Relax... and Listen.
The other day in class at the Vancouver Centre where I attend regularly, my teacher Master Thai Siew Liang, was leading us in a meditation.She said it would be a silent meditation, with no music, nor even any chanting (or sound power as it is called in Master Sha's system of healing and meditation). This was a bit unusual, in that we generally chant something, --even if the chanting is done silently. (Yin)
But this time, Master Thai Siew's only instructions were to totally relax, and to focus on our 'ming men', an acupuncture point just beneath the skin, in front of the spine, in a direct line back from the navel.
She shared how during her first visit to China to meet Master Sha's teacher and spiritual father, Master Guo, she was very surprised that his only instruction to them when he led them in healing meditation was "whole body relax!"
Relaxation, she learned, is a vital key to healing, and to going deeply into the 'hero condition', where healing takes place. In this condition, you lose sense of the boundaries of your physical self, and fall gently into the vast 'stillness' that all meditators seek. Total relaxation of the mind as well as the body is needed to do this.
So the silent meditation began. I closed my eyes and totally and completely relaxed, focusing on my ming men, as Master Thai Siew directed.
The summer evening was hot, and the door to the Centre was open to the traffic noise of the busy street outside. But those sounds quickly disappeared, and I soon noticed the sound of chanting arise from the silence.
It wasn't coming from my mind though... I understood that it was the voice of my soul. I could distinctly hear my soul chanting "Bao Yuan Shou Yi Master Sha"...a mantra roughly translating as 'become One with Master Sha'. What a beautiful message! I realized that the chanting had not started with the onset of the meditation, but that the meditation had only provided the means through which I was able to hear it. Our souls are always chanting! How blessed we are!
In our days, so filled with tasks and schedules and to-do lists, so filled with the constant internal chatter and external sound pollution of the urban life most of us live, it's easy think that we are not able to to find silence. But we can access it anytime, anywhere. Try it for yourself right now and see. Just 'whole body relax'...and listen. What message does your soul's voice have for you?
Thank you Master Thai Siew, Thank you Master Guo, Thank you Master Sha.
