In my last post I talked about how our intentions and efforts are what’s important, rather than the outcome. And this applies to anything we do. My own main area of concern has been the effort to meditate in spite of problems with positioning my body and the challenges I have with concentration, both due to the COPD. Even though I felt I had a good start with how to look at the problem and deal with it, I ran it by Tayo, who did confirm that, indeed, relative to these problems, the value is in the effort. But he also offered more in the way of dealing with meditating, with expanding my consciousness in spite of the challenges:

“Given the state of where you are now, the best thing to try to do is to simply concentrate as best you can on the third eye itself, using the full force of your will to concentrate your ENTIRE being into the third eye, so that whatever position you find your body in makes no difference—the concentration does.”

I certainly understood what he meant and have focused on the third eye as part of other meditation practices, but this method was a bit different and new to me; i.e., bypassing all the other techniques to use the full force of my will to concentrate my ENTIRE being into the third eye, to paraphrase Tayo’s direction. And I still had to concentrate, something I’d found to be so difficult with all the other things going on in my body, so I wondered how on earth I was going to make that happen.

Well, what did happen was as close to a “silver bullet” as I think I’ve ever come to solution to a problem or challenge. Without going into details, because these experiences are so private and precious to me, by the grace of God and gurus, I found myself able to actually do what Tayo had directed: I was able to concentrate my entire self into the third eye. And I felt the presence of my Guru very closely as he supported my efforts with great strength and compassion.

I am able to do this concentrated effort while sitting still or lying back on a stack of pillows, in as much of a meditative state as I can manage. But placing the intense concentration in the third eye while doing other things is a process of practice, practice, practice in all situations, and especially when that’s the only thing I have to do. Then at some point it will no longer take effort; the more I practice, the more it will lead to being able to do it in all situations.

In relation to this, and as I understand it, until the center of gravity of one’s consciousness is centered in the soul rather than the ego—i.e., while we’re in the process of moving from ego to soul—the concentration into and on the third eye will naturally dissipate into whatever task we are involved in, until we consciously bring our attention back to the third eye. Then when we do become soul centered, our consciousness will automatically stay in the third eye.

What a joy it is to work with this technique in this particular way and to feel once again that I’m actually able to do what my teacher is directing so that I can still progress as much as possible before my final transition. There’s always a way to work with whatever our individual parameters require.