meditation on the four directions

The east is associated with the mind, with knowledge and learning and intellectual curiosity. We acknowledge the Thunderbird, who sits in the South and puts his thunder in the storms. This also falls in line with all other symbolic mechanisms assigned to the, Other examples of four symbolism in relation to physical nature include the, To reveal the esoteric mystery of the four directions, however, it is pertinent to analyse their meanings alongside the, We see this concept expressed through the symbolism of the four elements for example. There is stability here, the ground of our being. I am blessed currently to live in a home with windows that face the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. . This is the anchor for the meditation. We will examine what this means, why it is important to learn about the four nutriments, how we go the four wrong ways when we crave the four nutriments, and how to meditate or contemplate these insight or . qi gong. The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress. The Masonic Dictionary website tells us the north side of the temple was used for stabling, slaughtering and cleansing. Take any inspiration gleaned from your sacred space and share them with the earth, your family, and your community. Enter the north and silence your thoughts. may witness the beauty and abundance you offer me today, Father Sun, Grandmother Moon, to the Star nations The typical sequence of the four directions starts with the east and flows in a clockwise direction. We acknowledge cedar, the western medicine, and earth, the western element. Each direction embodies the qualities of various life cycles. You can also join Gaia as a contributing author and help us connect readers to people and ideas that fuel a conscious life. Mondays @ 9am pst: Dharma Talk and Meditation - Part talk, part meditation; this class will set the tone and outline the ideas we will cover throughout the week. Spirit keeper of the South, Wolf, Be with me. West: Water, feeling and reflection. According to Sagarmal Jain, it aims to reach and remain in a state of "pure-self awareness or knowership." Meditation is also seen as realizing the self, taking the soul to complete freedom . Science reveals through the. North represents the time of Lifes closing (not ending, for all of Life is a Wheel and what follows the North is the East, new beginnings.) The teacher stands facing due north and holds out her arms. Everything you experience in your daily life is a projection of information stored within the unconscious and rendered in an archetypal form that is reflected in the gods of ancient mythology together with animal totems, tools, gemstones, magical weapons and aspects of nature. It is the source of light, and inspirationthe source of life itself. You can stay in your seat, you can stand, you can turn your head or your whole body, but orient yourself toward the one of the directions, the element that speaks to you and your life right now, and when I ring the bowl gong, we will enter into two minutes of silent meditation. When the energy goes a full cycle a transformation takes place and we have a "new beginning"; new idea, new attitude, new belief, new start in life. We acknowledge the Eagle, who sits in the east and carries our prayers to the Creator. West: Water, feeling and reflection. The sky is round and I have heard the earth is round like a ball and so are the stars. $15.99. This second audio clip guides you through the Four Directions Meditation. This item: SUNYIK Stone Pyramid Energy Generator, Healing Crystal Point Four Directions Decoration for Reiki Balancing Meditation, Tiger's Eye. In terms of self-development, Death is often a positive symbol. Jason Ghost. You start this process through meditation, prayer or making a wish. On the other side of the spirit veil, I spend more than a little bit of time researching the hallucinogens. Chakras impact your emotional and psychological condition. The unconscious is typically described as emptiness, nothingness, the void or the Abyss. This path draws information you need to know from your unconscious and enables you to change your habitual thinking and behaviours. The first four directions are the four main directions of the compass: East, South, West and North. People usually place objects of certain correspondences to the elements in their corresponding directions. They are told the symbolic reason for this is because this is the part of the temple with the least light - light being code for knowledge thus the north-east symbolically representing ignorance. Set a reminder to locate true north intermittently throughout the day; for example, at sunrise, midday and sunset, use a compass to find north. Look straight ahead and think of the souththe source of heatas representing the caldron of life, the chaos, commotion and uncertainty. Finally, we look within, and acknowledge and honour our own spirits. Affiliated with the GW Center for Integrative Medicine, we collaborate with individuals to explore all aspects of their lives for healthier and more complete living. In the bible, east is repeatedly used as a symbolic tool in the creation story of Genesis. In my opinion, this place of darkness and the north also relates to something that is hidden, or unseen. This meditation was called The Four Positive Prayers for the Four Directions used by the Masters of the Far East to invoke positive change in The Heart To the West, The Soul To the East, The Mind To the North, and the Strength To the South. Tell the children you May your kindness abound like hydrogen, which fuels every star. Ancient cultures teach us to allow consciousness to guide you because it will lead you to Self-realisation. When you let go of old values, beliefs and attitudes, energy transforms and you adopt new values, beliefs and attitudes. We invite all Eastern spirits of good intent to join us in our ceremony today. What is important to remember is that the subconscious mind behaves to the patterns of your conscious thoughts. Now, I invite you to turn toward the direction that calls to you today. Jain meditation (dhyna) has been the central practice of spirituality in Jainism along with the Three Jewels. North: Earth, balance and wisdom. It also explains why American tribes dedicated the West to the Keeper of Death. This is where we get our first clue of what the four directions really mean and in which direction to follow the compass. After a long winter, the renewed sense of life emerges. The East is the direction of the child, so we pray for the young of the world, that they may grow and live in peace, and become good leaders for our tomorrows. We see this same principle in the Bible. We begin in the East, toward the rising sun. See our, Is it possible that the folktale we know and love about Santa Claus finds its roots in the psychedelic mushroom-eating shamanism of people living in boreal regions of Europe? We move now to the North. We ask the Grandmothers and Grandfathers of the South to bring us the warm winds of compassion, whose fragrance speaks of distant springs and summer days, to melt the ice that can gather around our hearts, dissolve our fears, melt our hatreds, and kindle our love into flames of true and living realities. ________________________________________________________________________. As we look upon the days infinite blue sky, or admire the countless stars of the night, we are reminded that the Great Spirit is vast, beautiful and majestic beyond all of our knowing or telling. We add to this water each year, symbolizing the way we come together in our community as individual drops join into a mighty river. We acknowledge the colour red, and the Red Race that it represents. Birth comes before growth. Product- Meditation Directions for Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself Book Meditations; Product- The Vocals/Music in my meditation are too loud or soft. : it symbolizes the cycle of life, without beginning or end, and provides guidance for living. The element of the west is water, and here on our altar we have some of the water collected at our Ingathering services each September. We invite all Northern spirits of good intent to join us in our ceremony today. The abysses were not yet and already I was conceived. Jeremiah 1:14 says that evil comes from the north. So I, quite naturally, found myself imagining myself sitting on top of that sacred mountain facing first, the rising sun, then the south, then the west, and then the north. . Whatever man does to the web, he does to himself. All Rights Reserved. So remember this for later: the south relates to transformation. The exiles of Egypt travelled west to the promised land of Canaan -, But water is also a symbolic mechanism for the unconscious. At noon, people from the community join at the office for an hour of complimentary . If you live in a wooded area in the Northern hemisphere, theres a good chance youve seen it growing near an evergreen tree, especially a pine or fir. This happens in the east. Let there be light in my words, let there be light on my path that I walk. When you act on illuminated thoughts (represented by the south), you reinforce it by acting upon it and sending the energy back into the subconscious mind which is represented by the north. It embodies the Four Directions, as well as Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Spirit Treeall of which symbolize dimensions of health and the cycles of life. How does a practice like meditation help diffuse intense emotions like sadness, anger, or guilt? The place of self or the sacred fire of the self which is the center of all paths. Then create the determination to sit still for the period of the meditation. Just notice all that isbirth and death, opportunity and tragedy, good fortune and lost . These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Fire is a transformative force, it is heat and light and powerful change. Water can be tranquil or it can be fierce, and when left unattended becomes stagnant and polluted. The animal often associated with the South is the Lion or the Cougar, which often represents strength and courage and leadership. Through each of these symbolic mechanisms, you will see how the cycle of creation is revealed in the four directions. When you try to grasp water, it escapes from your hands and is so flexible it always finds a path around obstacles. They say the west is a time for learning, but call east the great teacher - and the point of awakening. The highest point consciousness can reach is when a new understanding is born. We acknowledge sweetgrass, the medicine of the east, and give thanks for its presence here today, and acknowledge water, the element of the East. Do they not also deserve to be capitalized? I have placed a comfortable chair looking directly out that window. Tom Cowan is a shamanic practitioner specializing in Celtic visionary and healing techniques. In the third verse, God says, let there be light (fire). I knew all this at a mental level. . It is the place of our Elders and our Ancestors. And West is about the power of going within, hibernating, Dreaming, Healing. East - Ha'a'aah. When I faced the East, I felt the power of the Sunrise and of New Beginnings. During my research, I discovered the mainstream view follows the directions in a clockwise sequence. The Worshipful Master is the highest honour of a Masonic Lodge, thus the east represents mastery - the ultimate goal. Bible scholars also relate the northern direction with permanence. To strengthen my argument for following the Wheel of the Four Directions in counter-clockwise sequence, allow me to draw your attention to the symbolism assigned to the directions within a Masonic lodge. I felt the Darkness and the Night and the coolness. The following meditation techniques use visualization as a tool for inner transformation. The element of the North is earth, represented here by some dirt from our very own garden. As you face each direction, smudge or fan sage, blow scented water, or shake a rattle and say the prayer aloud. The Buffalo is associated with abundance, with protection, with shouldering responsibilities. Spirit Keeper of the North, White Buffalo, Be with me. On the shamanic medicine wheel, north is considered to be night and "a place of nothingness where we return to the Great Mystery which will be ignited in the East." The north represents purity, meditation and intuition . The Freemasons associate north with darkness, which in turn is symbolic for ignorance. Copyright 1996-2023 Unitarian Universalist Association.All Rights Reserved. Its silhouette and its energy pull the eye and the heart. Its also pertinent to note where the hierarchy of masons sit; the west is the seat of the Senior Warden and the Grand Master. Past experiences are stored within the neural programming. Visualizing an inner light at the heart is a component of loving-kindness meditation, and the other Brahma Vihara practices of compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. You can experience lightness by gliding your finger up and down and feeling how light it feels. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 198-200 Here is a healing prayer, spoken by Medicine Grizzly Bear during the Earth Healing Ceremony, Spokane, Washington, 1990: O Great Creator, I come before you in a humble manner. The circle is traveled clockwise, following the motion of the sun in the sky. The four sections of the wheel are used to teach the importance of a huge number of topics like the seasons, directions, elements, colors, sacred medicines, and much more. However, traditional symbolism also says the south is a time of fertility - the process of birth. When a newly entered initiate first joins the temple, he is made to stand in the north-east corner of the temple which, incidentally, is also the corner upon which the cornerstone is laid. Remember, the north represents darkness, emptiness, or nothingness. East is the direction in which the sun rises. The same elements found in the microcosm of man are also present in the Universe, the macrocosm of everything in existence. Given the sun rises in the east to signal the dawn of a new day, it made sense for the ancient sages to relate this natural phenomenon with the dawn of a new phase of life. It is a direction that calls us to self-reflection and self-understanding. Learn how to use the power of the four directions, 'above', 'below', and their associated elements to open your chakras, align your Directions meditation beliefs and attitudes, energy transforms and you adopt new values, beliefs and.. North side of the temple was used for stabling, slaughtering and cleansing noon people... With windows that face the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in turn is symbolic for ignorance is also a mechanism! In his justice and great righteousness, he does to himself, represented here by some dirt our... 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