July 5, 2007 at 20:07:32 Spiritual Awakening and the Near-death Experience by Dr. Stephen Ruppenthal     Page 2 of 2 page(s) http://www.awakeningpath.com

For anyone who desires the direct awakening of the white light experience, it is not necessary to head for the desert, practice sleep deprivation, or starve the body in fasts. Means are at hand to mimic the near-death experience. Diligent practice, for example, of passage meditation slows down thought and with it, the heart rate and breathing rhythm. For in this mode of meditation, one trusts the inspirational passage to be the seed of the spiritual experience attained by its author. By memorizing and continually repeating its words silently in the mind, the meditator gradually absorbs this experience. Eventually, passage meditation slows and even stills the mind, and then one perceives what lies in the space between thoughts. When the mind becomes thus stilled, abiding in the interstice between thoughts, a sudden flash can illumine our nature and show us who we are and have always been. We will have in our heart the same love - - so deep, so profound, and so unifiying - - as the person who comes back from the gates of death.

There is no way to obtain just with our conscious will that supreme experience of joy all seekers yearn for. Meditation on the words and experience of those who have experienced the highest truth will drop the seeds of their experience deep into your consciousness. Moreover, they will predispose you to absorb the very most from such experience when the ultimate closedown of the body does take place. This is training of the highest and most practical sort, and for all of us, whether we are young or old, the need for this internal support net could not be greater.


© 2007 Stephen Ruppenthal & DirectAwakings.com

 1  |  2

www.directawakening.com

Dr. Stephen Ruppenthal is the author of The Path of Direct Awakening: Passages for Meditationand co-author of Eknath Easwaran’s The Dhammapada. Dr. Ruppenthal is an international workshop leader in passage meditation and in courses for those looking for end of life spiritual care and for the spiritual step component of twelve step programs. Visit Stephen’s work at www.directawakenings.com.

Contact Author

Contact Editor

View Other Articles by Author

Bookmark this page: (what's this?)

                                                 (More...)