I received a lovely e-mail from a reader last week in response to my newsletter on The Creative Doorway to Spiritual Insights. She said:
Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your emails. I get so much email—most of it junk—but I always find time to read yours. I’ve set up my email filter to flag yours and mark it in a color that stands out, so I won’t miss it. Thank you!
~ R.J.
Well, I have to confess that these kinds of e-mails really do give me the warm fuzzy feeling that Eldon often talks about. When I started writing these newsletters I wanted to provide solid information that would educate and inspire, regardless of whether or not you ever purchased any InnerTalk programs. This particular e-mail indicated to me that I am on the right track, but it also inspired me to want to do even better. As such, I decided to attempt today to provide you with more details regarding the process I have used to strengthen my sense of spiritual connectedness and show you how I have used this technique to create a pathway for receiving help and guidance. I say ‘try’ simply because this is a process I have been developing, practicing and expanding for about 15 years now and it is a little complicated.
When the Student Is Ready
They say that: “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” What they don’t really say is that the teacher may already be there and attempting to teach you, but that you just ‘don’t get it’ until you are really ready to learn. I knew that Eldon was special when I first met him and it was not long before I discovered that he was also a mystic. However, at that time (25 years ago) I really had no practical idea of what a mystic was. To me it was just a nebulous term for one who was interested in ancient teachings, but what practical application could that possibly have in this day and age? I did assist him in putting together his A Path to Mastership: The Mystical Mind but it wasn’t until I turned 40 that I even began to appreciate the value of this work. It was as though, before 40 I would try out the exercises and gain little from them, but after 40 things just began to click into place and I started to actually feel the difference. My learning process was very gradual but also very steady. Often times, I would simply add new exercises onto what I was already doing. Sometimes I would go back and pull out an exercise that I had previously discarded. Then, as I progressed, inspiration would simply bring me new techniques to try.
Now, you have to realize that through all of this, we were also bringing up our two boys—frequently home-schooling, almost never getting a baby sitter of any kind, working to give them every advantage—and running our business at the same time! Life was extremely hectic so how did I find time to fit in these spiritual practices? Quite easily as much of it I would do at night right before going to sleep! Here is the process I worked through.
Progressive Relaxation
Progressive relaxation is one of the first techniques I learned when I was studying hypnosis and psychotherapy, and it is also the beginning point for any meditation practice. (It can also be a fabulous way to help you go to sleep at night or for releasing stress.) Eldon covers this process in detail in his book Self-Hypnosis and Subliminal Technology, which includes numerous examples and a training CD, but if you have tried any of the Power Imaging programs you will have already experienced this. Basically it entails a very systematic process of first focusing on an area of the body and then consciously relaxing it. I generally go from the top of my head, moving down to my neck and shoulders and out through my arms. I then, double back and start working down my chest and abdomen, and all down my back. Finally I allow the sense of relaxation to work down my hips, thighs, calves and out of my toes.
Deepening
In hypnosis, progressive relaxation is generally followed by a deepening phase. Some hypnotherapists will use creative imagery for this but most of the time I prefer just to count down from 10 to 1, allowing myself to go deeper and deeper into relaxation as I progress down.
Last week I told you about Eldon’s Hyperemperia program, which takes a very different approach to deepening hypnosis, and instead of going down and down into a deeper state of relaxation, it uses an expansive process that takes your further and further out. For my nighttime spiritual exercise, I chose to use an expansive process as well.
The Space Within
In Mystical Mind, Eldon provides the analogy of a football as compared with the nucleus of an atom—if the nucleus is the size of the football, then the atom is the size of the football stadium. For my expansive spiritual practice, I used this football analogy, plus the “Be still and know, I am . . .” focusing technique. I first focus on one atom in my being and then, by picturing the nucleus as a football, I find that I can enter that empty space between the nucleus and the electron. And as there is so much space within, my entire being, my inner spiritual self, would then expand . . . and expand. I then take this sense of myself and start pushing it outward, counting from 1 up to 10—number 1, my sense of self would be just outside my body, number 2 it would fill the room, number 3 it would encompass my house and on and on. I would play with this, sometimes expanding my being to encompass the entire earth and even beyond.
Infinite Possibilities
Once I have expanded my being as far as I want, I reach the place of infinite possibilities, and here is where creativity becomes really important. You see, spirituality for me is a two way street—it is not just about reaching out and touching the infinite, but it is also about inviting the infinite to come in and touch me . . . to assist me in my goals and desires. To me, this is the heart of inspiration! And for this to happen, you HAVE to allow your inner creative self to emerge. I studied hypnosis and psychotherapy when I was in my 20s, and while I could get myself into an altered state, once I got there everything remained blank. Alternatively, just as I described in my last newsletter when I talked about automatic writing and my first attempts resulting in only glittering New Age generalities that sounded good but meant absolutely nothing, my altered state experience would give me the same nonsense story lines. You see, opening up your Creative Thinking abilities simply means getting out of your own way and allowing the creativity to flow—and as I have said, to me this is just another word for inspiration. Inspiration can lead you to create spiritual techniques of your own, it can lead to creative writing that can move souls, write/play music that fills you with the most incredible emotions, it can help you solve problems in your personal life, family life and at work, and it can help you discover your own life path. Inspiration and creative thinking go hand-in-hand and can bring a new dimension to your very existence! What will you do to open up your creativity today?
As this newsletter has been all about creativity, and to assist you in working through this process, we are extending the special on our Creative Thinking album. Act now and for a very limited time you can still get this $250+ collection for just $98. Click here for more details.
Wishing you Love, Light and Laughter, always!
Ravinder Taylor
This is a limited time special offer that has been extended to midnight on Sunday, June 21, 2015