I have been teaching meditation (sitting and moving forms) for 3
years now, and meditating personally for 19 years. In this time I
have come to realise that most non-meditating folks see meditation
purely as a way to relax and de-stress, yet actually meditation has
a much bigger scope than just stress-management.

At the deeper levels (see below) of meditation, there are
opportunities to heal a present illness, pain or a past trauma. You
can also access your deepest intuition, wisdom, self-knowledge,
insight and creativity.

There are also opportunities for mystical and religious experiences,
such as receiving psychic images, messages or divinations,
connecting to divine entities (e.g. your God, guardian angel, holy
spirit, departed ancestors, saints, healers, ascended masters etc)
and acting as a conduit (channelling) between them and the everyday
world.

On the "down" side, meditation very occasionally leads to
distressing side effects such as therapeutic crisis, meditation
sickness, or meditation insanity (delusions). The possibility of
these side effects means it is important to find a good teacher and
to get help (and stop meditating for the time being) if you begin to
feel distressed or overwhelmed without an experienced guide on hand.

There are 4 basic recognised depths of meditation experience.
Beginners tend to go down through these deepening levels
progressively, one at a time, but experienced meditators and
channellers can skip the initial stages sometimes....

1. Horizontal Integration
-------------------------
This is the stage where we are progressively relaxing, calming and
centring ourself but still easily distracted by wandering, thoughts,
feelings or external events.

Buddhists call these distractions "The 5 hindrances":

a) sensory craving or fantasies

b) judgements, anger, rage or hatred

c) sloth, torpor, dullness, lethargy, sleepiness
(often linked to repressed feelings or subconscious conflicts which
starve the mind of energy)

d) restlessness & anxiety (mind or body flitting about)

e) doubt (inability to commit to the meditation practice)


Breathwork techniques from yoga and the martial arts can help
overcome these blocks to focussed meditation, as also can hindrance-
specific mind and body techniques, e.g. cathartic clearing
for "restlessness":
http://www.lovehealth.org/tools/catharsis.htm

2. Vertical Integration: Inspiration, Healing, Creativity
---------------------------------------------------------
In this stage of meditation, distractions have ceased and there is
complete focus on the meditation object or mantra. In positive
experiences at this level, the meditator begins to receive
inspiration, wise guidance or creative ideas from some undisclosed
source deep within oneself.
Negative experiences at this level can arise from "taking the lid
off" repressed internalised feelings (or past-life karma) such as
rage, hatred, bitterness etc. Overwhelming grief, fear or sadness
might also be uncovered.

3. Divine connection, Channelling
--------------------------------
Buddhists call this depth of meditation "permeation" or "sphere of
pure form". In this stage the meditator has gone beyond the object
on which meditation was initially focussed. Contact with external
sensations has largely been lost also.
In positive experiences at this level, there is now recognisable
contact with one or more perceived divine entities or archetypes
e.g. Christ, Buddha, angels, departed loved ones, ascended masters
etc.
This is the experience of what Carl Jung called "the collective
unconscious" (CU).
Unfortunately the CU also contains a certain amount of "junk"
(fragments of messages, images or video clips) and, on rare
occasions, potentially negative experiences such as "demonic" forces
and "spirit possession syndrome".


4. Purification, Refinement, Radiation
--------------------------------------
At this deep level, meditation transforms the meditator. The earlier
stages have been a process of purification and healing, which now
open up the meditator to contact and channelling of radiant energies
such as love, compassion or divinity, which stay with the meditator
after the meditation practice has ended - actually the meditation
practice does not end! - the meditator's whole life is by now
progressively becoming one long and blissful meditation!

More about meditation & stillness:
http://www.stress-counselling.co.uk/sunflower/STRESS/CENTRED.HTM

http://www.brothermichael.org.uk/resources/stillness.htm

http://www.lovehealth.org/books/genesis.htm

Soul consciousness:
http://www.brothermichael.org.uk/resources/soul2.htm

Recommended reading: "The Buddhist Vision":
see:
UK and Europe:
http://www.Amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0712610847/sunflowerheal-21
Canada:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0712610847/pathofhealing-20
USA and other Countries:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0712610847/pigdiseaseinform


Michael Meredith
Physiologist
http://www.sunflower-health.com