March 19, 2016 Saturday, Mediumship Workshop Outline
Led by Aaron, Brothers and Sisters of Light, Barbara Brodsky and Dan Muir
The focus for this workshop is mediumship. There’s a difference between vocal channeling and mediumship. Mediumship is one necessary skill for vocal channeling, but our central plan for this day is not to develop vocal channeling but mediumship.
We’re all mediums. When I channel Aaron or the Mother, those are aspects of mediumship. The chef is a medium, co-creating with the ingredients to create a delicious and nutritious meal. The gardener is a medium, working with the co-mediums of soil, sun and rain to invite the garden to grow. The body energy worker is a medium, connecting with his/ her higher self and guidance and the higher self of the client, to invite the highest good for that body, mind and spirit and for his/ her own. The painter, poet, dancer, writer, gymnast and athlete are all mediums.
There are several requirements for clear mediumship, which we will explore at the start of the workshop. Such mediumship must be grounded in the core of our being, not in the ego or every-day mind. The limited mind may arise, but we develop the capacity to differentiate, release ego, and focus in on the true self. With that in mind, we bring the intention for the highest good of all beings and harm to none, to the mediumship. Vipassana is an excellent foundation. We have learned how to observe objects such as thoughts and emotions arise and to not get caught in their stories. A requirement for participation is completion of at least a beginning level vipassana class or introductory workshop. These skills will aid our discernment of what comes through, and our trust of the high quality of that guidance.
Mediumship involves service in some way, including to the broadest aspect of ourselves. I ask each participant to reflect on why he/ she wishes to develop as a medium. It may be as simple as to learn to love more fully, to deepen abundance or tranquility in our lives, or to develop a certain capacity or trait. This holding of our intentions, and clearing the way for access to the higher self and our guides will be our starting point.
We’ll practice as a group with guided meditations to meeting your higher self. We’ll break into small groups to share our heart-centered intentions. We’ll explore ways to connect with spirit (higher self and/or guides) and invite their support. We may do some vocal channeling of this guidance. My hope is that you will leave with a clearer connection to your guides and/ or higher self, and knowing you have that support as you invite fulfillment of your aspirations.
Final program plan
9AM: Barbara; Opening. Guided vipassana meditation; Begin with primary object: then a focus on watching objects arise to predominance, offering them our openhearted attention, and watching them dissolve. The issue is not about what arises, but learning that we can relate to everything with kindness.
Objective: establishing the ground of vipassana, based in kind attention to whatever arises. If it is uncomfortable or unpleasant, can the texture of attention still be uncontracted, openhearted and kind? If aversion and contraction arise, can we observe those too with kindness.
9:30: Aaron, opening talk on mediumship, mindfulness and intentions.
Objective: to clarify the intentions of the day:
-What is mediumship?
-How do mediumship, mindfulness and intentions interrelate?
-The importance of working as much as possible from a place empty of ego, but if some ego is present (as it probably will be), the importance to return to the awareness that can watch ego, not be caught up in its stories.
The power of intention as we do the above.
10:00: pass out shuffled group cards (Max. 6 / group). Gather with your group and share some of your highest or most heart-centered intentions. What blocks the fulfillment of these intentions? How do you see them manifesting? Mediumship is a tool; how do you wish it to support you? Upon registration, I asked:
Mediumship involves service in some way, including to the broadest aspect of ourselves. I ask each participant to reflect on why he/ she wishes to develop as a medium. It may be as simple as to learn to love more fully, to deepen abundance or tranquility in our lives, or to develop a certain capacity or trait. This holding of our intentions, and clearing the way for access to the higher self and our guides will be our starting point.
Objective: sharing helps us look deeper at our own intentions.
10:30 Aaron: very short talk: what blocks the fullest expression of these intentions? Often, just habit. Brief guided meditation of Four Empowerments.
Objective: to give a tool to help release old self-centered habitual tendencies and offer a way to open more fully to the highest intentions.
Four Empowerments: Step one: “finding the support.” – finding something in which you take refuge. This can be the Buddhist triple-gem of Buddha, dharma and sangha. It can be Jesus or Virgin Mary. It can be God itself. It can be goodness or kindness. When you look to this sup port, it’s not something out there, but you find that same lovingkindness and goodness within yourself. It’s a reminder that yes, this bodhicitta is within me and I can access it. It’s good to practice this before the heavy emotion arises so that when the heavy emotion comes up and you feel yourself being swept away by it, you can enter into that loving heart, that heart of the Buddha, heart of Jesus. So, step one is support.
Step two … Compassionate regret! Whether the emotion was or was not enacted, we simply reflect upon how it arose and come deeply to understand the ignorance or delusion which led to this strong arising. This is not to be used as a cause to criticize yourself. You’ve not done anything bad. But there has been something unskillful that happened, and here you have the time to reflect with kindness on the various chains of fear and misunderstanding which led to the strong experience of this emotion. Recognition of the way negativity has arisen leads both to a regret and to reflection on how it happened. Within “regret” is not self-castigation and guilt, but an allowing to rise from the heart the strong aspiration not to allow the self to be so possessed by such energies in the future. There is true sorrow for what has arisen. Within “reflection” is the ability to see how the self’s delusion was condition for the investiture into the emotion. Thus, one cultivates wisdom.
step three, a resolve not to repeat these unskillful words or actions, or even the resolve not to be ensnared by your anger in the same way, not to be caught by misunderstanding, even if the misunderstanding was not enacted. Here there is clarity that because you experienced the self as separate, because fear arose, and other conditions were present, certain emotions followed. So there is a deep resolve to work in more depth with penetrating the delusion of separation, to really bring non-dual awareness into your daily life and begin to see everything as made up of non-self elements, so as to be less likely to move into such fear and delusion which give birth to anger. Again I emphasize this is not a statement that what has happened before is to be met with condemnation. It’s simply clear-seeing that what has happened has been painful and there are more skillful ways to do it, and that within this great heart is the ability to do it, the readiness for such responsibility.
Step Four: applying antidotes to what has arisen, used skillfully, and various purification practices. Most religions teach certain purification practices, some of them more effective than others. In the Christian church, one goes to confession and then might say a number of prayers at the request of the priest. This is a kind of purification practice. In Buddhism one might do a number of prostrations. These do eventually create a certain kind of purification when they are done skillfully, but often they are not done skillfully but as punishment or recompense. Performed in this way, they do not really get to the heart of the issue. This four-step process, then, is very profound and deeply empowering.
stretch
11:00 Exercise #1: giving and receiving: join with a partner. Take turns mindfully feeding each other grapes, banana slices, Rice Krispies or other GF small food. How does it feel to give? How does it feel to receive? If resistance arises in either position, can one apply the four empowerments? What happens then? Metta is another support; also “Clear comprehension”. Followed by discussion of the exercise
Objective: 1) observation of resistance and contraction around giving and receiving if it arises and
skillful practice with it.
2) if no resistance, can we experience the joy of giving and receiving?
11:30 Exercise 2: trust and letting go; observing tension and contraction. Groups of 3. Two lead the “blind” one. Take turns. Followed by discussion of the exercise
Objective: 1) observation of resistance and contraction around letting go and trust if it arises and
skillful practice with it.
2) if no resistance, can we experience the joy of letting go deeply
12:00 Some further discussion and summing up from Aaron; the importance of noting any contraction honestly and with an open heart. Contraction WILL arise. It is not a problem.
Objective: Emphasis on not creating stories and a solid “self” when objects enter our experience that seem contradictory to our highest intentions. We need this base or mediumship becomes an exercise in ego.
12:30 lunch. Possibility to sit with groups?
1:30 Five-minute silent sitting, then a talk from Aaron about finding support.
Objective: Start with statement of intention, and challenge.
Like exercise 2, letting another take our hands; working lovingly with any resistance.
Like exercise one, the experience of receiving.
2:15 Break into small intention-groups (picture groups)
Guided meditation to meeting our guides or higher self.
Holding our intentions and asking for support
Objective: practice at meeting our guides or higher selves.
Support of hearing and watching others do the same.
Sharing experiences builds trust in oneself.
3:15 sharing in groups; what did you experience?
Objective: deepening our learning and trust of the connection.
4:00 Closing talk from Aaron.
4:30 end.