Brian Weiss, “Same Soul, Many Bodies” chapter 11

As rewarding as contemplation is, meditation is still the means for going as deeply into the spiritual realm as is humanly possible.  Here you are not bound by a single concept or confined by concentration.  Rather, you are saying to your mind, body, and soul, “You are free to go wherever you want in your search for spiritual progression.  You are not constrained by time or place by can travel to the past or to the future, to lands known or unknown, to places as small as the human heart or as vast as the universe.”

Believe me, there is no more inspiring journey.

I have written a book entirely on meditation (Meditation:  Achieving Inner Peace and Tranquility in Your Life), yet I have not come close to achieving the wisdom and spiritual peace described by the yogis and monks of Asia who have spent their entire lives devoted to it.  For me and for you the point is not to reach meditative “perfection” but to get as much out of the practice as we can, to use it as one of many tools in our evolution, to point us toward spirituality, and to help us therapeutically.

Before I met Catherine, (Kristine’s note:  Brian wrote an entire book on his experience with Catherine, entitled, “Many Lives, Many Masters”) my medical education had followed orthodox lines and my psychiatric training had been by-the-book traditional.  But after my experience with her, I began to explore alternative therapies; it was during this quest that I learned the value of meditation.

Like hypnosis, which I use as a tool to regress patients to their past lives, meditation develops the ability to open the mind to the deepest, most hidden influences on our bodies and souls, whether they come from past, future, or present lives.  Paradoxically, by thinking of nothing, by clearing the mind, we are free to remember.  The memories of past, present, and future lives help us locate the origins of our traumas, and once they are revealed to us, we can recognize that our fears come from another place and are no longer a threat.  I have had memories of my own past lives during deep meditation and have thereby gained insights into my behavior, my defenses, and my fears.  I would not be as self-knowing as I am today (and there is lots more to learn) if I had not meditated.

We can also use meditation to resolve personal conflicts and difficult relationships or to help the heart to heal.  But eventually for all of us the primary purpose of meditation is to achieve inner peace and balance through spirituality.

Monks can meditate for hours.  You should start with twenty minutes.  Sit comfortably or lie down if you wish, though there is a possibility of falling asleep.  Close your eyes; breathe slowly, regularly, and deeply; locate any areas of tension in your body (with me it is the neck and shoulders); and send your body a message:  Everything is fine.  Everything is at peace.  Relax.

Let scattered thoughts and everyday concerns float gently out of your mind.  Block out the clamoring voices of work, family, obligation, and responsibility that usually assail you—one by one if necessary.  Mentally watch them vanish.  Live this moment, this precious, unique moment of grace, light, and freedom, by surrendering to it.

Because the present is the only place you can find happiness, joy, peace,  and freedom, psychospiritual practice emphasizes mindfulness of the present moment such as I have just described.  The human mind is a creative masterpiece; by giving it rein, it can transport us to the heights of joy.  Mindfulness is the awareness of those thoughts, emotions, feelings, and perceptions that are occupying us now and only now.  By eliminating the distraction of the immediate past and worries about the future, the act of meditating opens the door to inner peace and health.

By carrying us from everyday awareness into the mindfulness of the present moment—only this moment, this precise instant—and thus into the spiritual values that elevate our souls, meditation frees us to go anywhere.  Along the way we may gain clarity about a present trauma, a past or future life, or an unconscious denial of the nature of our problems.  That is meditation’s therapeutic value; the unaware becomes aware.  But it may simply illuminate the reality of the beauty of the moment and all the wonder it contains.  This what is called insight, and it is how we come to ultimate reality.