Illumined Views

There are many reasons to meditate regularly. A person who meditates frequently can lower their “real age” over biological age, increase their lifespan, reduce stress levels, increase mental clarity, improve concentration, and maintain a healthy body.

After teaching Yoga and meditation for over 5 years, I have concluded that people are generally too busy to meditate for 30 minutes or more once or twice per day. Most people don’t even have 15 minutes to meditate in a day. They are either super-busy or grow bored with their meditations. This is why I have formulated the ultimate short meditation technique. I call it Microdynamic Meditation or the 7-Minute-Meditation.

Even in this short duration, you can reap great benefit.

To meditate in 7 minutes or less, follow these 4 easy steps:

Step 1

Stretching: The meditator sits on their right foot with the heel pressing the perineum with the left leg extended. Inhale deeply then exhale while going down to touch the left knee with the forehead. Then grab the soles with both hands. The student should complete this 3 times before exchanging legs. Exchange legs and do it 3 times with the right leg.

Step 2

Tense and Relax: The student, while seated in a comfortable meditation position with eyes closed, should breathe in slowly, tense every muscle of the body. All muscles from the crown of the head to the toes should be tense, flowing with prana. After holding the breath for a few seconds, the student slowly exhales, gradually releasing the tension from the top to the bottom. This exercise is completed in 3 to 4 cycles.

Step 3

Serpent’s Breath: The gaze of the eyes are focused very far forward, like six or seven blocks away in the darkness of closed eyes. Neither up nor down, just straight ahead. Imagine the spine as a hollow tube. Slowly inhale through the mouth producing the sound of “aaawww”. As the practitioner inhales a cool sensation ascending from the base of the spine to the medulla should be felt. Pausing for awhile, then the student slowly exhales through the mouth producing the sound of “eeeeee”. During the exhalation a warm descending sensation should be felt. It usually feels very soothing. That comprises 1 cycle.

The inhalation sounds much like a hurricane, and the exhalation produces a hissing sound like a snake. Hence the name, Serpent’s Breath.

The meditator should do 4 complete cycles. On the 5th inhalation, one should hold the breath slightly, then resume by slowly exhaling through the noise.

Step 4

Hold the Breath: After exhaling the final breath, the meditator should steadily and silently maintain posture without an ounce of oxygen in the lungs. A beginner should hold their breath for 20-30 seconds, intermediate students should hold it for 45-60 seconds, and advanced practitioners for a minute or more. Regardless, when discomfort arises in the chest, lungs or neck, the practitioner should inhale slowly. As one perfects this meditation practice, it is acceptable to lengthen the interval without air in the lungs.

For spiritually-inclined individuals and religious followers, a nice end to this meditation is to sit silently in prayer, thanking the One Great Power.

I guarantee if you practice this technique regularly for a few weeks or longer, you’ll feel the benefits immensely as this meditation is one of the most powerful meditative regimens in the world.

On this September 11th, remember freedom is never free.

Freedom is a well-cherished and sought after sanctuary. There is numerous types of freedom, including but not limited to, governmental independence from tyrants, financial freedom, emotional well-being and inner peacefulness, spiritual cleanliness, unspotted from past deeds, mental clarity, and control of the outward abiding senses. From the beginning of time, in every culture, in every major civilization, all religions and people have spoken about freedom, achieving it in one form or another.

Freedom is not free. Freedom must be earned through hard work and continuous effort. One must know what type of freedom one is attempting to achieve. Only by knowing the destination can a person chart a straight course. Even with foresight, an outlined plan, following it with diligence and keeping one’s self-esteem high, there still exists obstacles and disastrous encounters along the way.

Every freedom has a price. Only those who are willing to pay the price, to endure any temptation, distraction, obstacle, or critic is worthy of attaining their day of independence.

Freedom is the greatest achievement. That is why it has the greatest struggle to accompany its journey. When it comes to the spiritual freedom of Wholeness, there is only one true salvation–that is God. Throughout life’s voyage there is only one refuge–that is God’s representative on earth, the guru.

The guru acts as the guide-master, ready to take the refugee from dark waters of debauchery, materialism, greediness, hatred, and violence onto the shores of peacefulness, joy, happiness, satisfaction, and communion with Elohim, the Father, our God.

In your mind’s eye, imagine the following scene from Luke 18:18-30 (KJV):

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

If you could be completely and consciously free, what would you be willing to give?

Do you believe in Tarot?

I do not follow Tarot, but I firmly believe when you are honestly searching for an answer and you do it with the purest of faith and intentions, God will respond appropriately. We cannot deny, when we are true followers of God, that when God answers, that He will use any medium possible. If we isolate God to a single source or medium, and when that source does not perform or deliver, then we feel disappointment or even resentment. We must keep our radar on and remain prepared for God’s answers to come from anywhere, at anytime.

My former mentor use to teach his students that they should pay their taxes. He would quote Jesus to reinforce the teaching of paying taxes. However, he would quote Jesus out of context, isolating one or two verses to support his teaching.

When we examine teachings from the Holy Bible or any Scripture, we should take them in context, both historical and literal.

Paying Temple Taxes 

Matthew 17:24-27 states:

And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?

He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?

Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.

Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

If you were a parent and had your children of 18 years or younger living with you, would you charge them anything to live with you? Would you require they pay a tax to eat the food you bought them for nourishment? Would you require they pay a tax to use their bedroom as a living quarters? Would you charge your children a tax to play in the backyard?

Of course not!

The government is the parent. And the people are the children. It is the responsibility of the government to keep us safe and ensure we have everything we need to live appropriately.

Paying Taxes to the Government 

In Matthew 17:24-27, Jesus says we are not obligated, even by Law, to pay our taxes. If we pay our taxes to our governments or established institutions, then we should do it only as a courtesy. Paying taxes is optional.

Matthew 22:16-22 states:

Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.

Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.

And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.

What do we learn from this scene? We know the Pharisees sent their disciples to Jesus, trying to deceive and entrap him. They asked what a Jew should do about paying taxes to the Roman empire. Since the Jews were under oppression from the Romans, answering a loaded question like this was comparable to walking a tightrope hundreds of feet in the air without a safety net.

Jesus’ response at first may seem like a call to pay taxes. However, when we dig deeper, we realize that Jesus was telling the Jews to give back the Roman money to the Roman ruler, Caesar.

Whenever money is coined and distributed into any economic system, past or present, the currency issued by that government still belongs to that government. Jesus was very aware that the money distributed to his people (the Jews) did not belong to the government of Israel, but to the ruler and government of Rome.

His statement, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” is a revolutionary statement. His statement is a loaded weapon.

Jesus clearly defines the coins or currency belonging to Caesar. If the money rightfully belongs to Caesar, then the Jews must therefore give all coins to Caesar. If the Jews practiced what Jesus said, then they do not give just a few coins, in the case of taxes, but they must give it all, because it was manufactured by the Roman government. It was a complete denial of the Roman monetary system.

The second half of the above statement is also a revolutionary call to the Jews. The Jews were considered God’s people. Jesus is calling the Jewish people to give themselves back to God. At least in Jesus’ era, the only way to do this would have been to revolt against their oppressors.

What better way to revolt than to dump all the coins distributed to the Jews on the steps of Caesar’s palace?

Expect new things to come. Soon Illumined Views will have fresh content with a different focus. Also, expect an individual website for the style of yoga I have constructed.