Divine Meditations

In this book, author M. King takes the practitioner on a journey into the darkest recesses of the divine self. Divine Meditations: Mastering the Darkness Within is not just a book of meditation. It's a book of pathworking with the Daemonic.

Take a break from the stresses of modern life and find peace and tranquility in this timeless guide to meditation. Written by Nathaniel Ranew, a 17th century Puritan divine, this book offers practical advice and encouragement for those seeking a deeper understanding of their faith and purpose in life. Through a series of reflective meditations, readers will learn to center their thoughts on God and find renewal and strength in times of difficulty. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The 112 Meditations from the Book of Divine Wisdom is a translation of the meditations from the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, a revered 8th century text from the Shaivite Tantric tradition of Kashmir, India. It has been rendered into English with commentary and guided practices by Lee Lyon, a teacher of meditation to more than ten thousand people worldwide, who has studied and taught this text for over forty years. Although written over a thousand years ago, the ideas and practices in this much loved text are timeless in nature, and reflect strikingly modern sensibilities. The meditations are well known for their wholehearted engagement of all aspects of life, even the traditionally 'non-spiritual', including yogic practices, emotions, the delight of the senses, sexuality, natural states of wonder, beauty, bliss and the experience of Oneness. The text, however, is more than just a collection of extraordinary and powerful meditation instructions. It embodies an ecstatic and life affirming world view that evolved into the philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism in the centuries that followed its writing. Rather than conceptualizing spirituality, in these meditations it is approached more like music or art. We can feel the tradition's direct contact with life--intimate, kind, amused, amazed, delighted--always trying to get us to relate to our experience, to life, to actually engage it rather than just observe or be mindful of it. Although traditionally considered a text for advanced meditators, many people with no formal experience in meditation have extraordinary shifts in consciousness using these practices. Even people who think themselves incapable of meditating find themselves easily entering new and altered states. Each original Sanskrit verse has been translated as literally as possible to help convey the actual meditation instruction embedded in the rich, multidimensional original. A short commentary and an example of how each meditation might be practiced, have been added after each verse to help explain the instruction. There are many different types of meditation in the text, recognizing always the incredible richness and uniqueness of our individual consciousness. As the text progresses, contemplative practices are woven in, culminating in some of the world's most sublime meditations on Oneness. By repeatedly encouraging us to see the spontaneous unity behind the surface appearance of life, and to step into our true Self, the text holds its place as one of the crown jewels of human thought.

Westminster Divine Edmund Calamy said of this work by Thomas White, it is "one of the best books we have on the subject." So many professing Christians in both his day and ours neglect the Scriptural duty of divine meditation. White uses Psalm 1:2 as his primary text, "...and on his law doth he meditate day and night." He gives an explanation of the words together with some short observations, and shows the nature, kinds, and differences of solemn, divine meditation. He clearly demonstrates that meditation is a duty, and then lays out directions, rules and preparations for mediation. He then gives the reader forty-six meditations to read, and then discusses rules given for meditating on scriptural passages. He ends the work with seven meditations on key doctrinal subjects like the mercies of God, sin, death, and the excellencies of Christ. This is a sanctifying and humbling work to teach God's people how divine meditation is our duty. This is not a scan or facsimile, has been updated in modern English for easy reading and has an active table of contents for electronic versions.