Brian L. Weiss - Directing Our Inner Light

ALSO BY BRIAN L. WEISS, M.D.

Eliminating Stress, Finding Inner Peace

Healing the Mind and Spirit Cards

Many Lives, Many Masters

Messages from the Masters

Miracles Happen

Mirrors of Time

Only Love Is Real

Regression Through the Mirrors of Time (audio)

Regression to Times and Places (audio)

Same Soul, Many Bodies

Spiritual Progress Through Regression (audio)

Through Time into Healing

Available from Hay House

Please visit:

Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com
Hay House Australia: www.hayhouse.com.au
Hay House UK: www.hayhouse.co.uk
Hay House India: www.hayhouse.co.in

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Copyright 2002 by Weiss Family Limited Partnership LLLP

Published in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com

Published in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au

Published in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk

Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Cover and Interior design: Julie Davison

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher. The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

This book was previously published by Hay House as Meditation: Achieving Inner Peace and Tranquility in Your Life (978-1-4019-4626-5). The exercise on the accompanying audio download was previously available through The Weiss Institute as a CD titled Meditation to Inner Peace, Love, and Joy.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data for the original edition

Weiss, Brian L. (Brian Lelie), 1944

Meditation : achieving inner peace and tranquility in your life / Brian L. Weiss.

p. cm.

ISBN 1-56170-930-1

1. Meditation. 2. Peace of mindReligious aspects. I. Title.

BL627 .W42 2002

158.12dc21

2002004695

Tradepaper ISBN: 978-1-4019-6173-2

E-book ISBN: 978-1-4019-6201-2

Over the past 40 years, Ive come to be known for my work and research in the field of past-life therapy. Although this particular approach has helped many people, there are numerous paths that can be taken to attain inner growth and enlightenment. Ive discovered that we have many dimensions to explore and enjoy, for our souls are endowed with possibilities far beyond the constraints of time and space. I believe that were not simply human beings occasionally gifted with spiritual experiences, but instead, are spiritual beings who happen to undergo human experiences from time to time.

In my first book, Many Lives, Many Masters, I wrote about how treating a woman named Catherine changed my life. Since I describe the experience in detail in that book, Id like to just briefly touch on it here.

Catherine came to my office in 1980, suffering from anxiety, phobias, panic attacks, and troubled relationships. For 18 months, I treated her with traditional psychotherapeutic techniques, but since the signs of recovery were minimal, I decided to try hypnosis on her.

After inducing a trance, I asked her to go back to the time from which her symptoms arose. To my amazement, that suggestion took her back to a time approximately 4,000 years ago, where she had originally suffered the traumatic experiences that were the root of her present-day problems. By recalling and reliving these incidents, she was then able to alleviate her symptoms.

But in addition to her memories, Catherine also brought back many messages from the Masters, who are highly evolved spirits whose wisdom and capacity for love enhance the spirituality of humankind. These messages moved me deeply and changed my view of the world, the way I saw my work, and my relationships with my patients. Before I met Catherine, my medical education had been rigorous and orthodox, and my psychiatric training had followed along traditional psychoanalytic lines; but after my experience with her, I began to explore alternative therapies that would help my patients. It was during this quest that I learned the value of meditation.

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Many people like Catherine undergo traumatic experiences throughout their lifetimes that are so devastating that they can scar their minds and souls. Some are indeed too painful to remain in their conscious memory. However, even if these memories are pushed down to the subconscious level, the experiences effects still remain, together with residual physical and emotional reactions.

Just like hypnosis and other methods of past-life therapy, meditation progressively develops the ability to concentrate and to focus, thus gently tapping into the subconscious mind. Memories of past livesand of the intervals in the spiritual state between these incarnationsare stored in the subconscious, which is the most creative and clairvoyant level of the mind. The subconscious is where we draw the spiritual resources that are so vital in our daily lives.

In my work with patients, Ive noted that meditation enhances the ability to remember. In simple terms, what we do in past-life therapy is help people recall the origin of their symptoms, physical reactions, fears, rage, and pain. When the source of the trauma is finally located, people tend to let go of their symptoms, as they realize that the trauma is something thats already over, part of the past, and no longer a threat. I myself have had memories of my own past lives during deep can be found at the end of the book.)

Meditation is the art or technique of quieting the mind so that the endless chatter that normally fills our consciousness is stilled. In the quiet of the silent mind, the meditator begins to become an observer, to reach a level of detachment, and eventually, to become aware of a higher state of consciousness.

The stresses of todays world seem to intrude constantly into our daily liveseven moments of relaxation and pleasure are curtailed as rising pressures and demands leave us bewildered. Under this barrage of stress, the physical body functions at a heightened level of alertnessthe so-called fight-or-flight reactiontriggering a cascade of physiological reactions. Fear, a common complaint in todays world, also sets off internal alarms that urge us to act to protect ourselves. Its becoming more and more difficult to tune in to our inner selves, to remember our true spiritual nature.

Thankfully, the practice of meditation helps us clear our minds. It rids us of stresses, intrusive thoughts, and fragments and echoes of the outside worldall of which disturb our conscious minds. Meditation makes our minds more sensitive to whats truly important. And the benefits extend well beyond the meditative state itself, although its important to remember that meditation is in and of itself highly beneficial. The deeper that meditation takes us, the further we move away from the level of everyday consciousness (encompassing frustration, stress, anxiety, and worry), and the closer we draw to the higher self, with its capacity for love. Consequently, as we gain a higher perspective about life and our place in the world, appreciate the love that lies within us, and discover that we already possess this precious gift thats so full of beauty, we find ourselves filled with self-love and are able to achieve happiness and joy. We indeed become enlightenedand enlighteningbeings.