The Star Group Meditation
Namgyal Rinpoche – Peru, April-June 1974
Through Wesley Knapp
This is a unique and exciting time in the history of mankind. We are now entering upon the exploration of space – the consciousness of man is just beginning to reach upwards and outwards from the planet Earth to the other planets in this Solar system – and to the stars beyond.
We are outward bound.
Our first, crude rockets are only the forerunners of the future; they are bound by the limitations of material and can only move at a snail’s pace towards the stars. I believe that we will not have to depend upon the blind simplicity of ballistics to communicate with our neighbours in space; the most penetrating exploration of this and other galaxies will come about through the consciously directed power of the mind.
And I believe that Star Group meditation is the beginnings of the development of the mental power for that exploration.
This is the most important religious exploration that can be undertaken at this time, and I say this quite dogmatically. 2001 Is a religious film, especially in the symbols used at the end, and is doing much to advance mankind spiritually. Going out into space is a teaching experience, for once you are there you are a Citizen of Earth, not an American or a Russian or a Canadian. A natural result of space explorations will be a unification of the Earth, away from the clinging to isolated nations.
Also, the experience of outer space is healing in itself. Many of your personal hang-ups will just drop away – it is the best therapy. You should have a great deal of pride at being born at this time, for this generation is absolutely unique, it is initiating a whole new type of exploration that will go on down the centuries. You will be the first to make these discoveries, and because we are now in the midst of the period of chaos that proceeds a new Age, you will be able to make breakthroughs in the next few years that will not be possible again until the middle of the Aquarian Age.
So you should view this meditation as a tremendously important experiment, approach it with enthusiasm, keenness of observation and an openness of mind. You may hear other tongues – see a totally different type of being and visit other planets – anything can happen. Do not feel unworthy of your task – you stand as a result of billions of years of development and the whole evolutionary thrust of mankind is behind you in your effort.
You are undertaking the exploration of the future of Humanity.
PREPARATION
All the beings present in a Star Group should be of good will and in a clear state of mind, having previously purified their being. All your preparation work should be done before you sit down with the group, don’t expect the group energy to put you in a ‘loving state’ – and don’t use the Star Group as another form of ‘confrontation therapy’ – all that should be out of the way.
You should do a private meditation on Love before you come together: do not go into a group meditation unless you have made the effort to be as relaxed, clear and loving as you possibly can. At the same time, there should not be any of that emotional, clinging, schmaltzy kind of ‘love’ between members of the group, neither should there be any undercurrent of sexual or ego games. There is a definite difference between sensual clinging and a pure, clear and joyous state of love.
Remember that this is first and foremost a meditation.
There should be five beings in each group, at least to start with. Choose people with whom you have a relaxed and friendly relationship, one that’s pleasantly cool. Avoid dominant personalities – they’re usually on an ego trip – and over-hysterical types. The group should be able to relate in a clear, calm and friendly way; the main motivation should be that of exploration.
It’s a good idea to change groups from time to time; it avoids the ‘clique mind and the too-cosy relationships. You should consider yourself as a free unit of consciousness that can be ‘plugged in’ and incorporated into any group, rather than a separate personality. Be a wandering spark, whose energy can be harnessed for the collective good.
Have a shower, if possible, before a group meeting – it’s both a symbolic and practical purification. Wear clean and pleasant clothes – your appearance is important and can add to the general mental atmosphere. Similarly, the room in which the group meets should be clean and uncluttered, preferably it should not have too much metal in it but be made from natural materials’. Take off any metallic object you may be wearing, such as glasses, a wrist-watch or rings and other jewelry – these can interfere with the flow of energies In the group.
The whole idea of the environment should be to create a supportive and relaxed ambiance for the session. Music can help this, especially with the neophyte consciousness. The music should be chosen carefully as it will affect the meditation; it should be the type of music that would raise the consciousness. Arrange the equipment so that it can be easily switched on once the group is settled into position. The music should not be too loud, just loud enough to discourage discursive thought.
THE METHOD
Sit in a circle, either on chairs or on the floor, so that you can comfortably hold hands without the knees touching. Don’t try to sit in a lotus if you aren’t sure you can make it through the session, the main point is to be balanced and comfortable with the minimum of physical distractions. The hands should be held flat, with the left hand upwards and the right hand palm down so that the chakras in the palm are in good, warm contact.
Hold the hands slightly out from the body so they are not resting on the knees but floating lightly with the forearms approximately horizontal. The hands may float up and down during the session; just let them do as they will without your Influence. The feet should rest flat on the floor if you are sitting in a chair.
You should sit upright and lean slightly forward so that the top of your head points to a central position above the middle of the group, forming the point of a cone. At this point should be positioned a blue light. The spine should be fairly straight along the sides of the group cone, but not uncomfortably rigid.
Hold the mind in the blue light, mentally visualising it as a blue disc or globe. Whatever happens during the meditation, return the mind to the light, this is the focus of the group consciousness. Empty the mind of thought and lightly rest in the light, allowing whatever arises to take place. Keep an open mind as to all the phenomena that manifest, just observe them. Experience the full range of phenomena before you decide to isolate one to explore in greater depth, you are data collecting at first.
The session should last a full hour – this is the regular period of meditation – even if the music finishes before the hour is up. The music is there to help you at first, as your concentration deepens you will not need it. Someone in the group could act as timekeeper, putting the watch somewhere they can see it without it acting as a distraction to the others. Better still; an alarm can be placed outside the group, or in another room.
At the end of the session it may be a good idea to finish with 21 of the hundred-syllable mantra of purification, it will ease the return of the consciousness. You may also start with 21 of the mantra, to allow the group to settle in. After the session, get up quietly and go somewhere where you can write up your experiences during the session. Do this by yourself first, so you can get your experience clear. Then, when everyone has finished, meet together again to compare notes. Look for those experiences which are shared, and those which are personal to you. Record all your impressions: physical, mental, and psychological; visual, sound, thoughts and feelings – even smells. Treat it in a scientific way, do not censure any information.
OBJECTIVES
There are three main objectives to this meditation:
1) For you to experience space travel
2) To contact beings from other planets
3) To direct the group energy to beings for healing
You also will be able to evaluate the difference in power and energy between individual and group meditations and begin to experience the development of a group Over-mind, the collective Over-mind Guru.
This is primarily a future-oriented meditation and objectives (1) and (2) should take priority. But you will find that you will be exploring inner space almost as much as outer space. The dharmas manifest on many levels and the laws of the galaxy are also the laws of the cells of the body. If you are in doubt as to whether an experience is occurring within the body or out in space, ask immediately in depth where you are and the answer will come.
You can use the Star Group to explore all sorts of dharmas; for example, you could enter into the consciousness of a plant. Before you enter the meditation determine the kinds of questions you want answered, then when you have an experience in the session the knowledge will arise. Most of the battle is to find out what you are really interested in and bring that to the forefront, apart from the daily surface gabble. You have to keep the ‘question mind’ alive.
The group may decide before a session to all explore one particular topic, say plant consciousness. In this case, you could put a plant in the centre of the circle and see what arises. Maybe you all wish to explore the affect of another colour – put this in place of the blue light for that session. If you do the colours, you should do them in an orderly way, as they appear on the mandala; white, yellow, red and then green. Always do one session on the blue light between any two different colours.
Experiment with finding out which mind-doors open relative to different outside stimuli – for example, with the music. You are not supposed to be into the music, but holding the consciousness in the blue light above the head, waiting to see what happens.
This is the key to the meditation, that all the beings are holding their minds in one area. You are basically waiting, an, empty, silent vessel, the background of discursive thought taken care of by the music. Trust the group mind, and let whatever arises just happen. The higher consciousness may take on any form in order to be understood by you, keep yourself receptive and the meditation will unfold.
This meditation should be done inside at first. Later, once you have established a familiarity with it, you can move outside and focus on a particular star provided you are assured that you will not be disturbed during the session.
This meditation should not be practiced more than six times per week when the teacher is not around, maybe twice a day if you have a long weekend.
If you wish to use the session for healing a certain being, all you have to do is to put their name up, mentally, to the blue light during the session. Not all the group has to do this together, so you can be sending to many beings at the same time. The human being has an average range for healing of over 180 miles when alone – with a whole group the power multiplies exponentially, so you can heal over very long distances.
In fact, if you had groups spaced all over the planet, all meditating at the same time, you could create a web of power that could raise the psychic level of the whole nuosphere of the Earth!
Perhaps we should try this some time?
Note: The source of the following additional notes is unknown and not dated:
The space/star group meditation was given a new format during Namgyal Rinpoche’s last visit to Kinmount, so for the benefit of those who have not heard this instruction, here is a summary: (Please take this as “thus have I heard”…)
Sit comfortably together in a room, either on a chair or not, as you wish. (We sit in a circle, but don’t hold hands.) The meditation, based loosely on the discipline upheld by the order re: the three watches of the night (two hours in ‘sleep or self-healing, two hours in general loving-kindness radiated to all beings, two hours seeking beings ready to receive specific direction or help) starts with – after a few moments of settling in to the meditation – self-healing. It was suggested that the Hollow Body-Inner Space or Anapanasati practices could be used for this.
From there, the meditation moves into the creation of a platform above the meditator(s). This platform develops from loving kindness or peace, and can extend as far as one wishes it to. After having established this platform, the meditator moves into space, either by visualizing a column of light extending into space, by using the mantra practice HRIH SHEU, or by moving from the platform. In space, one might meet with other beings, or explore whatever arises.
The last five minutes or so of the session should be spent in considering people or situations in need of healing, or of areas in which one wishes to see breakthroughs being made, holding those in the light. Then, a group review. It is also suggested that each person set a question at the beginning of the practice which he or she wishes to explore, and that the session be ended by the sharing of merit. If the collective review is written down, at some later time, it can be studied, in order to become aware of patterns of development, themes, and similarities of experience over time.
From the Namgyal Rinpoche Facebook Page, created by Wesley Knapp: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4073422118825&set=gm.433786503361216&type=1&theater