The Role of Suggestion in Meditation

Posted on January 18, 2024 by George Boyd

Q: What is the role of suggestion in meditation? Is meditation a variety of hypnosis?

A: Suggestion in meditation plays a role in information gathering, soliciting the activity of a vehicle of consciousness, or bringing about realization of a spiritual essence. We can describe seven major ways suggestion is used in meditation:

To gather information related to the function of a vehicle of consciousness
To produce action from behavior that has already been learned
To change action and practice a new or different behavior
To gain information about the structure of a vehicle of consciousness
To gain information about what is in the unconscious mind
To identify the personal and transpersonal integration centers that control the operate the vehicles of consciousness and to request that they generate a specific outcome
To gain union and identification with a spiritual essence—attentional principle, spirit, or Soul

In hypnosis, suggestion is typically made to the astral body to direct it to view, change, or interact with the content at different levels of the mind. Hypnosis can be used therapeutically in a number of ways.

We detail the channels through which the astral body can be directed in our article, “Levels of Autohypnosis,” which is part of the addendum of our intermediate meditation classes, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation or the by-mail or online Accelerated Meditation Program—as we teach autohypnosis in these two courses. We teach our students to change their behavior using autohypnosis, but we also identify 32 additional channels that can be accessed through the movement of the astral body using suggestion.

Meditation’s range of suggestion is much broader than hypnosis. It can interface with the active vehicles of consciousness of the Conscious, Subconscious, Metaconscious, and Superconscious mind; with the unconscious bands of the mind; and with the essences of consciousness—the attentional principle, spirit, or ensouling entity. Meditation’s keynote is gaining mastery over all levels of the mind and the enhanced utilization of the innate faculties of the active vehicle of consciousness at those levels.

There is an overlap between hypnosis and meditation in that both employ suggestion, but the scope of suggestion in meditation is much more extensive than in hypnosis. We identify the solar plexus center of the inmost form of the attentional principle as the place where suggestion originates in meditation. Where this suggestion is anchored is a function of what your meditation objectives are. For example:

To gather information (“show” me or “tell” me)
To activate the native functioning of a vehicle of consciousness
To introduce novel programming into a vehicle of consciousness
To promote insight and realization

When you use suggestion in your meditations, it plays a powerful role in facilitating your gaining inner mastery and realization.

Social Orders of Motivation

Posted on December 1, 2023 by George Boyd

Q: Why do fear, anger, and shame run the lives of so many people? Can people get out of these circles of influence and live lives of love and altruism?

A: We need to look at the seven major social orders of motivation that play out in human life:

Shame and embarrassment – the drive to not have one’s awkwardness, deficiencies, or secrets revealed
Fear – the motivation to escape or avoid situations or objects that frighten one or that one perceives may cause them harm or loss
Anger and rage – the impulse to harm or attack others, to right perceived injustices, or to force others to do one’s will
Challenge and competition – the quest to be superior or the best, or to be recognized for one’s achievements, and to succeed
Compassion and love – wanting to make a difference in the world, for one’s life to mean something, and to help and heal others
Devotion and aspiration – the impetus to grow and transform spiritually and draw closer to the Divine
Grace – the sharing of the Divine Spiritual Light to support personal and spiritual transformation, and to fulfill the devotion and aspiration of those who seek to advance spiritually

We see examples of how these seven orders of motivation play out in society:

Social control usually employs shame (1) to influence people to adhere to the social norms of the family, friendship, education, employment, civic, and religious arenas of life.
Politicians and demagogues—as well as many who seek to sell their products and services—often tap into fear (2) and anger (3) motivational frames.
Those who seek to gain respect from others and wish to be perceived as successful and winners draw their inspiration from challenge and competition (4).
Those who are on the spiritual Path awaken love and compassion (5) and devotion (6), which enfires them to make spiritual progress and actualize their personal and spiritual potentials.
Those who have achieved spiritual Mastery share the Grace (7) of their Divine Empowerment.

In Mudrashram®, we support the development of compassion and love (5), and aspiration and devotion (6) through our teachings, meditation training, and Light Ministry. To shift out of the lower four social motivational platforms into these two higher ones, you need to focus your attention on your inner spiritual essences—your attentional principle, the spirit, and the Soul.

We teach you how to do this in our intermediate meditation classes, the in-person Mudrashram® Master Course in Meditation and the by-mail and online Accelerated Meditation Program. Those who have not meditated before will benefit from taking the Introduction to Meditation Program, which prepares you to perform the more advanced meditation practices of our intermediate courses.

What Is the Outcome of Trauma?

Posted on June 22, 2023 by George Boyd

Q: Is trauma permanent? Does this forever change your destiny—and permanently ruin your life?

A: There are several perspectives on trauma we can adopt:

Dissolution – Your Self and Soul have forever disappeared and appear to effectively no longer exist. You experience a spiritual death; you feel cut off from the Self and the Soul, and it appears that you are irrevocably cast out from communion with these deeper aspects of your nature.
Accretion – a karmic veil has formed over your spiritual essences so you can no longer contact them. If you have access to a transformational modality—an active method such as transformational mantra or Kriya Yoga, or a passive method such as reception of the Light from an Initiate—you can progressively burn away this veil and reunite with your hidden spiritual essences.
Disorganization – the structures of your mind have become disorganized through distortion of your beliefs, perception, and values through exposure to false information and conspiracy theories. This disorganization can spawn paranoia—and if severe—outright psychosis. This disorganization must be overcome through progressively challenging each distorted belief, value, and perception, and re-connecting to the Soul’s inner truth, or Dharma.
Neurological damage – this perspective holds that the brain has been permanently damaged and can no longer express the Self and the Soul; it requires healing and regeneration to restore former functioning.
Unprocessed issues – In this perspective, the trauma continues to form repetitive loops in the mind until the underlying issues are processed and integrated. These issues persist until the integration process is complete.
Demonic possession – In this view, trauma is the invasion of the psyche by negative entities. The Light must exorcise these entities; once they are cast out, full functioning and sanity can be restored.
Synthesis and rebirth – Through deconstructing each aspect of the trauma, the Soul’s native abilities, virtues, and knowledge can re-emerge. One finds the synthesis of wholeness that exists beyond the pairs of opposites of functioning and non-functioning—once this re-union has occurred, the Soul’s is freed again to express in human life.

We can examine each of these perspectives:

We do not find that those suffering trauma actually lose their Self and Soul, or are forever cut off from it, as in perspective one.

We notice that in some cases, when trauma appears as accretion, as in perspective two, when an appropriate transformational method is used, this veil dissolves and the Soul’s native abilities, virtue, and knowledge reappear.

In the event that there is mental disorganization as a result of trauma, as in perspective three, each layer of false belief needs to be refuted; each corrupted value examined and revised; and perception needs to be re-anchored in the Self and the Soul to reconnect the individual to his or her innate sense of truth.

Neurological damage, as in perspective four—when there is actual damage to the structure of the brain—this presents a greater challenge. This is similar to a sector of hard drive that has been damaged, so one can no longer write to it or retrieve information from it. The brain activity and function must be re-mapped on another area of the brain to restore functioning—in this case, there needs to be an actual re-wiring of the brain circuits.

Process and integration, as in perspective five, if done methodically, appears to be a means to progressively reduce the impact of the traumatic impressions embedded in the mind.

Exorcism, as in perspective six, appears to impact the issue at the level where it can be perceived in the imaginal stratum of the mind, where the issue entifies as a thought form or subpersonality. This type of inner work only appears to resolve issues when it resolves all seven levels of karmic expression—physical, etheric, emotional/desire, imaginal, cognitive (beliefs and thoughts), karmic impressions in the causal body, and the seed at the root of the karmic issue.

Synthesis and rebirth, as in perspective seven, uses a variety of evocative methods to work out the trauma at each level of the mind until it has been fully known, experienced, processed, released, and integrated. This utilizes a step-by-step deconstruction. What is deconstructed is then reconstructed through the Soul’s re-creation.

We do not think it is constructive to simply assume that the core structures of identity, volition, and intelligence have been destroyed, as in perspective one. Instead, we believe it would be valuable to use one of the other approaches of perspectives two through seven to see if one or more of these modalities produce release, inner movement, and progressive recovery. Through progressive therapy, inner work, and reception of healing energies, we believe that positive change is possible—and over time—complete functioning can be restored.

We explore ways of working with trauma in our Dysfunctional Family Coaching Program. Those of you who have experienced trauma in your family of origin or in your relationships may find this program beneficial.

Reflections on Your Future Self

Posted on May 26, 2023 by George Boyd

Q: I have read about the idea of working with my future self to overcome my current problems and gain a glimpse of a path forward for my life. Is this a viable strategy, or am I just deluding myself?

A There are seven major visualization mindsets for the future that people adopt. We can describe them and discuss their implications for successfully dealing with life issues—or not dealing with them, and getting lost instead on fear, rage, projection, and delusion. Here are the seven major future visualization mindsets:

Planned future self – You make a decision about what you are going to do. You identify the steps you need to take to reach that objective. You do each sequential behavior required until you reach this goal. In this perspective on the future, you are clear about what you want in your future, and you take constructive action to achieve it.
Idealized future self – You imagine your future self as having overcome any problems you are having, and it can advise you on how to overcome them. This type of visualization of your future self is used in psychotherapy and hypnotherapy to help you make positive behavior and attitude changes.
Fear-projected future self – Here, you cannot see any positive outcomes in your future and you worry about the bad things that might happen to you. This type of envisioning of your future self is associated with severe anxiety and depression.
Anger-projected future self – In this mindset, memories of people who hurt you or traumatized consume you—whether these events actually occurred or you believe misinformation about these people. You obsess about how you will destroy them and get your revenge for them hurting you. This vision of the future is associated with acts of violence and hateful attitudes towards others that you believe injured you or persecuted you, or who are vitiating what you hold dear or sacred.
Negative transmogrification – In this scenario, you see yourself deteriorating and becoming a subhuman monster or completely non-functional. This picture of your future self is associated with psychosis or degenerative neurological diseases. You anticipate the future with dread and horror.
Positive transmogrification – In this lens on your future, you visualize your body becoming filled with light, and you believe you will become so pure you will bodily ascend into heaven. New Age teachers disseminate this miraculous future vision of yourself, which is associated with beliefs about ascension, operating from a fifth dimensional platform, and instantly manifesting whatever you desire.
Developmental future self – In this way of seeing your future, you recognize your body-mind matures over time, and you meet a new set of developmental challenges as you move into each new segment of your life. Erik Erikson’s theory on each developmental stage describes these life segments and the challenges you will face in them. In this way of looking at the future, you deal with your current issues. You learn the lessons of these problems: you master them and move on to the next set of developmental milestones. You can get an intuition of the challenges that await you in the future as you mature; however, you focus on overcoming the current concerns that you are dealing with in your life.

You may find that you operate in one of these modes of envisioning your future self. Three of these modes lead to achievement, acceptance and patience, and reception of guidance about how you can move into actualizing your dreams:

Scenario one is realistic, and enhances your ability to take responsibility and achieve the goals you set for yourself.

Scenario two can be therapeutic and can help you change if your visualized future self has some genuine wisdom and guidance to share with you—and this future self with whom you dialog is indeed wiser, more masterful, and more mature than you are now.

Scenario seven gives you a roadmap of the actual steps of growth you will make in your life, as you mature, provided you overcome the challenges of each stage of your life.

Four of these modes of visualization of your future can generate greater suffering, more problems and entanglements, despair and hopelessness, and delusion:

Scenarios three, four, and five are negative visualizations of the future that are associated with the emotions of fear and worry, anger, and horror. If it is possible for you to shift into the perspective of scenarios one, two or seven, you may find you are able to better manage your current issues more effectively—instead of inhabiting very primitive and ineffective mindsets that give rise to worry and anxiety, depression, hatred and violence, or horror and dread.

Scenario six is predicated upon utopian fantasies, which are rarely realized in your life. These visions arise from imagination: they assume that supernatural forces will manifest miraculous things in your life. This worldview presumes you are a god-like being who can create anything you want in your future. These fanciful visions of manifestations are often founded upon you taking the steps to actually achieve what you desire; in this mindset, however, it appears to you that this is a supernatural creation.

This magical mindset appears to work sometimes; at other times, it leads to disappointment and motivates you to question how you are blocking or sabotaging the manifestation of the elements of the idealized future you desire.

In general, it is best to use constructive action; and to have the patience to recognize that once you master your current life challenges, you will have greater wisdom, ability, and understanding to share with others—and you will function at a higher level in your life. Additionally, if you visualize a wiser and better self in your future, you can listen to its counsel to guide you in the next steps for your life.

If you adopt visualization mindset six, we recommend you verify whether your practice of intentional manifestation is actually working, so you may not delude yourself with magical thinking.

Octaves of Voices that Inform Decisions

Posted on May 13, 2023 by George Boyd

Q: I hear different voices when I attempt to make a decision. What inner voice should I rely upon? I feel conflicted as to what guidance I should follow.

A: When you look at the levels of voices within you that can inform your decision making, there are ten major levels:

The voice of fear – When you act from this level, you avoid, make excuses, lie, and run away.
The voice of prior conditioning and learning – When you act from this level, you lead an inauthentic life. You act out others’ programs for your life.
The voice of madness and unbridled imagination – When you act from this level, you may distract others through entertainment and humor; you tell stories and hide your genuine Self behind a facade. If you are suffering from mental illness, the voices from this level may attack you and tell you lies, which causes you untold suffering.
The voice of your conscience – When you act from this level, you act on your values. You act from integrity and you develop a positive character.
The voice of your Self – This is the voice that directs your behavior to accomplish your goals. When you act from this level, you take responsibility for your actions and your work to achieve your objectives.
The voice of your attentional principle – You hear this voice when you hear the attentional principle’s intention or suggestion. When you act from this level, you train yourself, your work on yourself, and become aware of your issues and resolve them.
The voice of your spirit – When you act from this level, love and caring express through your behavior.
The voice of numinous entities – These voices derive from angels, guides, and the Holy Spirit. When you act from this level, inspiration informs your actions; you take action on faith, based on the messages you receive at this level.
The voice of the Soul – When you act from this level, you carry out your Soul Purpose.
The voice of the Divine Will – When you act from this level, you carry out spiritual ministry and fulfill the Divine Plan or Dispensation that God has given you. [To understand the role of a Dispensation given to a lineage holder, please see the article, “What Is a Lineage Holder?“]

You progressively shift from hearing the voices of levels one through ten, as your core identity transforms. Personal maturation comprises levels one through five; spiritual maturation consists of levels six to ten.

Your spiritual nature functions from these levels:

Level ten guides Initiates.
Disciples operate at level nine.
Aspirants tap into level eight.
Your ability to do inner work and transform your spiritual potentials works at levels six and seven.

Listen for each of these layers of voices within you: aim to recognize the source of the voice. Notice what these voices tell you.

When you dissolve the conflicting guidance from these different levels of voices, you will ultimately act from the deepest level of maturation within you.

When you align the intention of your attentional principle, the wish of your spirit, and the volition of your Self at your personal octave and the Soul at the transpersonal octave—and you act in spite of fear, prior conditioning, or values that no longer serve you—you bring your deeper nature into expression.