The Entheo-Breath (C) 2005, Austin Seraphin Dated: 12.19.12.14.9 - 2005Nov17 Welcome to the entheo-breath meditation. Entheo means the divine within. This meditation uses your breath to regenerate your own pure awareness. It does not rely on any forms or on placing one's focus externally to itself. You can integreight the meditation into any constructive belief system. Have fun! Feel free to contact the author, at omeron@clearwhitelight.org. To begin the meditation, you must prepare yourself. If sitting, you should sit in such a way that you can keep a straight spine. Generally, this means sitting in the classic half or full lotus postures, which do exactly this. To do a half lotus, cross your legs, so the knife edge of one foot touches the inner thigh of the opposite leg, making a triangle. To do a full lotus, bring the other foot up and around, so the knife edges of both your feet touch the opposite thigh. This works very well, because it makes keeping a straight spine very easy. If you want to use a comfy chair, remember to sit so you have a straight spine, not all slouched down. You will probably want to sit on the edge of the chair. You can also do the meditation lying on your back. For a special treat, try it while submerged in water, such as while in a bathtub or pool. The spine acts as the main energy channel of the body, so keeping it straight ensures proper energy flow. Place your hands into the classic meditation pose. To do this, place them at the level of your abdomen, one thumb's-length below your belly-button, with palms turned up. Point your hands towards each other, and overlap one set of fingers over the other. Touch your thumbs, forming an egg shape. Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, like when saying the letter l. Relax your gaze. Now, you have prepared your body. You should feel very stable, with your ears parallel to your shoulders. If lying down, you may simply want to place your hands at your sides, with palms turned upwards. These steps simply help the body to better generate and process subtle energy. They have no bearing on the technique, they simply provide a good foundation for rapid progress. Don't worry if you don't know anything about subtle energy, energy channels, hand positions, or meditation. This technique takes care of itself. Just get into a posture that feels comfortable, then get ready to enjoy! The technique uses your breath as the vehicle for generating awareness. First, become aware of your breath. Don't do anything special, simply begin to become aware of it. As you do this, your breath will naturally begin to act as the focus for your awareness, building it up as you put more into it. Continue following the breath, becoming aware of it, using it to generate awareness. As you do this, you will notice that your breath will come under control, and become more even and quieter. Continue to breathe in this way, and your breath will slow down, and the length of pause at the top and bottom of the breath will increase. Instead of just breathing in, and breathing out, now it will feel like breathing in, holding the breath at the top, breathing out, and holding the breath at the bottom. Remember not to force the breath, and not to "hold" it by closing off your throat. Just stop breathing at the top and bottom. The breath will regulate itself, and soon you will find yourself breathing in four regular parts. For those with some esoteric training, the four parts of the breath correspond to the four elements. The in-breath corresponds to fire, holding the in-breath to air, the exhalation to water, and holding the exhalation to earth. So far, this should seem like a fairly ordinary practice. Many people follow their breaths to bring them under control. The key, however, relies upon going above the breath. As long as one follows the breath, one remains confined to the physical world, and the physical body, with its physical sensations. Just as the four elements combine to fourm a fifth, so too do the four parts of the breath combine to fourm awareness. Again, don't worry if you don't understand this part. Keep practicing, and reread it in a month or so, and you will. When your breath has four regular parts, you will begin to feel a steady awareness. Once this happens, simply allow your awareness to shift from becoming aware of the breath, to becoming aware of the awareness above the breath, which you have generated with the breath! This simple shift in focus changes everything. To summarize the technique in a sentence, breathe above the breath. Maintain this awareness, using it as your new focus for awareness, as you used your breath as the focus during the first part. Continue breathing in this way, gradually rising more and more above your breath, becoming more and more aware of your true awareness and self. Remember to have Dedicated Meditation Time once or twice per day, for at least twenty minutes. Keep a journal of experiences, especially if just starting out. Reread your journal and this text in a month or so, and you may feel surprised at the subtle yet powerful changes which this meditation has introduced. Keep in contact with other practitioners of the technique, and help each other out. Especially during times of future fragmentation, we must remain united. You have just read the key to generating unlimited light. This true light will gradually build your imperishable light body. This Vehicle of Vehicles will eventually take you beyond the realms of the physical. May it act as an eternal guide and protector in your life. About the Author: Austin had an early interest in meditation and energy. During highschool, he read about self hypnosis, and used it with great success to sleep through assemblies. He also became a Discordian around this time, which places special importance on the number Five. His study and practice of meditation techniques, Discordianism, and the traditional Mayan calendar, led him to search for a technique encoded within the calendar, and indeed within all systems of energy. He believes that he has found this with the entheo-breath meditation, and hopes others find it as equally valuable. He plans to publish a book, audio, and other expanded material relating to the technique, but has presented the technique in its raw form for the benefit of all who just have to get there first.