A Balanced Practice of Meditation

Photo Credit: Pixabay on Pexels

In my previous series on Managing Your Subtle Energy, I introduced the concept of subtle energy and shared that I use 3 different approaches to manage my subtle energy. This week, we are diving deeper into the practice of Meditation to share what I’ve learned around the difference between active and passive practices.

To me, meditation is like so many things, I don’t feel there is a right or wrong way to practice. You don’t have to sit in a certain way, or be in a certain space. To me, meditation is the practice of going within and honouring our true self, whatever that looks like to us. We are each different in our perspective of the world and our personal experience of life. So how we approach getting in touch with our inner self is also unique to each of us. I would like to share what I do, but you may find there are different ways that make you more comfortable.

Every morning and evening, I spend time slowing down and contemplating my life and my day. Each session is different and is formed by my mood at the time. Sometimes I’m working on healing an issue, sometimes I really just want to slow down and relax. Sometimes I want to practice breathing and sometimes I just need a quiet moment to myself. Whatever prompts my session, I know that I am practicing self care and there is no specific way I need to approach my time alone. I will also practice meditating or breathing when I’m out in public as a way to slow down when I feel overwhelmed or anxious. I always feel so much better and it gets easier and quicker now for me to relax.

Recently I learned that there are two different types of meditation - active and passive. The teacher, who follows the 17th century school of Rosicrucianism, identified that active meditation involves visualization and conscious thought forms intended to create a positive outcome. This can be imagining different outcomes to manifest what we want or focusing on specific affirmations that help to change negative thought patterns and alter belief systems that we find harmful to ourselves. On the other hand, passive meditation involves attempting to clear the mind and release any sense of control that gets in the way of receiving guidance from our higher self or our spirit guides. This can be much more difficult because the world around us encourages us to take charge, set goals, make plans and control every aspect of our lives. Passive meditation understands that we co-create with the universe and as such, must learn to trust that the universe will bring to us circumstances and experiences that will lead us to our desires and help us create our lives. This practice involves listening and being rather than doing.

The Rosicrucians believe that both of these forms of meditation should be practiced in balance to learn to not only build trust in the guidance we get from a higher perspective, but also build our intuition so we know when to take action and make decisions meant to help us co-create our experiences. If we focus too much on action, we can find we get in our own way. If we focus too much on being, we find that it takes a long time for anything to happen for us. There is balance in both doing and being that helps us to create what we want for ourselves. This is the exact teachings that come from Abraham Hicks on the Art of Allowing that I’ve mentioned before. There is a step-by-step process Abraham explains to manifest what we want. The most critical piece involves passive meditation where we learn to allow the universe to direct us, and in so doing, experience synchronicity and opportunities that allow us to manifest what we desire. 

I struggle with passive meditation but that is why it is called a practice! I often find myself leaning towards trying to create something by focusing on changing my thoughts and day dreaming about what I want and then wonder why I’m not seeing anything change in my experience. It is in those times I am reminded to let go and release any sense of control. My meditation practice changes to listening and being quiet so I can hear the wisdom of my higher self. It’s always there, my guides are constantly communicating with me, I just don’t always hear it depending on where I’m focused. I still have a long way to go, but I’m learning and growing in the process. 

Most recently, I have been focused on experiencing more joy in my life. I noticed that I would watch comedies and never laugh, even though I found things funny. I started to realize that expressing joy was something I had repressed. So I began to work on finding and expressing joy more during my meditations. I worked on active meditations where I focused on imagining how joy felt and creating thoughts focused on seeing joy all around me. Then I also worked on listening for wisdom on what might be getting in my way and what I needed to heal so I could remove the blocks that were preventing me from experiencing more joy. Just the other week, I started watching episodes of the TV show “Big Bang Theory” and noticed that I was laughing out loud during most of the episodes. I was beginning to learn how to feel and express joy again. It was so liberating! I had grown up with the message “Children are better seen and not heard”, and because I was extremely sensitive, I learned it was safer to be quiet to avoid any criticism or negative reaction to my emotions. I had big emotions and they made a lot of people uncomfortable so it was easier for me to shut them down and hide my true self. I realized only recently the true impact that had on me. My decision to shut down resulted in me unconsciously dampening my ability to experience joy. Rather than choosing to be happy, I chose to feel safe. Now, through my meditation practice, I’ve managed to begin to heal myself and understand that I don’t need to choose one or the other, I can be happy and safe because my safety comes from my own inner strength, not from how others treat me. It’s been a long road but it feels so good to laugh out loud again!