Transformation is only valid if it is carried out with the people, not for them. Liberation is like a childbirth, and a painful one. The person who emerges is a new person: no longer either oppressor or oppressed, but a person in the process of achieving freedom. It is only the oppressed who, by freeing themselves, can free their oppressors.
- Paulo Freire
The soul like the soil of the land must be cultivated in order for us to grow and transform. Once again I am reminded to be careful what I ask for - today I chose a meditation for expanding intelligence,( by Genevieve Paulson, "Meditation as Spiritual Practice", page 27), - I got what I asked for - expanded intelligence. I'm just not sure I can adequately articulate the information that I've received. What my flamboyant ego was hoping for was a revelatory insight into some shallow knowing that I could receive from the universe and either prove or disprove - ah ha, "see I told you so". Perhaps simple answers to simple questions: am I going to get a job as a meditation instructor or what page should I use for meditation? My soul has its own agenda to develop and with a gentle nudge from the universe I am guided to a subtle change in thinking and perspective. What I got today was a raising of my consciousness!
The paradox in my life is that arriving at a place of liberation is often painful for me. The physical pain is not analogous to childbirth (I birthed twins!) but the emotional and psychological battle my ego bestows upon me definitely could be very close to giving birth or better yet, may be similar to my own birth (which by the way, I have no conscious memory of...but we'll save that one for another day). When my soul is thirsty I am reminded of the Cherokee parable of the two wolves; which one do you feed? The answer is the one you want to grow - so I circle back to character development as my truest desire. Liberation is freedom and it does not happen without desire, dedication, determination or action!
Paulo Freire was a 20th century Brazilian educator and theorist of critical pedagogy. And no, I did not know of him until I meditated today for expanded intelligence...now you know why I said, be careful what you ask for! Critical pedagogy is a teaching approach that attempts to help us question and challenge domination, and the beliefs and practices that dominate. So what does this have to do with meditation and expanded intelligence? Ai-yai-yai!!! Oy vey!!! It's the information I got while meditating so I'll try to explain it and thereby you the reader and I the writer will have simply expanded our knowledge... if nothing else!
Dr. Freire proposed critical pedagogy as a method to help students achieve critical consciousness. Okay, so what's that? Wikipedia describes critical consciousness as a focus on achieving an in-depth understanding of the world. This understanding allows for the perception and exposure of social and political contradictions. Critical consciousness includes taking action against the oppressive elements in one's life that are illuminated by that understanding. The oppressive elements in our lives are our lack of awareness that enables us to become objects of others will rather than self-determining subjects. SAY WHAT?
The phrase "we rise to the level of our own incompetence" jumps out at me! I will attempt to simplify what Dr. Freire proposed. There comes a point in our lives when we have to take responsibility for who and what we are. We must become aware of what has gone on beneath the surface meaning in our lives - things we have been taught whether they be from books we've read to dominant myths in our lives. We must be willing to unlearn and relearn in order to change our perspective. If we do not change, we will remain oppressed - the objects of the will of others rather than self determining subjects! This consciousness raising is critical for growth and transformation. What it boils down to is that expansion of soul consciousness and expanding intelligence can not happen in an unbalanced state. We suffer in part due to our ignorance. Liberation from oppression comes from awareness of the root of our suffering. Awareness of not only our spirit life but the world around us - social and political justice are our responsibility. In order to become whole we must address not only our spirit life but also our humanness. To change our perspective we must become teachable. Being teachable delivers us to a place of humbleness. From this place of humility we free not only ourselves but also liberate our oppressors.
The meditation steps are:
1. Choose a meditation that you are drawn to for expansive reasons. (I chose expanded intelligence - reference listed above.)
2. Sit comfortably with your eyes closed. (This posture can be either a seated one such as in a chair or in a yoga posture: easy pose, lotus or half lotus.)
3. Follow your breath in and out through your nostrils. Breathing as naturally and gently as you would if lying on a hammock after a hard day at work. Breath in the world around you and let it back out. Feel the breath as it is drawn in from the world around you and pools low into your phsycial body - let it back out softly.
4. Begin to scan your body from the toes up for signs of stress or discomfort. Give yourself permission to feel the angst of your body. Do not try to deny or dismiss your discomfort but allow it. It helps to visualize breathing air into the stressed area and letting the air flow up through your body out through your nostrils.
5. Your mind will wander at times for a moment or even for an extended period of time. Gently guide your focus back to your breath until you feel calm and centered in your own mind and body. Oneness with your spirit takes time and practice. Wholeness and unity are acquired through the desire for spiritual development.
6. Images will flood into your minds eye. Let them flow. Your awareness of a peaceful feeling of freedom will expand your being to the place of your truest desires.
7. The meditaiton session should come to a natural end - a place of clarity. It is best not to stop the process while in a state of aggitation or distraction. Push through until you reach a moment of freedom.
8. Relax for a moment before coming to full consicousness. Scan your body for things like - a foot that has fallen asleep or a kink in your lower back. Allow the peaceful energy to flow through your entire body before attempting to stand up.
9. Take notes on the information you have recieved. If you didn't get a satisfactory answer - try the meditation during your next session, or two!
