Modern Order of Essenes Course – Unit 3

Welcome back to Unit 3 of the Modern Order of Essenes course! If you are new to the course, it starts out here with Unit 1.

In this unit, you will expand the Blessing Walk and start with the Healing Breath meditation. We will also discuss what “spiritual healing” is in the first place.

This week, you can dive right in – no mandatory question to answer before reading the course content. 😉 I would very much appreciate your feedback, though:

How does the experimental version of the Blessing Walk work for you?

Both at the start, when you first tried it – and now, after two weeks or so? Has anything changed? How does it compare to the “standard” version? Any other experiences, effects, problems, challenges, insights, … you might have?

Any and all feedback is welcome. As I said, this is an experiment. Where it will lead (and if anywhere) depends in large parts on the feedback I get. 🙂

Before we start, I also want to thank everybody who posted a comment in the last two weeks – you folks rock, and I very much appreciate your feedback, your thoughts, your reports, your questions, … Thanks!

Coursework

1. To Study – Essene Healing Breath Meditation: Introduction

   Your first task in Unit 3 is to study the introduction to the Essene Healing Breath Meditation:

   Online Version (The sections titled “Introduction to the Essene Healing Breath Meditation” and “Withdrawing from your meditation”)
   PDF Version (Pages 16 and 17, the sections titled “Introduction to the Essene Healing Breath Meditation” and “Withdrawing from your meditation”)

2. To Practice – Essene Healing Breath: Step 1

   Step 1 of the Essene Healing Breath is the relaxation phase, as explained in the “Introduction” (see Study assignment right above). Please read my comments about practicing the Healing Breath under “Commentary” before you start practicing.

   Online Version (Sections “Phase One: Step One – Relax” followed by “Withdrawing from your meditation”)
   PDF Version (Sections “Phase One: Step One – Relax” followed by “Withdrawing from your meditation” on pages 17/18)

3. To Practice – Blessing Walk, Step 2

   Your third task in this unit is to include Step 2 into your daily Blessing Walk (check the Commentary section for my thoughts on how to perform it).

   Online Version (only Step 1 + 2)
   PDF Version (only Step 1 + 2, on pages 11 and 12)

4. To Study – “What is Spiritual Healing?”

   Read my essay on this topic, and reflect on it:

   What is Spiritual Healing?

Reflection Question

While you do the work of Unit 3, take some time to reflect on the following question:

How can you heal through the mind?

Meditation Topics

If you need fodder for your discursive meditations beyond what you have found in this unit’s texts, the following topics should give you something to work with:

• Why do you bless humans?
• Why do you bless animals?
• Do animals bless you?
• Are there any differences between blessing humans and blessing animals?
• What is the difference between healing through the mind, and healing through the heart?
• Which function does the mind have in healing?
• Which function does the heart have in healing?
• What parts or elements are important in healing?
• What does relaxation do in meditation?
• What functions does relaxation have in general?
• What are the optimal effects of meditation?
• What does “withdrawing from your meditation” mean?
• What would happen if you should stay in mediation forever?

And if you have enough ideas on your own and don’t need any from this list, that’s even better!

Commentary

When the Going Gets Tough…

We’ve reached the critical stage, I think.

The honeymoon is over, the first excitement has settled. Reality creeps in. Maybe in the form of your everyday life, maybe in the form of minor issues or bigger disasters which require your attention.

In short: This is the perfect point to pull yourself together and write a comment about how things are going for you. 😉

(It would also be the perfect point to succcumb to temptation, push the MOE work off until, well, whenever-but-definitely-not-now!

But we’re here to support each other, and I take it to be my responsibility to generously dole out swift (virtual) kicks to your backside whenever you should need one. 😉 )

So… do add a comment about how things are going for you, please – especially if the going has gotten tough. The only way to get support from this community is by talking to us!

And if you should indeed be tempted to postpone the MOE work, maybe together we can figure out a way for you to keep the courseload manageable without throwing in the towel. If the going gets tough… 🙂

Blessing Walk – Feedback and How to Practice Step 2

I know it’s bad style to ask for a comment twice, right after each other, but hey, here we are – and I never promised you good style, did I? 😉

As noted above, last unit’s Blessing Walk instructions are an experiment, and I would very much appreciate your feedback in the comments.

Since the verdict on how well the experiment went is still out, hearing from you will help me determine how (and if) to develop this any further.

As for how to practice Step 2 of the Blessing Walk, with the “head-centered” approach in the written instructions, or with the “heart-centered” approach I proposed last time:

I structured the course in a way which gives us three weeks for each step of the Blessing Walk, with a bit to spare. (That’s why I was able to slide in the experiment last week, without dragging out the course at the end, btw.)

So you will have three weeks for Step 2 before we move on to the next Step (and we could even drag this out a bit more if necessary). My suggestion thus is:

In these three weeks, try both versions of the Blessing Walk: the “standard” one from the texts, and the one I proposed. Maybe ten days for each. Or a week for one, two weeks for the other – whatever feels right to you.

If you should have had any issues with the new heart-centered version in the last unit, I’d still encourage you to try it out again for Step 2. After all, animals are a completely different beast than humans (quite literally), and what didn’t work for humans might well work splendidly for animals, and later for plants etc.

Finally, and just to avoid misunderstandings: The text is a bit vague at this particular point, but Step 2 does include not just animals of all kinds, but also humans.

I.e. during this unit and beyond, you will continue to send blessing offers to the humans you encounter during your Blessing Walks, but will also extend this courtesy to any animals you notice.

Since this expansion is bound to take up some mental resources (ask me how I know!), I’d suggest sticking with your dedicated Blessing Walks for now, a habit you (hopefully) established back in Unit 1.

Don’t feel bad if you don’t manage to extend the blessings to any other situations. This takes time and practice – and even with time and practice, it isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Thus if you manage to offer a blessing in an everyday, non-Blessing Walky situation, that’s great. If not, don’t sweat it.

Healing Breath Meditation: How to Perform

The Healing Breath Meditation starts out for real in Unit 3. Well, sort of. Relaxation might not really feel like the height of meditation to you… 😉

But while it might not be the coolest kid on the block, the relaxation part is important, and not just for meditation.

A lot of people in Western society are strung up way too tight, both physically and otherwise. Practicing Step 1 of the Healing Breath thus isn’t just the intro to this form of meditation, it’s also very useful all on its own.

With a bit of practice, you’ll be able to call this relaxation sequence forward whenever you need it, and in very little time. Say you’ve been working on the computer for way too long, your whole body is tensed up, and your shoulders and neck just ache. So you “replay” this sequence in your memory, and within a minute or two, your muscles have relaxed considerably.

The time you spend on Step 1 of the Healing Breath Meditation is thus very well invested!

Over time, you’ll notice that you can work through this sequence faster and faster. This is desired, of course, as it leaves you more time to practice the following steps later (and makes it easier to apply the same sequence in the rest of your life, see above).

But for now, don’t rush it. The time you spend on thoroughly building up the relaxation sequence now will serve you very well later!

Once you’re done with Step 1 in your daily practice, don’t forget about the proper ending which is called “Withdrawal” in the text. Studying it is part of your coursework for this Unit, and you should always (now and in the future) end your Healing Breath Meditations with this withdrawal sequence.

Essene Healing Breath Meditation: Frequency of Practice

This is one point where I happen to disagree with John Gilbert, or whomever wrote these instructions.

What he wrote about the sensible length of a meditation session (not less than 10 minutes, and not more than 20), seems, well, sensible. 😉

Although if your relaxation in this step does not quite take you 10 minutes, then don’t sweat it, as long as you’re thoroughly relaxed and have gone through all body parts. The later steps will come on top of the relaxation once that doesn’t take you as long anymore, and things will add up quickly.

What I don’t agree with, though, are the instructions with regards to frequency, namely “The optimal number of practice sessions per day is between two and three.”

Meditation three times per day for up to twenty minutes is a lot. And by “a lot”, I don’t mean timewise, and how to fit it into your daily schedule (although it’s likely a lot in this regard, too).

Doing that much mediation is a lot of inner work – and it will need to be balanced very carefully by other things, or you’re going to wear yourself out sooner rather than later.

In fact, I would strongly advise you to do one meditation session daily.

Yes, your progress might be a bit slower – but you’ll get there safely. To me, there is no point in risking a spiritual or health breakdown when you can achieve the same things with a bit more patience.

Of course, everybody is different, and you do need to decide for yourself. If you already meditate for an hour a day, splitting this hour up into three sessions might seem like a breeze to you. In this case, don’t let me hold you back. 🙂

For all the others, though, I would advise you to take it more slowly, especially as the remainder of the MOE course will bring in other spiritual practices which need to be digested, too.

Thus one meditation session per day is plenty fine, as far as I’m concerned.

If you should have some time left over and are chomping at the bit for more MOE work, I’d rather do a second Blessing Walk if I were you.

And if even one meditation session each and every day is stretching it, then do your best to fit that one session in, even if it’s only 10 minutes in length, and don’t beat yourself up if you can’t make it on some days!

After all, the MOE is about healing, not about being perfect or about exhausting yourself. 🙂

Essene Healing Breath Meditation vs. Other Forms of Meditation

If you already perform another form of meditation (e.g. discursive meditation), the choice is yours:

You could continue with your existing form of meditation if you’re happy with it.

The rest of the MOE practices should play nice with most forms of meditation, or at least I’m not aware of any restrictions or incompatibilities. Of course, if you should note any negative effects, draw the necessary conclusions, and adapt your practices accordingly!

Also, if your existing form of meditation should not include a relaxation phase, consider incorporating Step 1 of the Healing Breath into it.

You could also switch to the Healing Breath Meditation, either for the duration of this course, or for the long run.

You could learn the Healing Breath to broaden your horizon, but then go back to your existing form of meditation.

And you could, in theory, practice both alongside each other, e.g. one in the morning and one in the evening.

You might note from the choice of words (“in theory”) that I’m not too fond of this last option. It’s possible to overdo it with meditation (see also my notes on frequency above), and with spiritual work in general. And I’m a bit concerned that this is what might happen to you if you attempt too much meditation on top of all the other spiritual work which comes with the MOE course, plus whatever else you might be doing.

Thus I think it’s best to make up your mind and practice one form of meditation at each time. If nothing else, it will also greatly reduce the danger of unwanted side-effects and potentially harmful incompatibilities!

What is Spiritual Healing?

Well, that’s a good question, isn’t it?

In my essay which is part of the coursework, I’ve attempted to answer this question, especially with regards to the Modern Order of Essenes.

But please note that I don’t proclaim to have been illuminated with the infallible Truth of Spiritual Healing™! 😀

Rather, this essay is my attempt at summing up my current answer to this question.

You might have noted that the coursework says to “Study” and not to “Read” the essay, have you?

What this means is: There are no points to be gained by reading my answer to this question, nodding once, and accepting it blindly. There are also no points to be gained by memorizing it by heart.

Instead, the real gain is in contemplating the question. You can take my essay as thrusting block, or you can come up with your own answer from scratch. Both is fine, as you long as you at least attempt to answer the question “What is Spiritual Healing?” for yourself.

And hey, if you can’t immediately come up with an answer, that’s fine, too. You might note from my essay that I’ve struggled mightily to put things into words, too. 😉

Just think about the question, contemplate it, and do your best to answer it for yourself.

During this course, you will then have plenty of opportunity to assess your answer against the reality of the MOE work, and to adjust it as necessary…

Further Resources

I already pointed you towards John Gilbert’s audio files in Unit 1. As we proceed with Step 2 of the Blessing Walk, you can come back to the audio file with the name “Walk.mp3” if you are so inclined.

Walk.mp3 covers the Blessing Walk, but all steps of it. I.e. you can either listen through all of it right away to get a feeling for where we’ll be heading, or you can simply stop the audio for now when it moves on to the next step of the Blessing Walk, and then listen further as we proceed.

In the zip file of the audios, there is also a file called “relax.mp3”. This file is a guided “meditation” for bodily relaxation, narrated by John Gilbert.

It’s somewhat different from the instructions in the written text. Most notably, the audio version doesn’t work with clenching the respective muscles before relaxing them. Still, it will achieve roughly the same effects, as far as I can tell.

If you have trouble memorizing the instructions, or if you simply enjoy listening to a nice voice giving you the instructions in a meditative, relaxing style, then this audio will be a good substitue for the written instructions for Step 1.

Just note that in the long run, you’ll have to perform the relaxation a bit faster (unless you plan on spending more than 20 minutes on each meditation session!), as the audio file on its own is 14 minutes long.

Alternatively, you could also listen to this recording as a standalone whenever you feel the need to simply relax, without any meditation afterwards. It’s a fine physical, mental and emotional relaxation in a bit more than 14 minutes – not the worst you could do.

And once you have practiced with the audio for a prolonged period of time, there is a trick in stressful situations: Just start to “hear” the beginning of the audio in your mind, and your body will immediately know what to do… 😉

Anyway. If you aren’t the type for audios, that’s perfectly fine, too – both new steps, for the Blessing Walk and the Healing Breath, can just as well be learned from the written texts!

Finally, there is our own comment section from Unit 2 to dig into, if you shouldn’t already have done so.

Outlook

Unit 4 will go live on Sunday, March 30th 2025.

Until then, I’m looking forward to your comments – and I’d very much appreciate your feedback about what works and what doesn’t work for you! 🙂