Copyright (C) 1993, 1996 Bruce R. Jaffe, Ph.D.
(brjaffe@actualism.org). All rights reserved. Any and all
commercial use requires express permission of the author.
See the end of this file for more contact information.

A PREFACE TO THESE LESSONS

Quite frankly, not _everyone_ who has read these articles has been sold on this method of meditation. There are usually one of three responses:

1. I tried it and it works!

2. I tried it and I'm not sure if it works.

3. I tried it and didn't feel anything.

Before you plunge in to this material, a word of advice. If you try any of these techniques and "don't feel anything", relax. It doesn't mean that your efforts are for naught. In fact if you keep practicing the techniques, say for from ten to thirty minutes a day, the chances are very good that within a week or two you WILL see some results. You might even start to "feel something"! Keep an open mind, don't try too hard.

The secret is in "effortless effort", of getting the energy flow started with the thought, then letting it happen. Most of us are conditioned to try to make something happen. In the case of inner work, that often blocks our means of perceiving what IS happening. So again, just think the thought, let it happen, and be open to observing and experiencing whatever you perceive, no matter how subtle.

Take your time. Assimilation is a very important part of this work. You wouldn't eat three dinners at once, you would take time to digest. The same is true with this material. Each article is designed to be read, then practiced, so that you move from the idea into the experience. As you do so, each life-energy tool or technique becomes more and more an integral part of your consciousness, and begins to express in behavior. This is a process known as "earthing" -- bringing spirit into form, and translating changes in consciousness into action.

I would recommend that you read at most one article in a day, work with the technique for a while, then come back and read the next one.

Good luck, and enjoy!

Bruce R. Jaffe
December 1996
http://www.actualism.org
------------------------------------------------

INTRODUCTION

The powerful, yet safe, introductory meditation technique which follows has been taught to literally thousands of people over more than 30 years, including health practitioners at the University of California, San Diego Health Sciences Department. Many have found it to be calming and centering for themselves and for those they treat and counsel. Scientific studies have found meditation in general to have health benefits such as reducing stress and lowering blood pressure. Beyond those physical benefits, if practiced often, meditation can lead to an overall increased clarity of mind, emotional well-being, and sensory delight in life--in essence, more of the joy of living.

Actualism is a step-by-step process of enhancing and accelerating spiritual growth and enlightenment. Using ancient techniques in a modern formulation, Actualism works with inner "light-fire" energy tools and techniques to bring about the releasing of one's potential for healing self and others, for creative inspiration and expression, and for problem-solving in many areas of life.

HISTORY

Founded in the early 1960's by Dr. Russell Paul Schofield, Actualism --then known as "Agni Yoga" or "union by fire"--is now taught at centers in New York and California (including Costa Mesa, Escondido, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco). I am endeavoring to introduce this teaching to a worldwide audience by means of the Internet and commercial online services such as America Online and CompuServe.

To teach meditation by correspondence, or long distance over networks such as these, is a formidable task, but the results since this article was first posted in September 1993 have shown that it is possible. At least the introductory techniques can be practiced, and even mastered, from reading and then sitting down and working with them. With a teacher present in person, it is much easier to learn because not only is the teacher available to answer questions, but the energy and awareness of the teacher amplify the experience of the student.

BASIC LAWS

To begin with, there are some basic laws of energy that are helpful to know:

1. Awareness directs thought, and thought directs energy.

2. Life-energy follows thought.

3. Where there is pain, from mild discomfort to acute distress, the flow of life-energy is obstructed.

4. Where thought is focussed, the power of life-energy is concentrated.

We can sum up these four laws in four simple words for practical application: THINK, LET, OBSERVE, and EXPERIENCE. So when you are working with inner life energy tools, think of the energy once, then let it flow, observe it moving about, and with your awareness let yourself enter into the experience. As you become skilled at this directed "letting" you move into what we call "effortless effort". How difficult is it to think a thought? Yet that is all it takes to begin tapping into your inner light-fire energy. The key is knowing where to direct your awareness, and how to bring the energy from within out. The "how" is easy, once you stop trying to make it difficult.

PREPARATION

Especially when you start out working with life-energies, it is best to be in a situation where you will not be interrupted. If possible, find a quiet, comfortable place to sit. Let someone else or your phone answering machine answer the phone. Sit in a comfortable chair, with your feet flat on the floor, your legs and arms uncrossed. (This can also be done lying down, but you might fall asleep). Rest your hands on your upper legs, with your palms down. Close your eyes, so your mind won't be distracted by what is going on around you.

MEDITATION TECHNIQUE

1. Direct your focus of awareness to a place six inches (about 20cm) directly above the center of the top of your head. Here is located a place in consciousness which is always calm and radiant, no matter what is going on elsewhere in your mind or body, or around you. It is called the "upper room". Think of a point of pure, crystal-white light here. Don't "try" to visualize it. If you see it, fine, but if you don't, it doesn't matter. As you think of the point of white light, it grows brighter, expanding into a little star, three inches (about 10cm) in diameter.

2. Think and let the star burn away the veils that have kept it hidden all these years. Direct the star to open, releasing a downpour of cleansing and purifying life energy. This energy is crystal clear, like fresh spring water.

3. Let the energy flow through your hair, scalp, into the bones of your head and face, into your brain, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, down the neck, through your shoulders, arms, and hands. Experience it flowing through your chest and back, abdomen, hips, pelvic area, upper legs, knees, lower legs, ankles and feet. Think and let the soles of your feet open, releasing the energy into the earth beneath your feet. Now it is flowing through your whole body.

4. Think of the bottoms of your feet closing, so the energy begins to backfill up through the areas you have cleared out. Experience it in your legs, hips, torso, shoulders, arms, hands, neck, and head. Let it overflow out the top of your head, surrounding your body with an aura of crystal clear white light.

5. Bring your hands together, almost but not quite touching, palms facing each other out in front of your body. Experience the energy flowing through your hands. You could use this energy to heal others, by laying your lighted hands on the person's head, heart, or wherever they have discomfort. Whatever you touch with your hands lighted this way will be filled with inner light- fire-energy.

6. If you experience discomfort anywhere in your body as you are working with the inner light, think of the "consuming fire" aspect of the energy. Hold the focus of it in the area of discomfort to burn through the obstructions to the flow of your pure life energy. Afterwards, take a few minutes to assimilate the radiant essence of the light into any area that you have cleared out with the consuming fire aspect.

WHEN TO USE THIS TECHNIQUE

In addition to your focussed practice of the energy in a meditation as described above, you can work with the downpour anytime and anywhere, day or night, with your eyes open or closed, as appropriate to the situation. You can use it as an inner shower while you take your outer shower in the morning. Every time you think of the star and the white light downpouring, it continues for about 30 minutes. So you can literally fill your day with inner light. It's also a great way to go to sleep at night. For stress-reduction it is best to practice the technique for at least a few minutes every day.

ACTUALISM, Part 2: Enlightening Awareness

SUMMARY

Part 2 introduces a method of gathering and enlightening awareness. When Actualism sessions are taught in person, this technique precedes each lesson, including the introductory session, to enhance the experience of life-energy. I am presenting this in this "online" series as the second lesson, because I thought it might be too subtle for the first session without a teacher present. If you had a good response to the energy work from the first session, you are no doubt ready to do this more subtle work with awareness. This can be practiced by itself, or as the beginning of a meditation session with light-fire- energy.

ABOUT AWARENESS

One of the most important aspects of the power to focus thought, and thereby to direct energy, is awareness. Where your awareness is scattered, your thoughts become scattered, and your energy also. As you learn to gather and enlighten your awareness, working with light-fire-energy becomes more powerful and effective. Furthermore, as you gather more awareness, you have more awareness available to expand. There is a big difference between scattering awareness and expanding awareness, as you will come to experience.

Awareness has three main aspects:

Knowing Awareness--Which is your mental awareness, including thoughts, ideas, plans, and concepts.

Emotional Awareness--Also called feeling awareness, including your emotional feelings of every kind.

Sensory Awareness--Including sensations of every kind, perceptions, and perspectives.

TECHNIQUE FOR GATHERING AND ENLIGHTENING AWARENESS

The following technique is a way of gathering and enlightening your knowing, feeling, and sensory awareness. It is recommended that from now on you do this at the beginning of every meditation session, to amplify your experience of the light-fire-energy, and your ability to direct and focus the energy.

1. Sit comfortably, with your feet, legs, and arms uncrossed, and your eyes closed. In time you will find you can also do this with your eyes open, but it is easier not to be distracted with your eyes closed.

2. Think of your "Upper Room", the radiant, peaceful place within your nature that is located about six inches (20cm) directly above the center of the top of your head. Although it is not within your body, it is within your energy field, which extends from 12 to 15 feet (about 4 to 5 meters) in every direction (spherically) around your body. The Upper Room is a source point for the Radiant Awareness of your Actual Self, also known as your "Higher Self" or the "Being of Light" that you actually are.

3. Focus your attention in your brain. Think and let the knowing awareness in your brain-mind open to and harmonize with the Radiant Awareness from your Upper Room. With effortless effort, observe and experience the gathering in of your mental awareness. If your brain is chattering too much for you to experience anything else, let your brain shift out of the active "doing" role into the relaxed "being" mode. Continue this for about 1-2 minutes.

4. Then shift your focus to the nerve cells and nerves in your brain. Most of the brain is made up of nerve cells. Direct the nerves to harmonize with radiant awareness from your upper room, and send Radiant Awareness flowing through your spinal cord, solar plexus, and out through all the nerves in your body, gathering and enlightening your sensory awareness. Continue this for about 1-2 minutes.

5. Now focus in your heart and harmonize your heart with the Radiant Awareness from the Upper Room. From here it flows out through your blood and circulatory system throughout your whole body. Expand this focus to your liver, and from the liver Radiant Awareness moves to all the glands in your body. From this focus in the liquid systems of your heart, blood, circulatory system, liver and glands, experience gathering and enlightening your emotional or feeling awareness. Continue this for about 1-2 minutes.

Now you have enlightened knowing, sensory, and emotional awareness. From here you can move with a flow of enlightened awareness into your Upper Room, lighting your Star and downpouring as in the previous lesson.

ACTUALISM, Part 3: Your Energy Field

SUMMARY

Part 3 discusses the energy field which surrounds everything, and how to enlighten the field surrounding your body. It includes the next in this series of techniques, building upon the methods taught in Parts 1 and 2. I call this series "meditation and beyond" because it involves not only transforming your energy during meditation, but in your active daily life as well. For best results, practice working with the light (with effortless effort) for at least a few minutes every day.

ABOUT THE ENERGY FIELD

We live in a sea of energy, as many people have discovered. Everything, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, has an energy field within and around it. Human beings have the largest fields, in proportion to the size of their bodies, of any life form on earth. The greater the degree of sensitivity, the larger the field. With training, the field can be extended to an even greater size. People who are interested in meditation generally have a high degree of sensitivity, with a field extending from 12 to 15 feet (about 4 to 5 meters) in every direction around the body, or about 30 feet (roughly 10m) in diameter.

The field tends to be very magnetic, picking up energy vibrations from the environment, of both high frequency, life- supportive energy and low frequency, life-draining energy. Often we experience these loads without realizing what is happening. That is why sometimes you may suddenly feel tired, depressed, or anxious upon entering a room or a building (such as a store), or after a few minutes of being around certain people. With enlightened awareness expanded into the field, and with the use of light-fire-energy from the crystal white Star, any loads picked up in the field can quickly be processed and transformed into life-supporting energy essence.

There is a central vertical axis (CVA) running through the center of your body and your field, from top to bottom. It follows the position of your body, and bends if your body bends, such as when you are seated in a chair. The upper room and white star that we worked with in previous sessions are located upon this central vertical axis.

TECHNIQUE FOR CLEARING THE FIELD

1. After gathering and enlightening awareness (see Part 2 of this series), and turning on the crystal white star and downpour (see Part 1), raise the star up to about three feet (about 1m) above the center of the top of your head. Direct the star to expand to about 3-1/2 feet in diameter, and close it so that it is no longer downpouring.

2. Bring the star out in front of your body and on down below your feet to about 12 feet (4m) below your body. Here at the bottom of your field, the star centers on the CVA. Direct the star to begin spinning in a counterclockwise direction (at body height this would be from right to left). This counterclockwise (CC) spin intensifies elimination of low frequency energy debris. Here we are using it to clear out the bottom of the field, where loads of muddy energy often collect. For added clearing power, think of, which invokes, the "consuming fire" aspect of the crystal white light. This speeds up the elimination of low frequency, making room for high frequency energy.

3. The star will reach a tremendous speed, faster than any material object could spin without flying apart. Your brain-mind does not have to keep it going, so just relax and let the star do the spinning! This is "effortless effort" in action.

4. Bring the spinning star slowly up along the CVA, pausing about six inches (20cm) below your feet, then bring it up into your legs and pelvic bowl, so you are seated within the spinning star. Then bring it up into the upper half of your body, extending from above your head to below your seat.

5. Raise the star up above your body, on up to about 3 feet (1m) above. Direct it to stop spinning, which it does instantly. Then have the star spinning clockwise (CW) and repeat the previous steps with the CW spin. This amplifies assimilation of purified, transformed energy essence into all the areas you have cleared out. By filling in with light all along your axis, you are building up a powerful radiant glow that will keep these areas lighted as you go about your business in the world.

There are other techniques for becoming more aware of your field, and for building up the strength of the light in your field, which we will go into in subsequent sessions.

My thanks to those of you who responded to the previous articles. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or wish further information about Actualism, please feel free to contact me at any of the addresses below. I'd be very interested to know from where in the world you are reading this, and to hear about your experiences of working with these techniques. Meanwhile, may you enjoy working with the light-fire-energies of your Actual Self!

Web Site: 
http://www.actualism.org           |Postal Mail:
e-mail                             |Dr. Bruce R. Jaffe
brjaffe@actualism.org              |New York Actualism Center
CompuServe: 73112,2647             |27 West 72nd Street
America Online: Actualism          |New York, NY 10023, USA
Telephone:                         |
212-873-5826                       |