Helpful hints

Introduction

The Experiments With Truth program is valuable for anyone at any stage of spiritual development or practice. Truth seekers who have practiced spirituality for years may find this program to be a slight adjustment to what they're already doing—perhaps just providing more structure or focus.

A person just starting out with spiritual practices might find it difficult or perhaps overwhelming to jump in and do every part of the program. Its flexibility allows for gradual involvement. A beginner needs to start creating new spiritual habits, and I recommend starting with one part of the program at a time. Get into the habit of meditating 5 or 10 minutes once or twice a day, for example. After seeing how you can fit that into your schedule, try adding another aspect of the program, and then another, creating habits for each one. The order doesn't really matter, though meditation is always a good place to start.

Avoid doing too much too quickly. If you become overwhelmed and experience strain instead of calm intensity, you're on the path to eventual burn-out, with the real possibility of giving everything up. Know yourself and pace yourself accordingly. As a general rule, gradual is good, and gradual is different for everyone. Through experimenting, and self-awareness, you'll discover what works best for you.

Select a topic.

• Choose a topic that you want to work on. If you want to work on your chosen topic, you'll be more motivated and more likely to succeed.
• Answer the question “Why did I choose this topic?" to become aware of your motivation.
• If you've picked one you think you should work on, have an attitude of curiosity about it. What voice inside you is saying “should"? You may still decide to work on that topic, but you'll be doing so with greater awareness and perhaps a changed attitude.
• Why? Selecting a topic gives your spiritual efforts one-pointed focus and the power that comes from that.

Select a quote and an affirmation/prayer.

• In preparation for selecting a quote to focus on, study the quotes and affirmations/prayers under your chosen topic in the database and/or from your own sources.
• Why? Studying the quotes from the database or from your own sources gives you an overview of the topic from different perspectives.
• Pay attention to the ones that attract you the most; spend more time with them.
• Select the quote that especially attracts you or inspires you.
• Select an affirmation or prayer that relates to the topic or quote, or write your own.
• How to write your own affirmation:
  • Keep in mind that an affirmation is a statement of truth.
  • Make it positive rather than negative: “I am" rather than “I am not."
  • Put it in the present tense: “I am" rather than “I will be" so that you see yourself as already being, doing, or having whatever you're affirming.
  • When appropriate, make it visual so you can picture it while affirming.
• Why? Selecting a quote and an affirmation or prayer focuses your efforts even more, and provides you with a vehicle for deeper understanding and realization of truth.

Meditate, affirm/pray, and study the quote.

  How to meditate

• Recommended times to meditate: In the morning just after awaking, and in the evening just before going to bed. Or any other time you are free to do so, preferably on an empty stomach.
• Sit still with the spine straight and your hands on your thighs with the palms up.
• Close the eyes and raise them gently, without straining or crossing them, to the “horizon" of the eyebrows. Keep your attention at the point between the eyebrows. The point between the eyebrows is a high spiritual center in the body—the seat of the spiritual eye or third eye—and gazing there promotes spiritual perception and a higher state of consciousness. It’s the point where the eyes naturally go when a person is in superconsciousness.
• Why? Energy flows outward when there is movement, so stillness enables the energy to flow inward toward the point of concentration between the eyebrows. A straight spine promotes this inward flow as well, and the upturned position of the eyes helps you tap into superconsciousness, which is the soul's natural state of consciousness.
• To prepare for meditation, breathe in, hold your breath, and breathe out, each for the same count. Repeat several times.
• Tense the entire body gradually while breathing in; hold for a few seconds; relax gradually as you breathe out. Repeat several times.
• Why? This breathing exercise, and the tensing and relaxing, not only energizes and relaxes the body, but provides an effective transition from ordinary restless thoughts to a calmer consciousness in meditation.
• Exhale, and then watch the flow of the incoming and outgoing breath without controlling it. In order to avoid controlling the breath, you need to be detached from it, as if you were watching someone else breathe. If you want, you can mentally repeat a short prayer, affirmation, or mantra to coincide with the breath. For example, inhale to “I am" and exhale to “peace." Bring the mind back to your concentration on the breath whenever it wanders. Practice this as long as desired.
• Why? The breath and heartbeat naturally slow down as you watch the breath in a detached manner. The longer you practice correctly, the calmer and more concentrated you become and the more intuitively receptive you are to divine consciousness.
• Then spend time feeling God's presence in whatever way the divine is manifesting to you, such as peace, joy, or love. Realize that God is there whether you're feeling anything or not.
• Repeat the affirmation or prayer you have chosen, for at least a few minutes. (See below for further instructions.)
• Close your meditation period by studying the quote you have chosen. (See below for further instructions.)
• Why? Meditation is the best way to experience your soul's natural attunement and union with God, the ultimate Truth.

  How to affirm and pray

• While in the meditation posture (see instruction above), keep the eyes lifted gently to the “horizon" of the eyebrows and put your attention at the point between the eyebrows to make that connection with superconsciousness and add power to your practice.
• Repeat your chosen affirmation mentally or, if possible, aloud and then more and more softly until you're repeating it mentally only.
• Important: Smile (even a slight upturning of the corners of your mouth can positively affect your attitude) and inject enthusiasm into your repetition of the affirmation.
• Why? If you can enthusiastically repeat a strong belief or truth, that forceful affirmation will help loosen the grip of any negative subconscious beliefs that go against what you're affirming. These negative beliefs hold you back and keep you from progressing.
• Continue to repeat the affirmation with deeper concentration and feeling as you go along.
• Why? The more you affirm with concentration and enthusiasm, the more the old negative beliefs will be loosened from your subconscious mind and the new beliefs will take hold. Repetition and concentration also lead to deeper levels of understanding and realization.
• When affirming, think of yourself as already being, doing, or having whatever statement of truth you are affirming. You, as the soul, already are or do or have what you are affirming.
• If the affirmation is visual, or lends itself to associated positive images, experiment with visualizing while you are affirming.
• Why affirm? Concentrated repetition of affirmations helps you tap into your innate power and realize and manifest the truth that you're repeating.
• The principles mentioned above for affirmations apply to prayer as well.
• When you pray, repeat the words with devotion, as if they were spoken from your heart.
• As an alternative to repeating the same prayer over and over, you can talk to whatever aspect of God appeals to you—again, from your heart.
• After praying for a while, stop and feel for God's response in your heart. You can alternate between praying and listening or feeling.
• Why pray? Like affirmations, concentrated repetition of prayers helps you access the power of your soul. Devotional prayers also draw you closer to God and help you feel the divine presence.

  How to study

• At the end of your meditation, or any time you've set aside for it, read the selected quote over and over, diving deep into the meaning.
• Then read the first sentence repeatedly, and then the next sentence, and so on.
• As you read each sentence repeatedly, try to memorize them so you can start repeating them with eyes closed.
• When you have a sentence memorized, lift your eyes gently to the point between the eyebrows, as explained in "How to meditate" above. This will add power to your practice by deepening your concentration and creating a connection with your superconscious mind.
• Be aware of any thoughts and feelings that come up. Awareness is crucial on the spiritual path. (See "How to introspect" below for more information about self-awareness.)
• Don't rely solely on your conscious, logical mind to get at the meaning. Allow the calm, intuitive mind to enter into your study.
• Record your thoughts, feelings, and insights. (There's space provided for this in the Introspection section of the My Experiments page.)
• Ask yourself how you can apply it in your life. (See "Apply in your life" below for more information about applying spiritual principles.)
• Why? Meditative study helps you to reach deeper understanding and insights, and eventual intuitive realization of the truth of the quote. When that happens, the inspiration of that truth will be there for you when you need it.
• A shorter version of this method of study can be practiced. It's less meditative, but allows for intuitive insights:
• Read the quote three or more times. Read each sentence several times if you wish.
• Paraphrase the passage. Write down in your own words the meaning of the quote. You might condense it or elaborate on it.
• This process jump-starts your thinking about it. As you're writing, other ideas might occur to you. Write them down. You might receive intuitive insights that expand the inspiration and understanding you initially received from the quote.

Apply in your life.

• Decide how you want to apply the topic/quote: “I will apply the quote or topic today by…"
• Suggestions:
  • Pick an action or behavior mentioned in the quote or affirmation.
  • Pick an action or behavior related to the topic or quote. For example, if your topic is “Loving Others," you could decide to pray for someone you're having difficulty getting along with.
  • If the topic or quote is abstract, you can make it practical by:
    • Repeating an affirmation or prayer at intervals throughout the day. Remember, concentrated repetition is one way to realize truth.
    • Reading and studying the quote for a few minutes, three or four times a day.
  • Practice a visualization that relates to the topic.
  • Decide how many times you want to repeat the action during the day, if applicable.
• Why? Applying spiritual principles in your life is to take practical steps toward manifesting the spiritual qualities that you already have as a soul. It's a matter of refining the ego so that it becomes more and more soul-like.

Visualize yourself applying it in your life.

How to visualize

• The best times to visualize are after waking up, before going to bed, and during or after any meditation period.
• Visualize clearly and vividly in as much detail as you can.
• Make it positive and put joy and enthusiasm into it.
• See yourself as already being, or doing, or having exactly what you want to be, do, or have.
• Why? Visualization helps in the process of aligning your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and actions. When that alignment is there, you eventually manifest what you're visualizing.

Introspect.

 How to introspect

• Answer the questions provided in order to have greater awareness of internal processes that are often left unconscious.
• Separate the facts of what you did or didn't do from the judgments you have about them and yourself and others. For example, “I had a great day" is not a fact; it's a judgment. The fact might be: “I got a raise today."
• Be aware of the feelings that arise from the facts and the judgments. They're useful information. It's more helpful to ask yourself “What am I feeling?" rather than “Why am I feeling this way?" The first question helps you to feel what you're feeling and release it, if necessary. The second takes you away from the feeling and into your head.
• Be especially aware of any subconscious beliefs that may surface that are contrary to what you consciously want to be, do, or have. Once you're aware of them, you can change them.
• Acknowledge yourself for whatever you did accomplish, however small.
• If you're mentally flogging yourself for not “succeeding," keep in mind that spiritual progress is difficult if not impossible to judge with any accuracy. Give as an offering to God the results of your efforts.
• Why? Introspection helps you gain greater awareness of your actions, reactions, judgments, feelings, and subconscious beliefs. Acknowledging yourself for even seemingly small accomplishments enables you to focus on and attract more of what's going right instead of what's going wrong.

Journal.

 How to journal

• Let your thoughts and feelings come out, without denying, judging, analyzing, or editing them. They're useful information.
• Elaborate on the introspection questions if desired.
• Write about your experiences with the various parts of the program, especially any benefits you may have received.
• Write down the perceptions and realizations that have come to you from applying the spiritual principle. Sometimes the act of writing will bring about more understanding and insights.
• If desired, handwrite the journal entries.
• If you're really adventurous, experiment with writing with your nondominant hand (e.g., left hand if you're right-handed) to gain greater access to the intuitive part of the brain.
• If you are discouraged after journaling, focus strongly on what you want to accomplish and write more about that. You attract what you put your mind on. Practice an affirmation that supports that.
• Why? In journaling, you acknowledge, express, and release feelings, you gain greater self-awareness, and you gain deeper understanding of the spiritual principle you're practicing.