yoga/about-bsy. 

Gobind Sadan (Central Square,) Saturday Evening 6PM, Meditation and Birthday Celebration

What:  Baba Virsa Singh's Birthday Celebration at Gobind Sadan

                                     And           

                              Meditation

When:  Saturday, February 25, 

6 PM Meditation--Open meditation & Guided Meditation to Experience Consciousness                                              

7 PM Birthday Celebration Begins

Where:   Gobind Sadan---105 Graves Road, Central Square, NY

We will be gathering at 6PM for meditation one hour before the celebration of Baba Jis Birthday begins in the Meditation Center. We did this so people can experience the incredibly powerful and amped up Meditation Center:

1. Powerful Fields of Consciousness, Stacked 12
2. An extremely positive vibe
3. A vortex
4. A powerful imprint (samskara) of meditation created by accomplished meditators. Meditating in such an environment will give you a change to significantly improve your meditative ability.

There will also be a guided meditation to help you develop the ability to sense and Feel Consciousness. Being able to sense and feel consciousness has innumerable benefits:

1. Better help you connect with our Mother Earth.
2. Expand and strengthen your aura.
3. Improve your physical and spiritual health as you soak up more of Mother Earth.
4. Improve your sentience.

The Downside is that you will become sensitive of space, which unfortunately most of is; bad so you may get pinching sensations in your forehead area. You will eventually be turned off by sound therapy, gongs and drum circles because it will be too much for you as your aura expands. All those things are meant to strengthen your aura and cleanse--Mother Earth will be doing that for you now once you begin to sense and feel Her many emanations 24/7.

All are welcome to attend the celebration of Baba Ji's Birthday at the Gobind Sadan Ashram. What he called, "One of the holiest places in the world!" This would be an excellent chance to join the Sikh community in celebrating one of their icons. Food will be served late;beginning some time between 9 and 10PM. So I recommend eating first unless you are a night owl. Sikh tradition is to have a meal after a service/celebration for all to enjoy.

Gobind Sadan is one of the top places listed in my book, Sacred Sites in North Star Country: Places in Greater New York State (Pa, Oh, NJ, CT, Ma, VT, Ont) That Changed the World 

Gobind Sadan Celebration Feb 25, 7PM

What:  Baba Virsa Singh's Birthday Celebration at Gobind Sadan

When:  Saturday, February 25, 7 PM

Where: Gobind Sadan
                         Address:
            105 Graves Road
            Central Square, NY

All are welcome to attend the celebration of Baba Ji's Birthday at the Gobind Sadan Ashram. What he called, "One of the holiest places in the world!" This would be an excellent chance to join the Sikh community in celebrating one of their icons. It will also give you the opportunity to meditate in a powerful place; one that would nourish your soul and improve your meditation.

When I wrote up Gobind Sadan for  Sacred Sites in North Star Country: Places in Greater New York State (Pa, Oh, NJ, CT, Ma, VT, Ont) That Changed the World I had never been in the meditation center. I was there a few weeks back.

When I walked into the mediation center--WOW. It has an extremely positive vibe, rests on a stack (12) Field of Consciousness (the highest) and has a vortex. It was an incredibly powerful and uplifting experience to meditate there.

Below is a picture of the meditation room. It is an old out building converted to a meditation center after the old temple was burned down. The ceremonial fire in the center room is stoked and fed incense on a continual basis. Ralph Singh would like to have the sacred fire going 24/7. He may be looking for volunteers to come by, or even spend a few days on a longer retreat in this shangra la and keep the fires going. When Ralph went to India years ago for one week  I would visit his house in Elbridge to do ceremony and feed a wooden statue of Baba Virsa Chand. This was over ten years ago.

More pictures

In the picture above I am standing in the vortex in the meditation room. A sure sign that this place is holy and divine. As I noted in Vortices and Spirals,  a vortex forms in response to prayer/meditation/cermony and are found at holy places around the world. Unfortunately, many supposed holy places don't have vortices, or even a positive vibe.

This would be a great place to sit and meditate when you visit. They gave me a an orange scarf to cover my head.

The meditation room is an incredibly powerful place. When you meditate in a place where others, more experienced meditators have meditated, you benefit and up your meditation. In other words, you can significantly improve your meditation by meditating there. For those that have played basketball, think how much better your game is when you play with better players.

We will be holding an Earth Healer's Gathering at Gobind Sadan this spring/summer and hopefully the temple will be opened up early for us to soak in the divinity of this precious piece of Mother Earth's Soul.

Take advantage of this opportunity to raise your consciousness and become a better meditator on Saturday, February 25th. Join in the celebration with this warm and welcoming community.

madis

American Society of Dowser Convention, Saratoga Springs, 2016

I spoke at the annual Dowsers convention this past weekend. Kudos to the committee for selecting Saratoga Springs as the host location. Donna Eden was a entertaining and informative and a great choice to be the keynote speaker.

My favorite worksop speaker was Ellen Kahmi, the Natural Nurse, who focuses on natural and holistic remedies. Her presentation was on our relationship with the plant kingdom It had a Secret Life of Plants focus.

She said that plants communicate with each other through their elaborate root system: both intra and inter species, that acts as a communication network. She said that our tree hugging and focus should be on the root system of plants. She referenced a great article about this, in the NYT
German Forest Ranger Finds That Trees Have Social Networks, Too

As usual there was a smattering of paranormal. For those that are interested in ghosts and the paranormal I suggest you read Richard Thompson’s Alien Identities: AncientInsights into Modern UFO Phenomena. The premise of the book is that what many consider aliens are beings living in other Planes of Existence. He cites many references in ancient Hindu texts and other sources talking about alien like beings and saucer shaped lights.

I agree with Thompson’s perspective. I cannot phantom an alien world such as depicted in Independence Day.  Primarily because I believe we are, “what we absorb. ”And because we are focused on the material world we are attracting and absorbing essences in the unseen world with very little soul nourishing and consciousness raising content. It has a high energy content, which helps us in the Physical Plane of Existence, but does little to evolve our soul. If alien beings are in the same realm as us, they are absorbing the same essences that we do; and because what they are absorbing consciousness raising nutrients, their focus would be on plunder, control, pillaging and violence—ultimately self destruction. So I believe a technology based society superior to us in another world would have self-destructed long ago.

There are Fields of Consciousness in Saratoga.  I had hoped to set up a display at the conference but the college squashed it.

A few people that attended my talk on Saturday joined me for some surveying and a group meditation  on a Field of Consciousness. Most everyone was able to dowse out the Ley/Spirit Lines coming out of an originator that pass over the Field.

The orange cushion marks the area of the Field.

The Field is located near the service entrance for Skidmore College. The service is located just north of the main Broadway Entrance. The Field is just north of the service entrance next to a reed bed. The group meditation and others meditating by themselves have raised the vibe.

If you live in or near Saratoga this would be a good place to meditate at. It contains consciousness raising nutrients, consciousness, that will help evolve your soul and in the process enhance your spiritual gifts to perceive other realms and their many inhabitants.

peace,
madis

More Love Given and Found at the Peacemaker's Sanctuary

Much love was felt and left at the  Peacemaker's Sanctuary last Friday April 15th.

Tim Hart led us in a powerful water ceremony that had us giving thanks and better appreciating this gift (water) from Mother Earth. The water we had scooped up into a vessel and blessed was later returned to the lake.

I led a meditation focusing on the attributes, or imprint we look to nurture at the Peacemaker's Sanctuary--a place of healing, a place of sanctuary during troubling times, a place of answers and revelation, a place to connect with Mother Earth.

Each time I hear a story of the power of Onondaga Lake, and the Peacemaker's Sanctuary in particular, to heal I am amazed. This time it was how years early someone  had found the bench at the Peacemaker's Sanctuary at a time of concern and returned now to realize the solution to their problem.

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO PRAY OR MEDITATE AT THE LOCATION WHERE OUR NEW BENCH WILL BE PLACED IN THE PEACEMAKER'S SANCTUARY, IT IS MARKED WITH RED TAP IN FRONT OF A LARGE TREE. IT IS A POWERFUL PLACE, NO VORTEX, CREATED LONG AGO THROUGH SPIRITUAL PRACTICES. WHEN YOU MEDITATE OR PRAY WITHIN IT YOU TAP INTO THAT CONSCIOUSNESS, THAT PERSON'S BEING. REMINISCENT OF HOW I BEGIN VORTICES AND SPIRALS TALKING ABOUT A VORTEX I FOUND ON A MOUNTAINTOP IN VERMONT. OVER TIME THIS SPACE WILL BECOME FUSED WITH NEW CONSCIOUSNESS--SO GO THERE SOON!