The Echoing Practice™ is the loving remembrance1 of one’s dearly beloved2 God3 or Prophet4. In the first chapter of this online text, the meditation of a United Against Neurelitism™ will be simply explained. Although this meditative practice has been partially inspired by Sufism5, it is not a Sufi order6 or way or path. The book is, in a sense, a prayer or love letter to my dear and precious Lord.
I now give you my heart. Although the Practice is intended for Autists and the similarly dissimilar (other developmentally disabled individuals), it can be followed by nearly anyone. You may, if you wish, share your experiences in the guestbook. My recommendation is to begin only with the meditation. This work is intended as a reference and a resource guide. Simply reading it from beginning to end will be confusing.
Enjoying a heartfulness meditation, one which is spiritually heart-centered, is all that is required to participate in this informal fellowship in love. These suggestions are mostly aimed at folks who are still searching for a successful practice. You are encouraged to introduce your own variations and, through experience, to find what personally works for you.
An Autistic Practice is intended to produce an inner peace or tranquility and to increase attachment to one’s beloved God or Prophet. Please set aside some quiet time, and do your best to find yourself a private space. Whenever possible, turn your phone off. You are encouraged to introduce your own variations and to find what personally works for you. Then imagine, for purposes of the Practice, that your spiritual heart7 is located somewhere around the chest.
You may begin with just one or two of the seven steps. They will be clearly and carefully explained after this paragraph. Little by little, as your comfort level increases, raise the number of steps. The exact order is not important. Some of the steps may even be blended into one. When your eyes are closed, you may, from time to time, open them to check the clock. Alarms, which can obviously be distracting, are best avoided.
In addition, some writers recommend meditating while seated, no sooner than two hours after meals, and at least two hours before bedtime. The explanations frequently provided are: that an individual is more likely to fall asleep while lying down, that the exercises may interfere with metabolism and digestion, and that meditation can decrease tiredness. Although none of these issues creates any noticeable problems for me, your own experiences may, of course, differ. Therefore, it cannot hurt to keep these recommendations in mind, especially when first starting the Practice.
Meditation is, similar to many learning experiences throughout our lives, like riding a bicycle. At first, the possibility of being balancing on two narrow wheels appears to be hopeless. We learn, however, by steps. First, we hold the bike in our hands. Second, we raise the kickstand. Third, while grasping the handlebars, we move one leg over to the other side of the vehicle. Fourth, one foot after the other, we press our feet against the pedals and begin pumping them in circles. Before we know it, the original fuss appears foolish. Riding a bike is easy. As with meditation, we can forget the steps and improvise.
The Echoing Practice has been carefully designed to increase the receptivity of the heart to love and to other positive emotions. Through consistent effort, each of us, while drawing closer to one’s God or Prophet may experience peace, joy, and the ecstasy of devotion. The spiritual guidance, which is continuously available to the heart, will, more and more, be recognized and accepted with greater ease and a higher degree of confidence. In short, prayer and meditation can help to purify the inner self. Many of the scratches and stains appearing upon it shall be gradually wiped away. Bless you.
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Watchful Echoing is an ecstatic, or a “blissful,” activity. An individual is spellbound by the rhythms and repetitions of word and sound. Indeed, the echoing of holy words can encourage a spiritually suggestible state of mind. While continuing with the meditation, one consciously, intentionally, and heartfully observes one’s feelings and ideas. By entering this prayerful condition of surrender, the lover may be drawn, more closely, to her God or Prophet.
On the other hand, with the relaxation response, thoughts are never pushed out of the mind. They are irrelevant. Upon becoming aware that one’s thinking has strayed from its course, one effortlessly returns to the mantra. This method was developed following a clinical study of Transcendental Meditation® (TM®), an organization which has spawned a number of imitators. Similarly, in Forceless Echoing, inspired by several related approaches, the heart is, using little effort, emptied of attachments. It is, afterwards, refilled through the disciplines of reciting, reading, contemplation, and reflection.
Personally speaking, my subjective experiences with these two forms of echoing have been significantly different. Although Watchful Echoing has produced ecstatic states of consciousness, Forceless Echoing has been deeply relaxing. By the same token, many of our perceptions and requirements will undoubtedly differ. Therefore, with some people, one of these two heart-centered approaches might be more helpful than the other. These days, for instance, I only practice Watchful Echoing.
Please note that The Echoing Practice has absolutely no connection with the Transcendental Meditation® Program. Since I have never even taken that program’s introductory course, it goes without saying that I am totally unqualified to provide guidance or instructions on any of the specific meditative techniques which are being taught in TM®. If, however, you wish to learn TM®, please visit one of their numerous homepages throughout the world. For those readers living in, or near, the United Kingdom, you may, as an alternative, view the websites maintained under the Meditation Trust.
The list below provides some possibilities for the quiet echoing of sacred names, and brief silent or vocalized prayer, from various sources. Perhaps you can discover others.
Like polish to a mirror, a consistent devotional practice, when accompanied by acts of service and reflection, may, slowly but surely, purify the heart and mind from faults of character. However, during meditation, our human imperfections may be experienced as emotional pain or discomfort. Gradually, our emotions, our thoughts, and, perhaps, even our dreams may, we find, become more godly and positive. This conquest of the human “ego,” on the whole and in relation to specific issues, can be an ongoing process.
Meditation, together with thoughtful prayer, is communion with one’s God or Prophet. Some Christian contemplatives, from several denominational backgrounds, have called their approaches to communion, “listening prayer.” Within the beautiful devotional traditions of Roman Catholicism, this type of inner dialogue, whether silent or spoken, is frequently referred to as internal, or mental, prayer. Possibly more than anyone else throughout the histories of the churches, mental prayer has been associated with St. Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582):
By whatever names we call these practices of spiritual devotion, they can become a means by which the human heart and spirit are gradually attuned to spiritual vibrations and to the God or Prophet. Even so, the choice of a method for approaching the divine Presence may depend upon one’s background and temperament. Since an approach which works quite well for one person may, on balance, be entirely unsuitable for another, the exercises described in this work are only offered as suggestions.
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Please bear in mind that the heartfulness meditation offered in this online text is a spiritual practice. Although I have called The Echoing Practice, “Self-Help Therapy for the Spiritual Heart,” it is not intended as a substitute for psychotherapy. If you are in need of such assistance, my personal advice is that you consult a properly licensed or certified clinical professional.
In any event, I am a sociologist, specializing in religious studies and social theory, and a college professor. I am not a psychiatrist or psychologist or social worker. (My Ph.D. is in sociology and history, not in psychology.) Therefore, I can neither diagnose medical conditions nor treat health-related issues.
If An Autistic Practice, or perhaps only a single aspect of this meditation, brings about unwanted results, I would urge you to stop using it. I cannot be responsible for any experiences which you may consider to be “negative.” Many other meditative systems are available, but I recommend these practices. One way or another, you may, after looking around for a while, find an approach which is better suited to your own current needs and preferences. Generally speaking, however, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (U.S.A.):
Still, it is obviously impractical to remain under the intense spell of heartfulness meditation during certain daily activities. Through excessive serotonin production (so-called kundalini), an individual may, in a manner of speaking, even “overdose” on spiritual intoxication or become sluggish. Considering that a proper balance might well vary from one person to another, my suggestion is to “experiment.” For what it’s worth, however, I can usually get back down to earth (“grounded”) by: reflecting, serving others, pursuing an unrelated interest, and even splashing water on my face.
From my own observations, meditating on internal and external sounds may sometimes, if taken to an extreme, become psychologically obsessive or increase one’s suggestibility to sound. The imaginary “sound current,” which can result, might resemble tinnitus. Unfortunately, focusing upon, or worrying about, the sounds may simply make them stronger. My advice is to: reduce or schedule the echoing, breathe deeply while briefly plugging your ears, or, in order to interrupt the pattern of thought, turn various types of sound on and off several times. Above all, please relax.
Moreover, as I have gotten into the deeper states of my heartfulness meditations, I have noticed that, every once in a while, my muscles or joints will suddenly and rapidly twitch or jerk involuntarily. I am not alone. Others have discussed physical tremors which closely resemble my own. I have also personally observed meditators as they were having similar muscular spasms, contractions, and sensations. In Catch the Fire, one of the newer and more interesting branches of the Christian Charismatic (neo-Pentecostal) movement, “quaking” experiences are connected with the “Toronto blessing.”
At the beginning, I was fairly concerned by this unexpected development. Aside from being an Autistic person, I had two tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures back in the 1980s. Therefore, I wondered whether some deeper neurological issue might be involved. Although I am not, by any means, an expert in kinesiology, a field which is dedicated to the scientific study of human movement, my suspicion now is that each of these “quivering” reactions is a release of pent-up physical stress or tension or anxiety. Clearly, I am more relaxed after, than before, meditation.
Additionally, many meditators complain, at some point down the road, that their spiritual practice, which once was highly satisfying and pleasurable, has become burdensome and stressful. The ecstasy or relaxation, which they enthusiastically awaited at every meditative session, has largely vanished. Frequent headaches are sometimes reported. However, these problems are not, in my view, a result of the meditation. Rather, the heart, after it has been has been opened wide through a regular devotional activity, can become extremely receptive, suggestible, and sensitive.
Beginning at that point, a constant exposure to certain types of negativity may not only decrease a person’s level of spiritual happiness. One might develop such feelings as irritability or fear or anger or anxiety. Influences which went, in the past, largely unnoticed are now evident. Television news programs, as an illustration, are often deliberately designed to provoke emotion. By remaining alert to these potential pitfalls, one can, if need be, make appropriate adjustments in one’s activities.
Avoiding hasty judgments may be a good idea. Forceless Echoing seemed, in my case, to result in unusual daytime sleepiness. At first, I decided to err on the side of caution, but I apparently jumped the gun. After briefly stopping the activity, my unusual tiredness, perhaps coincidentally, went away. Fortunately, I seem to have figured out the source of the problem: As a type-2 diabetic, I had become, on and off, careless in my dietary habits. That issue is now corrected, as is the difficulty with constant drowsiness. To dwell upon the obvious, your experiences might not be the same as mine.
In personal relationships, meditation may result in greater emotional sensitivity to the “mind games” many people play with others. I have found that, through my own meditative practice, I am sometimes more perceptive of these games. They are, perhaps, most obvious on the Internet, but they regularly occur, of course, in face-to-face interactions, too. I have figured out an easily learned skill. It is played, unknowingly, by toddlers, and it can be highly frustrating to their parents. Seemingly, then, the majority of us had acquired this ability early in our lives. It was lost, but it can be recovered.
I call this method, the “what?” technique. Here is how to do it: When you suspect that someone is playing a game with you, ask, “What?” or “What do you mean?” or “Say that again?” or “Oh?” or “Huh?” or words to that effect. Since you are merely asking a question, you are not being rude. However, by making her second-guess herself, your response may put her off-guard and stop the game. From my own experience, it works quite well and helps to avoid quarrels. Since the “what?” technique can easily annoy the individual on the other end, my advice is to use it sparingly and sympathetically.
If, on the other hand, an individual brings up an inappropriate topic for discussion, or perhaps asks you an unwarranted question, you might respond, nondefensively, with, “That is an extraordinarily odd question to ask someone.” Hopefully, making such a firm statement will end the conversation in its tracks. Should, however, the person continue, you could follow up with moral outrage, “I am not going to even dignify that subject (or question) with a response.” By focusing upon behavior, you avoid attacking the other person. Being proactive is far better, in my view, than becoming reactive or angry.
Perhaps the best and most useful approach of them all, for dealing with issues in personal conversations, is humor. You certainly do not need to be another Groucho Marx. However, if you are even reasonably quit-witted, turn the comments made by the other person into a joke. For instance, if someone insults you, agree with her. Then, either while laughing or with a straight face, make whatever was just said to you sound even worse. In other words, by constantly being heartful of one’s surroundings, the majority of problems of this type can be resolved fairly easily.
On an unrelated subject, I question the common usage of the magical kundalini (Sanskrit for coiled serpent power ), in the twenty-first century, as a universal explanation for spiritual experiences. From my own readings, the kundalini of medieval India is now accounted for by serotonin, which is one of the neurotransmitters or chemicals acting within the human nervous system. Serotonin, associated with feelings of happiness and inner peace, can be stimulated by mental focus or by a class of antidepressants called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors).
Nevertheless, the “raising” of the kundalini from the base of the spine, as an expression of the Goddess Shriakti (Sanskrit for ability or power), is alleged to be the source of receptivity (suggestibility), ecstasy, and, perhaps resulting from serotonin-induced confusion and mania, psychic powers. In my view, while developing the suggestibility of the heart, or spiritual happiness, should be balanced and controlled, suggestibilities to dangerous psychic neurological conditioning should be strictly avoided. I strongly advise against all forms of psychic phenomena, including:
An individual may easily, even unintentionally, cross the border from mysticism, or communion with God to occult activity. Indeed, to some people, the two concepts are virtually identical. Certain forms of magic, especially Hindu Tantra (Sanskrit for a loom of doctrines) and branches of the so-called “New Age Movement,” focus upon, even require, psychic development.
Much of the resulting “mind control,” so to speak, occurs without the individual even noticing it. Taking proper safeguards against any possible emotional “triggers,” while sometimes challenging, is obviously important. The effectiveness of advertising campaigns, for instance, shows us how easily the heart can be misguided. In many cases, a person may even come to believe that purchasing a certain product, or desiring a particular service, was completely a result of personal preference.
However, manipulation cannot be avoided, across the board, merely by a keener mental awareness. The key is the heart’s devotion to one’s Guideand a longing for the world of spirit. One should also remain detached from physical things, while striving, figuratively, to bury one’s willful self or human ego14 in the dust of love and service to others.
Furthermore, certain forms of enchantment can result from numerous substances and behaviors, sometimes producing dependency. Many of the victims of these harmful suggestions appear to be filling a sensation of inner emptiness with increasing stimulations. A partial list of these habits and addictions might contain: alcohol, gambling, nicotine, overeating, debt, sex, cluttering, procrastination, the Internet, online gaming, emotional difficulties, and mind-altering drugs. Within that last category are a variety of addictive and nonaddictive psychedelics consumed for spiritual purposes (entheogens).
As Marshall McLuhan observed, “the medium is the message.” The addictiveness of social networking, fueled by websites such as Facebook and Twitter, and wireless “texting” have, it appears to me, replaced much of the depth of human relationships with superficial and coded half sentences. Personalities flatten. I see college students, raised on gadgets, wandering alone through campus while deeply engaged with their palms. Getting many of them to turn off their devices in class has become a significant behavioral issue. Yet, the ideology of the century appears, so far, to be apathy.
By enabling us to learn and profit from others, suggestibility and receptivity define our humanness. Sadly, not all cultural and social influences are helpful to one’s states of heart and mind. As a result, perhaps, of these addictive rewirings of the brain (neurotransmission), an enormously wealthy industry has rapidly developed of specialized counselors, treatment facilities, and rehabilitation centers. In the event that meditation can, as has been claimed, be used in place of bad habits, the euphoria resulting from the positive addiction of meditation would be a considerably more wholesome alternative.
To wrap up this chapter on precautions, I suggest that the self-delusion of inner knowledge can have disasterous consequences. False claims to hidden awareness are often rooted in varying amounts of egotism and pride. The afflicted individual can, by claiming special revelation or unusual insights, justify, even to herself, behaviors which the majority of people would regard as monstrous. The followers she might have could, based upon their acceptance of her spiritual authority and knowledge, easily excuse the most outrageous conduct, such as abuse, deceit, and manipulation.
The development of a genuine humility, as one explores one’s own heart, is extremely important. Paradoxically, I have heard some people attempt to justify conceit by saying something like, “I don’t believe in false humility.” However, the opposite of, or the remedy for, false humility is not, in my opinion, showing off. The opposite of possessing false humility is developing humility. False humility is making believe one is humble, while inwardly one is really being vain or arrogant. The behavior is insincere and dishonest. Perhaps the individual is trying to impress others by posing or by putting on a show.
When people rely upon subjective or inner knowledge, it can be overpowering. They can fantasize themselves as occupying any position they wish. Many ordinary individuals, throughout history, have claimed to be messiahs or prophets of one sort or another. Through my work as a sociologist of religion, I have personally been acquainted with a few. Clearly, some people who fit the mold have conscious hidden agendas, but most of those I have known appeared sincere.
The major problem, as I see it, with self-delusion and practices based upon it, such as spiritualist (or spiritist) mediumship and modern-day channeling, is the separation of knowledge from love. Of course, many people involved in these activities would flat out reject that statement. To them, the quest for inner knowledge is an act of love. However, spiritual knowledge, in my view, is basically an expression, a type perhaps, of love. From one perspective, spiritual love and spiritual knowledge are virtually identical. Seeking spiritual knowledge, for its own sake, can lead to self-delusion.
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I will begin this chapter with a brief listing of just some Individuals Whom I personally consider to be Prophets. You may or may not agree with all or any of my choices. Each of Them, however, has present-day followers. Although I have tried to organize these Prophets in some degree of chronological order, there is really no way of knowing, one way or another, in many cases.
My reasons for qualifying the comments I will make in the rest of the chapter will become evident as you read through them. The views which I have developed on the Prophets may, in the eyes of some people, be considered as highly unusual. Therefore, to stress the obvious, my thoughts, in this or in any other chapter of the book, are personal.
However, according to my present understanding, each of these Prophets can be referred to as “God.” More specifically, “God” is a term both for the individual Prophets and for the unifying relationships, the Unity, between Them. Although the Prophets are conscious Beings, I suspect that the Unity is not actually a “being.” Instead, the Unity of the Prophets is, in my personal view, the Unity of God.
To be clear, I am not suggesting that the divine Unity is the Prophets. Maybe an analogy will be helpful. If several people come together and organize a party for themselves, that party will not be only the individuals. It is a social construction. The party was planned. The activity did not somehow come about, or appear, magically or automatically. Similarly, perhaps, the divine Unity, to my understanding is not only a Collection of Prophets. It is the Unity of the Prophets.
In order to illustrate, within United Against Neurelitism, the relationships between the Prophets in the divine Unity I constructed a model called, Echoes of Cosmic Unity™. As with the list of Prophets, you may or may not agree with all aspects of this model. However, my suggestion is to spend several minutes or more pondering each of the eight items below, not to read through them quickly:
The importance of this model for promoting interfaith dialogue, and for encouraging tolerance and pluralism, would be difficult to underestimate. In effect, the Gods or Prophets have no “supervisor.” Not only is Each of Them God, but, through Their interactions with One Another, They are the Unifying Essence of God. They both have Authority, and, acting alone or together, They are the Authorities. By accepting the limitless Power of these wonderful Beings, for particular Ages, we do away with any foundation for handcuffing them to imaginary eternal and universal truths.
The so-called “Satanic verses15” in the Qurʾan have long been a thorny issue within the global Islamic community. As these verses have frequently been interpreted, Muhammad was baited, through being persecuted, to adopt polytheism, but He later recanted it. However, I would suggest a different interpretation. Muhammad revealed that the Divinities or Prophets are our only Sources for discovering God’s Qualities. The door had now been opened for polytheists to embrace Islam. He then explained that the names of these Beings, current in His time, were imaginary:
To my understanding, as I sum up the chapter, God, the Unity, is the relationships between Prophetic Persons (in a sense, of “Gods”). I worship that Unity through God as an individual Prophet. Although this approach is a bit like Christian trinitarianism, an even better metaphor was provided by the late founder of the Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong. He viewed God as a combination of close relationships between different persons or, to use Armstrong’s own term, a “God family”:
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When I say that I am an Autist, which I do frequently, people will often ask me to define the word. This lengthy, closing chapter of the book will, more so than the previous ones, be largely be reflective. My first thought, even though I have rarely expressed it, is, “Autism16 is me.” Similar feelings are shared by many of us. Autism is, intimately, my Autism and one of the multiple dimensions of my individuality. I am an Autist, but I also have Autism. It is a category, or a name, for some of my neurological attributes. Due to the vast expansion of the Internet, Autism has also developed into a culture.
Some Autists can make sounds in their mouths, but they are unable to verbally communicate. A close Autistic friend of mine only “grunted,” as she put it, until the age of six. I began speaking, I am told, at the usual age, but I would frequently have difficulty expressing myself. For instance, my thoughts might not connect with the proper vocabulary. Then, no matter how hard I tried, I sounded cold and annoyed. Into my early teens, my stuttering was so bad, outside of home, that I could barely hold a conversation. Until 2011, my writing’s unempathic wordiness, often intentional, made it almost unreadable.
Fortunately, I figured out, on my own, a particular “technique” to address and to manage the stuttering problem. Briefly, I deliberately, or intentionally, began to focus upon each and every word that I said. At the beginning, I would often slip up. Gradually, however, this once conscious method has become a habit or, in effect, one of my routines. I rarely need to think about it anymore. Looking back, the issue became especially important to me after I began lecturing as a professor. In my work, I teach, a bit like chanting mantras, the same classes over and over again. I love the monotony and routine.
As an Autistic man, I have closely studied people and the rules, or reasoning, they follow. In my religious life, I was, by a turn of phrase, rationally spiritual. My approach to matters of spirit was most always ruled and disciplined. The field of sociology appealed to me, in part, because it, like my earlier interests in theatrical acting, made me a more careful student. Approaching others as a student not only encourages humility. It may limit suggestibility and the tendency to negatively “react” to the statements and behaviors of others. The chances of being caught off-guard can be reduced.
Understanding human rules, or “social norms” as we call them in sociology, has, in my own case, picked up the slack, at least to some degree, for a scarcity of empathy. Even so, during the first fifty-four years of my life, experiencing the heart-centered sensation of empathy always appeared beyond my grasp. Like many other Autists, I also disliked being hugged, kissed, and touched, especially on the head. A chiropractor once told me that he had never worked on a body as stiff and as rigid as my own.
Thankfully, my ability to study human behavior has been reasonably good. Not all Autists have been blessed in this way. My capacity to pay attention to others seems to have been joined with skills I acquired as a sociologist. Eventually, through close observation, I learned a certain number of relatively automatic “tricks.” By playing them, I could publicly perform as an empathetic and caring person. Remarkably, I was fairly successful at it, too. Yet, rarely, perhaps never, did I actually feel that way. Although I do not blame myself, I was, emotionally, a fraud. I could not even mourn my own parents’ deaths.
Mindfulness, as I have just described it, came relatively easily to me. It was, simply put, my path of least resistance. Indeed, I have been mindful, to one extent or another, throughout most of my life. No effort and no study of any formal techniques, whether from a book or from a teacher, were ever necessary. Mindfulness meditation was simply my way of dealing with the world. Long before I ever heard the word, I was mindful. This fact of my “unintentional” mindfulness only occurred to me, however, as I was writing the current chapter in the book. I never defined myself in those terms before.
Yet, it became painfully apparent to me, over the course of my life, that heartfulness was what I actually needed. From my readings and informal observations, I have noticed that Buddhist practices of mindfulness appear to be somewhat common in the Autistic community. These disciplines involve an ongoing awareness, even an analysis, of an one’s body and physical environment. Among many Autists, rational thinking, sometimes resulting in various degrees of “mechanical” behavior, can function as a form of social adjustment to a lack of emotional empathy.
My heart-based meditations have been transformative. Subjectively, the sentiments stirred by An Autistic Practice have reminded me of two fictional characters: After the Tin Woodman was finally given a heart, one “made entirely of silk and stuffed with sawdust,” he discovered the feelings he had actually possessed all along. Even more relevant to my own experiences, Data, the android on Star Trek: The Next Generation, initially found his “emotion chip” to be intolerable. Since he could not, based on his programming, logically control his newly acquired passions, he wanted the chip removed.
Similarly, in order to avoid being overwhelmed, particularly by empathy, I have attempted, during my meditations, to keep my attention on drawing closer to God. Gradually, the ritualized repetitions, often observed in Autistic behavior, have, as echoing, become centered in my heart. While my tendencies to over-analyze are being redirected to a deepening tranquility, I am more open to my own insights and feelings and, especially, to the sufferings of others. In 2011, a close relative was stunned when I, without thinking about it, said that I loved her. I had, apparently, never spoken those words.
A kind, but anonymous, woman17 told me, many years ago, that the very thing I least wanted, I might need the most. At the time, I resented her advice. It was unrequested, and I thought she was simply a bully. (Being an Autist, I have known many of them.) However, it is only since beginning my meditations, becoming wholly entranced with the pure soul of the magnificent Hazrat Sultan Bahu, and being completely surprised at the unexpected life changes, that I can understand, and appreciate, her wisdom. I am not on yet another meditative “head trip.” My heart is truly being healed.
I was born in 1956, but it took me fifty-four years to become a lover. Everything, without exception, which I, as an Autist, had experienced to that date, the moment my heart opened in 2010, had, I now recognize, been merely a preparation, the groundwork, and a shadow. As analogies, by changing my mental wiring, perhaps just flipping on a switch, the change was instantaneous. All the praises, of course, go to God. I can take no credit. I also believe, and feel, that my parents and friends in the hereafter were praying for me.
Difference without injustice is not disability. That is to say, disability is the oppression of individuals who are physically or psychologically or neurologically out of the ordinary. In my view, Autism is, to a degree, a difference of the heart. As a result of our uncommon brains, many of us have trouble interacting with others affectionately or empathetically. Although people, whether on or off the Autism spectrum, may be out of touch with their hearts, for Autists, this condition is devastating. Likewise, the self-discovery of an Autist’s heart can be transformative.
Because many spiritual and religious experiences are governed by feeling and empathy, they can be less acceptable, or understandable, than, for example18: Atheism, Agnosticism, Ignosticism, Apatheism, Rationalism, Transhumanism, Sea of Faith, Polydoxy, Brightism, Universism, Apollonianism, Objectivism, Religious Humanism, Ethical Culture, and Yoism. Some Autists may also attempt to compensate for their social challenges by relating to people and ideas more intellectually than emotionally. At least for me, a college professor, heart-centered meditation is correcting that imbalance.
Spiritually, the ideal lifestyle for many Autists may be that of a mystic: one who, through prayer or meditation, spends considerable time and effort in drawing closer to one’s God or Prophet Within some religious movements, monasticism, the life of a nun or monk, may be an option. Since cloistered, or secluded, communities are not found inside my faith tradition, I often refer to myself as an inner monk. Being home, alone, is my vacation. Although I interact with others at work, by telephone, over the Internet, and in other limited contexts, I mostly engage in solitary actitivies, especially communion with God.
I am in good company. Meditations, heart-centered and otherwise, have positively affected the lives of these Autists, too:
Through a controversial marriage of neuroscience and spirituality, neurotheology (from the Greek for neural God talk) has studied, beginning around 1994, the complex relationships between mysticism and the human brain. Some of the discipline’s researchers have explained suggestibility, in part, by increased: alpha and theta brainwaves, parietal lobe activity, and serotonin. Additionally, the applied area of psychonautics (from the Greek for mind navigation) covers the full range of activities and substances intended to produce altered states of consciousness and peak experiences.
Silently repeating the echo during my daily routines, as an Autist, keeps me spiritually centered. With others, practicing the echo during “stims” (repetitive body movements) may have a similar result. In fact, “getting tired” of sounds or songs I like has never made any sense to me. I also find it helpful to reflect on subjects such as, Autistic self-advocacy, civil and other human rights, personal behavior, and, especially, empathy. Evidence of a relationship between empathy and meditation may be of special interest to many individuals on the Autism spectrum:
For Autists and the similarly dissimilar, some of the objectives of echoing appear to resemble those of music therapy, such as sensory stimulation and improved emotional communication. Music therapy, which often involves sound in general, is an allied health profession and one of the creative arts, or expressive, therapies. Others approaches within this field are writing (including poetry), drama (psychodrama, sociodrama, puppet therapy, etc.), dance/movement (with Authentic Movement and Expressive Movement Processing), and art therapies.
United Against Neurelitism has become an entirely new Autistic movement. In it, aspects of both the social and medical models of disability are accepted. With the medical model, the emphasis is placed upon curing Autism. A caricature of that model is found within the twelve-step or “recovery” movement. This self-help philosophy, inspired by Alcoholics Anonymous®, has medicalized the diversity of human experience, such as procrastination. By turning ordinary human struggles into fictional pathologies, the life stories of regular individuals have become novels of recovery from imaginary, nonscientific diseases.
According to the social model, however, the term, “disability,” refers to social oppression, not to human differences. Once the oppression is removed, the disability is eliminated. In United Against Neurelitism, disability is also defined as oppression. This term usually covers discrimination based upon social disadvantages. However, in United Against Neurelitism, the medical oppression which results from having a number of undesirable neurological traits, especially the difficulties with processing empathy, is also included. In other words, the social model has been expanded to include certain aspects of the medical model.
According to my own views and personal experiences, Autism is, for the most part, a difference of the heart. As a result of our uncommon brains, many of us, in our daily interactions with others, have trouble with affection or empathy. Although people, whether they are on or off the Autism spectrum, may be out of touch with their hearts, for Autists, this condition is devastating. Likewise, the self-discovery of an Autist’s heart can be revolutionary. I have cried over it many times. Personally, I discovered that one could go through life, experiencing emotion, without having a heart.
Therefore, difference without injustice is only disability in part. That is to say, disability includes the oppression of individuals who are physically or psychologically or neurologically out of the ordinary. In my personal view, Autism is, for the most part, a difference of the heart. As a result of our uncommon brains, many of us have trouble interacting with others affectionately or empathetically. Although people, whether on or off the Autism spectrum, may be out of touch with their hearts, for Autists, this condition is devastating. Likewise, the self-discovery of an Autist’s heart can be revolutionary.
I will preface the rest of this chapter with a brief explanation. Those of us who have been particularly blessed to obtain doctoral degrees, such as Ph.D.s, are trained to be unusual. Since most Autists are unusual anyway, there is little surprise that many of us would receive higher educations. To most people, faithfulness to a particular way of looking at the world is seen as a virtue. In the academic world, the opposite is true. We academics or professors place a high value on regularly and carefully questioning our current assumptions. The thoughts I will express here are a result of this process of inquiry.
In 2007, I accepted, with lingering doubt, that differences between Autists and neurotypicals (neurologically typicals) are to be celebrated. Autists, like anyone else, should be assisted when needed, but a cure was, perhaps, out of the question. “Unity in Neurodiversity” (neurological diversity) became the motto for An Autistic Path. These days, however, if someone asked me whether I accepted neurodiversity, I would respond, “Neurodiversity is a fact, not a belief system. Each of us is neurologically different. Therefore, no human category, people with similar neurological qualities, should be oppressed.”
Buying into neurodiversity divided me in two. My Autism comes through my father, and my OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) is from my mother. Both my mother and I obsessed on noises, but differently. Oddly, this similarity never occurred to me until after her death. Although the OCD gave my mother insomnia, noise obsessions traumatized me throughout the day. In my own mind, believing in neurodiversity forced me to accept a cure for my mother’s attributes in me but to reject one for those from my father. Autists, however, often have noise sensitivities, so my OCD is an extension of my Autism.
In addition, the term “echoing,” in The Echoing Practice, carries, for me, a significance which goes beyond the meditative sound repetitions. As a child, I was absolutely petrified by musical reverberations and by any other echoes. Even when I was in complete silence, I obsessed over them. Being in school gymnasiums was utter torment. I also experienced panic attacks while walking through a tunnel from the parking lot to a section of Jones Beach in suburban New York City. Taking a concept which once terrified me and developing, or owning, it as a spiritual activity has been personally empowering.
I talked myself into neurodiversity. With the traumas of my childhood nagging at, and reminding, me, I was never a true believer. When The Asma Practice first opened my heart, and extended moments of empathy were regular events in my life, one of my first thoughts was: Perhaps now, some others may also become empathic Autists. However, it dawned on me sometime later that social difficulties, which are frequently interpreted as problems with empathy, are a major defining characteristic of Autism spectrum disorders. My original conclusion did not make sense, and I had to be honest about it.
I jumped on the anti-cure bandwagon. It was, as a sociologist, appealing, but I now recognize that my decision was made in haste. ADHDers (individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) are, like Autists, an oppressed minority. Yet, to the best of my knowledge, there is no ADHD anti-cure movement. I swallowed the common assumption, in the mainstream Autistic activist community, that Autism should be seen or even privileged as a dimension of neurodiversity, until I became more in touch with my heart. Seeing no other options, in August, 2011, I rejected the view that Autism should not be cured.
Comparing the lack of empathy which is frequently observed on the Autism spectrum with the delusions experienced by schizophrenics would be foolish. Yet, neither, in my view, is necessarily less devastating than the other. In the modern, secular societies of the West, a life without significant empathy may appear, on the surface, to be less troublesome than paranoid delusions. Spiritually, however, the absence of empathy is a personal tragedy. I also feel, inside my heart, that ever-increasing rates of Autism, depriving individuals of our empathy, are among the most tragic problems of our time.
In the best of possible worlds, no human souls would ever be disabled in their empathy. Nevertheless, being an Autist, with the right perspective, can be treated much like the other tests and struggles of life. If responded to wisely, Autism can become an opportunity for spiritual development. Unfortunately, by defining this Autistic lack of empathy as acceptable human neurodiversity, Autism, the spiritual test, has been turned into Autism, the moral ideal. To some Autistic individuals, which partially and indecisively included me at one time, Autism is considered to be no more than a different way of being.
The name of the most popular Autistic support website, Wrong Planet, expresses some of my concerns. Many Autists experience an ongoing sensation of inward otherness. To me, it has sometimes been a bit like constantly being lost. In my opinion, the routines or ritualized behaviors, common among Autists, are coping mechanisms. The basic issue, as I see it, concerns the spiritual heart or empathy or dialogue. In other words, the problem is relational. Quite literally, I could not feel love. Well, sometimes I thought I felt it, but the experience was almost entirely foreign to me. Somehow, it was blocked.
I am now falling in love with people who, in times past, I have liked or respected or admired. Many of them are deceased television personalities. Although they brought me great joy, I was unable to translate that sensation into love. I often pray for them and, while speaking with them inwardly, I express my affection for them. To me, each one, without exception, is a great soul, and I say so to my Lord. Generally speaking, I will pray for, love, and address, almost anyone who crosses my mind. As a result of this startling discovery of interconnectedness, rejecting the anti-cure position was, perhaps, inevitable.
I have always loved Autistic ritalized behavior. For me, it is very much like ecstatic meditation. However, the vast majority of what I experienced, during my childhood, as Autism, I did not like. No matter how hard I tried, I could not stop behaving in an extraordinarily odd manner. My discomfort had little to do with an absence of neurodiversity. The major issues in my life were neurological. They were not cultural. Even the highest degree of social acceptance and tolerance would not have resolved my problems with interpersonal communication. The stuttering problem, just by itself, continuously tormented me.
Curebie, within the Autistic community, is a disparaging term, an insult, for someone who wishes to see Autism cured. Perhaps I have now become one. Clearly, I do not wish to see anyone, like myself, go through most of his life, confusing empathy with sympathy. If I am a curebie, however, I am not an ordinary one. Autism frequently includes many desirable qualities, such as detailed focus, visual memory, and long-term dedication to a subject. Consequently, cures for Autism would, ideally, be selective, not absolute. For spiritual healing, devotional meditation might be a complementary treatment.
Although, as I said, I would prefer to see cures for Autism which pinpoint specific perceptions and behaviors, I do not know if that degree of exactness will be possible. Maybe no one knows as of yet. For instance, the same chemical in my brain which permitted a few individuals, during my youth, to refer to me as the “human encyclopedia” might have resulted in my awful difficulties with social interaction and empathy. If so, looking back on my life, I would much rather have had the empathy. Love is eternal. Rationality and the gathering of many facts on a topic, common among Autists, are temporary.
Cures, or treatments, must, in my view, be rooted within solid scientific research, not in pseudoscience (make-believe science) or anecdotal data (personal testimonies) or medical quackery. Most currently available approaches, including an avoidance of vaccinations and various dietary restrictions, have little or no support from peer-reviewed journals. Perhaps, however, the major problem with present-day Autism therapies is that there are so many of them. In basic terms, if one, in particular, worked well for most people, clinics using any of the other treatments would be rapidly driven out of business.
The negative views I have of medical quackery come partially from being a professor, but that is not the major reason. My very well-meaning parents, God bless their souls, brought me to a clinic which practiced orthomolecular medicine. In addition to the usual medications, the clinic’s psychiatrists prescribed huge dosages of vitamins (“megavitamins”) for me. Even as a ninth grader, in my middle teens, I was extremely skeptical about this approach. Fortunately, my child previous psychiatrist later said to my mother, over the phone, that orthomolecular medicine was not supported by the research data.
Therefore, I could never join or endorse, most, but not all, of the mainly parent-run Autism associations. I do not question the motives of these individuals. They are, as were my own parents, driven by a loving concern for their children’s welfare. Nonetheless, using quack therapies, or even insisting that there has been an organized conspiracy against them, is, in my view, misguided. Taking megavitamins, avoiding vaccines, and chelation are potentially dangerous. I also feel that raising money to “fight Autism” through fear and pity is distasteful. Like many other Autists, I find it to be demeaning and offensive.
The mainstream Autistic activist movement, represented by organizations such as The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and The Global and Regional Asperger’s Syndrome Partnership (GRASP), does a great deal of excellent work for Autists. When my childhood diagnosis was clarified in 2007, placing me on the Autism spectrum, I immediately plowed through the Internet and found the mainstream movement. Breaking away from it was emotionally difficult. After a lifetime of simply being “weird,” to be told that, instead, I was just neurodiverse (neurologically diverse) was a symphony to my ears.
The Autistic identity politics of the neurodiversity movement were inspired by the Deaf Community’s position on cochlear implants. Deaf individuals frequently grow up around one another, attend the same schools, and so forth. To many Deaf individuals, these implants are an attack on the Deaf community itself. By eliminating Deafness, the community, and its culture, will be wiped out. Since the mainstream Autistic movement defines, in a similar way, Autism as a culture, curing Autism is seen as genocide. However, United Against Neurelitism supports the unity of all humanity, not identity politics.
The online community of Autists and the mental health community have been relatively disconnected. This unfortunate separation has mostly been a result of the neurodiversity movement and its focus upon creating a unique Autistic identity. There are, however, movements related to Autism and to mental health, which, to some extent, run parallel to one another. Descriptions of a number of them are on my Brief Outlines of Liberation Movements page. Bridging the gap between these two disability communities, United Against Neurelitism is associated with the support services mental health movement.
Autistic liberation must, I now believe, take place on two fronts: First, efforts to develop better treatments, even targeted cures, for Autism must continue with full force. With a dear Autistic father, I should always have known, better than most people, the importance of finding scientific medical cures. Anyway, he is deceased, and I cannot betray him. Second, we Autists, as uncommonly odd individuals, are often bullied. Due to a lack of social skills, we also have higher-than-average unemployment rates. Protections from all forms of oppression or discrimination, including social and economic, are crucial.
None of the above statements is meant to imply that I hold negative views of myself and of others as Autists. I definitely do not, but I also need to be honest with myself and with others I have known in the Autistic community. For me, Autism is among my personal attributes. Much of my individuality is based upon Autism. Without it, I would not be the person who I am today. Autism has shaped me, and I appreciate the man that I have now become, especially since I started meditating. Nevertheless, I do not wish to see others, due to similar problems with empathy, struggle to survive in an alien universe.
Within the Autistic community, there has been a longstanding debate on “person-first” versus “Autist-first” language. In person-first language, the individual has Autism. With Autist-first language, the individual is an Autist. The supporters of person-first language argue against labeling the individual as the disability. Advocates of Autist-first language, pointing to such unquestioned terms as “right-handed person,” assert that objections to Autist-first language are, in fact, objections to Autism. In my opinion, both of these descriptions are valid: I am an Autist because I have Autism or Autistic attributes.
From my observations, the rejection of person-first language is usually based upon the assumption that Autism is a real thing. Autism, according to that view, would be a single “essence,” a universal core of being, which appears in every Autist. In academic terms, this approach, as mentioned earlier, is called, essentialism. Autism, however, is a “triad of impairments,” not, as I see it, an essence:
I have experienced my own Autism as a lack of certain common human attributes, including empathy and other social skills, and, as compensations, acquiring an overabundance, or an immoderate amount, of other attributes. In coping with my Autism, I related to people mostly on a rational level, I focused intently upon my daily rituals and routines, and I became highly dedicated to a succession of subjects, one of which led to my Ph.D. work in the sociology of religion. Each of these attributes can be important and helpful, but, due to my Autism, some, though not all, of them were improperly developed.
Any deficiencies in personal attributes should, in my view, be continuously worked on, not celebrated. The concept of Autistic pride is frequently associated with preferences for Autist-first, over person-first, language. Similar views of “pride” are found in different disability communities and elsewhere, as in national pride and within the Deaf and other marginalized communities. I have often been proud of other Autists, but, to me, humility is preferable. Although Autism is a part of me, it was not a personal accomplishment. I am, however, thankful to my Gracious Lord for assisting me to survive the disorder.
Over these many years, I have adapted to Autism. It belongs to my inherited character. For someone to take my Autism away from me now would rob me of an important dimension of my individuality, especially my dogged determinism and way of thinking. I would, in effect, become a stranger to myself. Today, I love being an Autist. That is why, in my opinion, any cure should take place either before birth (prenatally) or very soon afterwards. My own willingness to adopt the anti-cure philosophy for a few years was, I think, the result of this basic self-realization: Not being an Autist is unimaginable to me.
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Much of this chapter will contain technical information on Islam, types of Sufism, Islamic culture, and related subjects. Although I have tried to write the material as simply as possible, if the subject does not interest you now, you can move past it to the conclusion or return to the table of contents.
United Against Neurelitism is not a Sufi order of any type or a part of the beautiful religion of Islam. If, on the other hand, Sufism is defined, broadly and inclusively, as a spirituality, or a mysticism of the heart, which has been inspired by Islam, United Against Neurelitism and The Echoing Practice may, in a sense, be seen as Islamicate 19. Michael Hodgson’s term, “Islamicate,” refers to groups or movements, Islamic or not, which began or developed within, or were strongly influenced by, a culture dominated by Muslims.
I have never been a Muslim. However, there has been a long history, up to the present, of permitting non-Muslims to enter certain Sufi orders. The majority of orders, regardless of their admissions policies, are Islamic. Some, including United Against Neurelitism, are not. All of them, by accepting Sufi concepts or by using a Sufi vocabulary or simply by originating in Islam or in Sufism, are Islamicate. Therefore, “Islamicate” may more accurate.
An interesting case of Islamicate inclusiveness is found with Ram Chandra (1873-1931). He is the first known Hindu, and non-Muslim, shaykh in any of the orders in his Sufi tradition. Some of the groups which are traced back to him continue to describe themselves as Sufi. Others, like Ram Chandra himself (also known as ”Lalaji“), are basically Hindu. An even more striking example is connected with the liberal Sufi, Shirdi Sai Baba (around 1837-1918). His movement is now mostly Hindu.
Islamicate inclusiveness of a different kind is seen in the non-Islamic Sufi Order of the Star. Although I am not a member, I happily maintain the website for my dear friend, since the 1970s, Murshid Isa Lions. The order is devoted to Murshid Isa’s longtime spiritual teacher, Meher Baba. For what it’s worth, I respect Meher Baba. Periodically, I will pray for his departed soul. He appears to have been a kind-hearted individual. However, I am not one of his devotees.
Still another type of Islamicate inclusiveness can be found in non-Islamic Universal Sufism. This “neo-Sufi,” or modern Sufi, movement was started, in 1914, by Hazrat Inayat Khan. There are now several independent branches of Universal Sufism and at least one breakaway group, Sufism Reoriented. Distinct from the other organizations which directly developed out of Khan’s movement, Sufism Reoriented, like Sufi Order of the Star, accepts Meher Baba as the avatar (incarnation of God) for the present age.
Sufism, as understood by Universal Sufis, began long before the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad. The common view held by Muslims, “Islam is the religion which was taught and followed by all the Prophets,” has been reinterpreted as, “Sufism is the essence or the heart of all religions.” Prophets become “Masters of humanity.” While making Sufism more acceptible to a general Western audience, Khan redefined it. In place of traditional Sufism, he constructed an all-embracing mysticism. (The Shah Movement of Idries Shah and Omar Ali-Shah, now faded from the limelight, is similar to Universal Sufism.)
Few Sufi groups, outside the West, have taken inclusive approaches of this type. However, in North America, Europe, Australia, and so forth, Khan’s impression upon Suffism, and on public perceptions of it, has been similar to the effect of Swami Vivekananda with Hinduism. Both men came from India, a land of contrasts. Each of them redefined his spiritual tradition by universalizing it. Vivekananda’s impact has been much greater and more widespread. Nevertheless, virtually all modern Sufi movements have benefited, directly or not, from Khan’s reconstruction of Sufism.
Historically, in Islam, not all Sufis have belonged to orders or followed members of the clergy. The term, ʿUwaysi, for instance, describes someone who obtains guidance or a specific religious calling (“station”), entirely within the world of spirits, from an outwardly and a physically unrelated being. These extraordinary entities, whether living or dead or even mythological, have included the Prophet Muhammad, the legendary Green One20, and departed Sufi shaykhs, including the founders of orders.
Within that last category of deceased clergy is, perhaps, Gohar Shahi. He was born in 1941, but followers differ over whether he died in 2001 or 2003 or is now merely in hiding. Another is the major source of inspiration for Shahi’s work, Hazrat Sultan Bahu (roughly, 1628-1691). Although Bahu is regarded as the founder of the Sarwari Qadiriyah Sufi Order, he, like Rebbe Nachman (1772-1810) of Bratslav Chasidic Judaism, actually refused to appoint a replacement. Nevertheless, each has had one or more claimants to that title.
The silent transmissions of inner knowledge (“gnosis”), believed to be inwardly passed down from teacher to devotee, are, like the individuals who have received them, commonly called ʿUwaysi. Soul to soul, and entirely within the otherworldly realms of inspired dreams and visions, vows of spiritual loyalty, like the oaths of fealty or faithfulness owed to a European feudal lord in the Middle Ages, will be pledged one to another. Many of the life histories surrounding these episodes, biographical or autobiographical, make for fascinating reading.
The word, “ʿUwaysi,” was adopted from the reported case of Muhammad’s contemporary, ʿUways al-Qarani. According to various traditional accounts, he swore or, literally, “sold21” his spiritual allegiance to the Prophet of Islam while he was having a dream. The two men never met physically. Although the events surrounding the life of ʿUways al-Qarani may be legendary, or partially so, he has inspired individuals to claim inner spiritual direction, and sometimes even authority over Sufi orders, as a result of similar experiences. For a few examples, see my ʿUwaysi Approach to Sufism links page.
My reason for mentioning ʿUways al-Qarani and the sacred transmissions named after him is not to compare them with United Against Neurelitism. There are no spiritual “guides” in this path. Indeed, conflicting claims to religious succession or leadership might be viewed, in many cases, as self-fulfilling prophecies. By basing one’s belief system upon inner knowledge, one may simply see what one expects and desires to see. My point is that following clergy has not always been required to be a Sufi.
The Echoing Practice has, for the most part, been inspired by my personal understandings of the Baháʾí Faith. If you are not a Baháʾí, I invite you to investigate this global religion or even to become a member online. The Baháʾí Faith teaches: the Oneness of God, the oneness of God’s revealed religions, the oneness of humanity, and the importance of daily communion with God. It is not a branch of the beautiful religion which is followed by Muslims. However, just as Christianity is rooted in ancient Judaism, the source of the Baháʾí Faith is Islam.
In addition, The Echoing Practice is a tailor-made version of The Unities Practice™, which is the meditation used in Unities™22. Both practices are devotional and ecstatic (or “blissful”). In neither of the meditations is a mantra conceived, as it is in some traditions, to be a form of “sound magic.” Echoing is the habit of loving devotion to one’s God or Prophet. It is not a mechanical method for obtaining something. Nevertheless, much more information, about other ways of meditating and on topics related to the Baháʾí Faith, has been provided with The Unities Practice.
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Some people claim not to meditate. I would suggest that, perhaps, they are using the term much too narrowly. Broadly speaking, all of us meditate. In fact, we do so on a regular basis. The scientist meditates while developing the theories or explanations for her observations. Likewise, the contemporary artist ponders the physical universe using a visual analogy. Actually, in each of our lives, we meditate from moment to moment. However, the focus of that meditation might not always be ideal, and, due to the absence of self-mastery, an individual may easily become distracted.
Our human minds should, through effort and persistence, be properly regulated, as well as educated, not silenced or repressed. As a result of meditation, a particular echo can become, over time, what is termed in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) an anchor. The concept is quite similar to Ivan Pavlov’s conditioned stimulus and conditioned response. Through regular practice and patient persistence, silently repeating the echo may arouse the desired mentality.
In the 1970s, when I was an undergraduate student, Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) began a campaign called, “How’s Your Love Life?” The reference was to a relationship with Jesus Christ. Carnival-style machines, which supposedly measured one’s love life, were exhibited on campus. At the time, a cartoon appeared in the university’s student newspaper. The text read, “How’s Your Love Life? ... or how to sell religion like vacuum cleaners.” The remainder made reference to a prostitute short-circuiting the device. The organization requested an apology, but, as I recall, none was ever given.
Along similar lines, while meditation can, even when divorced from any spiritual objectives, often be beneficial, it has, in recent decades, been marketed and advertised, frequently using sexually provocative models, as a “feel-good” technique or a stress reliever or an approach to physical and psychological wellness. People are told that, by regularly following certain costly instructions or by taking a series of expensive classes or by downloading a number of prepaid audio files or by purchasing a collection of CDs or DVDs, they will, over time, become happier or healthier or even wealthier.
Even though a disciplined application of meditation may produce many positive, even wonderful, experiences, meditation itself should not be treated as merely a series of subjective observations. Rather, by engaging in the concentrated devotion of meditation, the human mind is trained to keep its emphasis upon the God or Prophet. Steadily, through persistent effort, spiritual receptivity may become a conscious habit. Therefore, the fruit of a regular meditative practice can be a personal transformation and, together with it, a gradual reduction in egotism.
Unfortunately, some schools of meditation present, perhaps at times misrepresent, various research findings which allegedly demonstrate the superiority of their own methods of meditative practice over those of others. As a result, for many individuals, meditation has been thoroughly disconnected from anything even remotely resembling spiritual development or devotion. Rather, in place of a genuine love, worship, and compassion, we find merely another commercial medium for hedonism, or personal pleasure seeking, consumerism, and capitalist materialism.
Here are several pages of links to web-based resources on meditation, mysticism, and related topics:
Finally, the unity, or essence, of humanity is not, to me, merely an abstract concept. As we discover and acquire the attributes of human unity, that unity can be practiced in our daily lives. Decisions will be made consultatively. Diversity, on the other hand, is a given. Each of us is an individual soul. We have particular capacities which can be developed throughout our lives. However, diversity by itself, like Autistic identity politics, can easily become a trap. If we focus upon the diversity, and neglect the unitying essence, societies, communities, and hearts may begin to fall apart.
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