What is Meditation

By Shuem Healing

The last couple of years magazines and newspapers regularly write about the benefits of meditation for our health and happiness. Supported by scientific research more and more people try to meditate and find these benefits. What is less known is what meditation actually aims for and thereby how to reach the promised benefits. This recently was clearly demonstrated in a group discussion on Linkedin where the answers to the question ‘what is meditation?’ were widely diverted.

According to Shuem Healing meditation is shifting your attention from the content of your consciousness to the space in which this content arises. Although it might sound mysterious it is very close to everybody. When you would try to clearly observe yourself right now it becomes clear that you actually just exist. This existence is what spiritual traditions call ‘Being’ which is very quiet, calm, peaceful, open and harmonious.

All the time your universe arises within this openness. Everything you perceive through the senses and everything you think, feel and wish arises within this state of being. People who get to know this space develop a very different perspective. Seen from this wider space you get much more control on what is within it.

Meditation and three kinds of attention

To understand the process of meditation it is helpful to distinguish three kinds of attention.

The first Attention

The first kind of attention is our daily attention. It is focused on what we experience in daily life and the material field of existence. It mainly is perceived through the senses and in thinking which is the world of words. Because of these words this first attention always shouts loudest within you. It’s this voice and all the things screaming inside and outside.

In meditation you try to get a bit away from this first attention that otherwise captures all of you. In order to do that there are many different techniques. In Zen Meditation for instance they stare at a black point on the wall. By doing this you fixate your attention in one point. This way your attention no longer bangs and bumps around that much anymore.

The second attention

Once you fixate your first attention the second attention within you comes alive. This second attention is called soul awareness and consists of inner feelings and pictures, dreams and visions. It is the connection between your daily existence and who you actually are on a deeper level. The second attention interprets and translates the world as it is for you. Herewith it gives meaning to what you perceive.

The second attention is a very useful field to alter the way you experience things. When for instance you’re not happy you can make a change within this second attention. Since the second attention gives meaning to what you experience it is in this field that you can change what things mean to you and thereby harmonize your life.

Second attention consists of feeling and feeling is the main thing we thrive for. All our actions are directed to experience a certain feeling. Whether you want a big car and lots of success or instead try to hide away all is to try to get this feeling. By harmonizing the field of feeling people experience their life becomes much smoother and balanced.

The third attention

The third kind of attention is ‘Being’ or even ‘Non-being’. This is the wide open awareness in which everything arises including the notion of yourself. In Meditation you try to shift your attention from the first through the second attention in order to reach the third attention.

Obstacles on the way

Very often people get stuck in the second attention. The second attention is a very fascinating world. Here you see beautiful things and visions and hear interesting insights. This is also the danger because fascination is another word for being hooked and you don’t get any further. The second attention is worthy to work with to harmonise your feelings, but as a human being you have the potential to reach the third attention.

Meditation: the deep core of your existence is peace

In Meditation you try to get in touch with the third kind of attention. This is what you are at the deepest level of your own being. This is not far away and exists right now as well except that you’re not used to give attention to it. When you reach this third attention you will notice that the deep core of your existence is peace.

This week Shuem Healing was on Mystical Cruise Radio. During the first half of the show Stefan told about what Shu’em Healing is and during the second half of the show there is a shamanic healing ritual.

To let the ritual come to its right, it is best when you take your time and don’t do other things; the drumming otherwise could be just a lot of noise while when you dive into it and let it flow through you, it is releasing and a way to experience a deeper inner rest within yourself.

Enjoy listening to it here:

On Vicker’s Tree Radio, Stefan gave an interview about shamanism, attention and perception. The show includes a shamanic healingmeditation that draws its listeners into a more silent state within yourself.

The best way to listen to the healingmeditation is to listen through headphones, sit or lie down and close your eyes. Periods of sound (drum, rattle, chant) are alternated with periods of silence. Just flow with the ritual and you will feel much calmer and relaxed on the inside.

Enjoy the show here:

Interview on Vicker’s Tree Radio

In this fourth free lesson you are introduced into an effective way to optimally make use of your life energy. By letting your energy flow freely and steadily, blockages and conflicts can dissolve and you more easily flow with life circumstances. >> Read more about this lesson Flowing Energy

With the four free lessons at Shuem Healing you can start to train yourself to more optimally make use of your energy. Repeat them as much as you like so you can integrate it more and more into daily living.

When you like to dive in it more deeply, have a look at Healing, Healingmeditation and Training.

We just launched a third introduction lesson that you can watch for free!

This lesson is about Shamanic Journeying, a tool to connect to deeper levels of soul where we can find healing, inspiration and creativity. Soul is what artists and musicians make use of. It s our experience of feeling and influences the way we think and act in daily life.  By reconnecting to these deeper levels again, you can make better use of the unlimited potential you actually are.

In a series of free introductory lessons into Shuem Healing, this week we launch the second one that introduces you into:

Gathering your Life Energy into the Here and Now

As a human being you most optimally act, think and feel when you have your life energy available at the place and time where you are. When unaware however, most of the time our energy is divided between past, present and future. Gathering Your Energy you get your energy back out of all these things so that you can freely make use of it again.

>Please click here to read further and request the link to watch this lesson

In March 2011 Stefan was interviewed by Jewels on Law of Attraction Radio Network. It is a lively introduction into Shuem Healing, shamanism, feeling, wider states of consciousness and attention. The second part of the show offers a free healingmeditation.

Enjoy listening it here:

Interview with Jewels, LOA Radio Network

Stefan (Shuem Healing) was interviewed by Belle Salisbury of Haunted Voices Radio.

The show includes a free shamanic healingmeditation and Stefan and Belle talk about these rituals and about Shuem Shamanism, energy, attention, consciousness, healing and more.

Listen to it here:

Interview on Haunted Voices Radio

This Saturday, February 13, you can hear Stefan on BBS Radio.

He is interviewed by Dr. Carl O. Helvie in the Holistic Health Show.

Including a Free Healing session.

A shaman restores harmony in one’s soul by crying the tears away. Once this old pain and emotions are transformed, they have less impact in the way you experience daily life and new chances in life may open up.

To get to know the mechanism of healing by a shaman you can picture the tower of Pisa in Italy. As you well may know, this tower is a bit oblique. When someone searches psychic help, you could say his life is like the tower of Pisa. The tower is a resemblance of someone’s life, built with memories and all reactions to past events. Somehow, some memories weigh too heavy and put the tower out of balance. 

Therapy and shamanism
In therapy or with a psychologist, one tries to consciously enter this complex tower of unconscious feelings, emotions, memories and habitual programs. With different approaches, you start to dig and find out why you behave the way you do. It gives insight in habitual programs, some forgotten memories may come back and with a good therapist you may find ways to deal with it in a more beneficial way. 

According to shamans this is quite a time-consuming approach with relatively little effect. When you think back of the tower of Pisa, therapy gives appliances to put the stones, windows and doors of the tower at the right angle again. It may give some changes, but can also result in years of therapy and knowing very well your patterns, feelings and emotions, without solving the problem. 

Healing at the root of the problem
Healing by a shaman is quite a different approach. A shaman is able to use the more subtle fields of human consciousness. These subtle fields include all memories and feelings that unconsciously rule the way we experience daily life. With this capacity, a shaman directly communicates with the foundation of the tower. By transforming the deepest pain, the foundation is put right again. As a result all windows, doors and stones that represent the outlook you have in life get into the right position again quite elegantly.