Exercise I: To Relieve Tension and Cultivate Relaxation
(a) Sit upright on a chair of comfortable height, with the knees and legs together, if comfortable, or slightly apart if not. Lean slightly forward, keeping the spine straight, and allow both the arms to hang down full length and lifeless, like heavy weights, from the shoulders completely relaxed.
(b) Both hands are then lifted very slowly at the elbows, almost to shoulder height, then abruptly dropped, palms upright, on the upper thighs. Keep the feeling of limpness and heaviness in the arms, with the lower part of the body utterly relaxed.
(c) Picture an ethereal aura of pure, white, electrifying Light all around you. Then, imagine this magnificent Light is actually pulling you upright by the top of your head. Its compelling force should, as a result, automatically straighten the spine, and the back of your trunk, neck, and head form a perfectly erect line. Finally, imagine the Light is pervading inside the whole of your body.
This exercise should give a feeling of physical refreshment and complete physical relaxation. It is also useful when having to listen to lengthy talks, lectures, and so on, or when reluctantly trying to practise meditation after a fatiguing day. Exercise II: To Promote Harmony
Repeat Exercise I, then add:
(a) Try to see and feel that the aura of Light has an actual substance and that It is becoming part of you, that you are melting into It, becoming one with It. Next, think of it as being the pure essence of Love, especially in the region of the heart.
(b) When this Love has been experienced as a sensation of heart-melting happiness, let it then extend outwards to embrace all the world.
This exercise should give a feeling of being in harmony with Nature, the universe, with all living beings, and with humanity as a part of Nature. Exercise III: To Heal Sickness
Repeat Exercises I and II, then add:
(a) Think of the white Light as being Nature's intelligent and recuperative Life-Force.
(b) Let it pour in, through the top of your head, passing directly to the solar plexus centre, which is the region which must first be worked on and affected if the healing force is to become efficacious. Thence send it to any afflicted area, remaining there. Feel Its benevolent, restorative, and healing presence working upon it.
(c) In order to be fully effective this exercise must be accompanied by intense faith in the recuperative powers of this Light.
Astonishing proof of its effectiveness in relieving a troubled organ or curing a diseased part of the body, when persevered in for a sufficient period of weeks or months, has been clearly shown by results. In some cases, paralytics have regained full use of their disabled limbs by following the outline given here. Exercise IV: To Establish Telepathic Harmony or Help
Repeat Exercise I, II, and III (a), then add:
(a) Let the White Light enter the region of the heart, remaining there.
(b) Form a mental image of the face of the individual you wish to contact, and reduce it in size until it is small enough to fit into the palm of your hand.
(c) Place this tiny image in the centre of the white Light permeating your heart.
(d) Endeavour actually to see the individual there in your heart. This exercise should be used to promote physical or mental help to a distant friend, to bring about goodwill from one who has expressed enmity, or to establish a deeper spiritual relationship. It is also useful in the student-teacher relationship, because it promotes better sympathy and affinity, as well as strengthening the telepathic link. Note: Where imagination is well developed the attempt to visualize light may be used, but where either the intellectual or the instinctive preponderates over it, the attempt need not be made--only the unseen power invoked and directed by faith.
-- Notebooks Category 23: Advanced Contemplation > Chapter 6 : Advanced Meditation > # 67
