MEDITATION  FOR  SOUL  COMMUNION

by Al Bouchard

INTRODUCTION

These Lessons are designed to be used over a 13 week period to introduce you to a process commonly called meditation and to an understanding how the practice of meditation allows you to receive clearer inner guidance in all your life's activities.

These Lessons do not follow any specific meditation discipline or any specific religious philosophy. Each person must be true to one's self and decide for one's self how meditation integrates with one's daily activity, family life, and religious philosophy.

In all spiritual growth each of us must eagerly and willingly be SPIRIT-centered. This must be done through our own free will without coercion or manipulation by others. Whatever choices we make for ourselves, be ever mindful to honor and respect the choices others make for themselves, no matter how different those choices may be from our own.

It is in this spirit that these MEDITATION FOR SOUL COMMUNION Lessons are presented to you. It is suggested you stay with each lesson and commentary for one week. Practice daily the exercises outlined in each lesson. Keep a regular Journal of your experiences from your daily practice. Sometimes during the day you may get more insights from your daily practice to write in your Journal.

Love yourself always. Love is the cornerstone of your being.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH CIRCLE

by Al Bouchard

A Spiritual Growth Circle is a coming together of 2 or more persons to gain insights or personal guidance through meditation, meditative states and dreamwork.

You are encouraged to pull together in your own home a Spiritual Growth Circle of relatives and friends to come together once every week for meditation, sharing what is experienced during the meditation, then discussing what was shared with each other. This simple process is a powerful tool for learning greater trust in our own personal guidance, and to empower ourselves more in all our life activities.

Private meditations allow us to get more in touch with our own personal guidance, our inner forces. Group meditations tend to increase the experiences and understanding we can gain through meditation. The Spiritual Growth Circle insights carry over during the week to encourage and to enhance our personal meditations.

A Spiritual Growth Circle can start out with a simple, non-directed meditation of three to five minutes. This is often called a centering meditation. After each person has returned to full, waking consciousness after the centering meditation, then each person in turn can share what was experienced during the centering meditation. It is recommended there be no interruptions or questions from others during the sharing time.

After everyone has shared their meditative experiences, then there can be an open discussion on the meditative experiences just shared with each other. This discussion often brings out common threads of experiences and tends to add more meaning to the meditative experiences.

After the centering meditation discussion is complete, the people in the group can choose a specific focus for the next meditation. The focus can be a meditative exercise that someone in the group knows, or sensing energy flows in the body as might be used in energy healing. The exercise can be focusing on something that happened or was said during the sharing or discussion that just ended. Or someone might have a dream experience that the person would like more insight into the dream's meaning. Simple questions on a topic of interest to every one can be a focus for the meditative exercise.

Each meditative exercise follows the same pattern as the centering meditation. Three to five minutes of meditation. Then sharing without interruption from the group. And ending with a discussion about the information just shared about the meditation experience. It is strongly recommended that each person have a glass of water beside them during this time. Taking small sips of water during the evening enhances the flow of activity during the meditative times.

Whatever happens to any person during the meditative exercise is valid for that person and needs to be honored by the others in the group. However, every other person in the group must decide for themselves whether any experience shared is valid for them. We all have different focuses in our lives. A meditation experience might be specific to our focus of activity, and not for others.

A Spiritual Growth Circle can usually complete three or four meditative exercises with sharing and discussion during a two hour period. It is recommended that Spiritual Growth Circles limit their practice time to two hours or less, once each week. Daily personal meditations between group meditations are very important to gain trust in our own guidance. The group can not validate our experiences. Each person must do that for one's self.

Once you have a clear understanding of what you want to do in life, the Universe will bend its efforts toward that end. Be careful, however, not to expect the Universe to fall into your time frame for the accomplishment of your goal. To the Universal forces a word like 'soon' can mean the next instant or the next millenium.

LOVE YOURSELF ALWAYS! Love is the cornerstone of your being.

Like his vocational background, (Clinical Laboratory Technician in the USN, teacher, administrator for a private, co-ed boarding school, founder and operator a Halfway House, developed/facilitated self-discovery workshops) Al has varied metaphysical experiences and educations. He has designed, facilitated workshops, written articles, assisted in starting Light Centers, produced a series of cable TV programs - all involved with meditation , dreams, spiritual healing, well-being, and honoring our divine nature. " I'm a strong advocate for responding to one's own guidance, free will, chemical free evolvement, and honoring other's perspectives, no matter how different from mine." Contact Al at:  inlight@jackson.main.nc.us