3.2. Cultivating Stillness⁑
In much the same way as how routine physical exercise strengthens the body so that the body can be more capable of heavy labor as well as maintaining good health in addition to eating a healthy diet and getting enough rest, so too are there mental and spiritual forms of exercise to better encourage the body’s development to better engage with spiritual activities, as well as those that develop one’s spiritual capacities and strengths. In addition to prayer, ritual, and other spiritual work, the most fundamental practices center on the cultivation of rest and stillness which can be done through taming of the breath and taming of the mind. Both of these should be engaged in frequently as part of one’s regular practice.
3.2.1. Breathing⁑
Breathing is vital and necessary for life, both of the body as well as of the spirit, and the means by which we breathe can have immediate and powerful impacts on our material and spiritual well-being. While breathing itself is a spiritual act, it is still one that most people do unconsciously, but one should undertake all spiritual acts consciously, with both intent and focus. As breathing is the easiest unconscious act to consciously control, it is among the most basic starting points for spiritual practices.
At least some form of intentional breathwork practice should be done prior to any ceremony or routine to calm and settle oneself mentally and physically, and may also be used as a technique to aid in the execution of other spiritual acts generally.
3.2.1.1. Developing Proper Breathing⁑
Proper breathing primarily involves the nose to both inhale and exhale. Using the nose to inhale helps clean the air flowing into the lungs from the outside while moisturizing it to keep from drying out the lungs; similarly, using the nose to exhale keeps more moisture within the body. Using the mouth to breathe is usually not preferred except when large amounts of air are needed quickly either for the inhale or exhale, but exhaling through the mouth may be done for some specific breathing exercises.
It is likewise proper to extend the abdomen instead of the chest when filling the lungs. Using as much of the lungs as possible without being too harsh on the respiratory system is crucial to breathing fully. Most of the air capacity in the lungs is toward the bottom, but conventional breathing typically concentrates the air toward the top where the lungs make less efficient use of the air. By expanding the abdomen slightly instead of the chest for inhaling breath, one can take deeper, longer breaths that fill the lungs up more completely. A deep, complete breath fills up the lungs from the bottom to the top, expanding the abdomen first and then the chest; when exhaling, the top of the chest is contracted first, emptying out the lungs from top to bottom.
3.2.1.2. Developing Breath Awareness⁑
Controlling the breath begins with awareness of breathing itself. Sit comfortably with the back straight, legs crossed comfortably atop each other as on a cushion or with the feet flat on the floor and thighs parallel to it as in a chair; alternatively, stand with the body relaxed, back straight, and legs no more than shoulder-width apart. While breathing slowly but steadily and comfortably, both in and out through the nose, pay attention to how the chest rises and falls, how the abdomen extends and contracts, how the lungs feel when full and empty, how the nose inside feels when air flows through it, how the outside of the nose and upper lip feel when air moves across it, how the air smells and tastes, and so forth. Be aware of the wholeness of breathing, not the process, memories, or sensations experienced as a result of breathing. When other thoughts beside the act of breathing intrude, let them go or put them away for later, and return to breathing.
3.2.1.3. Expelling Breath⁑
The Expelling Breath is important for other breathing practices, because it completely empties the whole respiratory system from all air, allowing new air to fill the lungs. This technique is crucial to begin other breathing practices with, and can be used as a powerful purification or energetic “reset” on its own.
Sit, stand, or lie down in a relaxed position with the back straightened.
Breathe out through the mouth in a relaxed, easy manner.
When no further air can be breathed out, bend forward slightly at the abdomen, and make a series of popping sounds with the mouth (e.g. “p-p-p-p-p-p-p”, “pah-pah-pah-pah”, “pss-pss-pss-pss”, etc.). Continue making the popping sound until it cannot be made any further.
Click the teeth together three times.
After all air has been expelled in this way, one may inhale deeply through the nose, filling the lungs up from the bottom, or engage in other breathing practices.
3.2.1.4. Twenty-Count Breath⁑
The Twenty-Count breath is a simple breathing technique to rapidly calm and regulate the breath and, by extension, the body and mind as a whole. By engaging in a series of rhythmic, deep breaths, the body may be calmed down quickly, encouraging relaxation and ease into deeper mental and spiritual states, whether for sleep, meditation, or other ritual. This technique is called “Twenty-Count” due to its pattern of breathing in a 4-8-8 structure.
Sit, stand, or lie down in a relaxed position with the back straightened.
Exhale completely with an Expelling Breath.
Breathe in through the nose for four counts.
Hold the breath for eight counts. Avoid closing off the throat while holding the breath.
Exhale completely through the nose for eight counts.
Repeat the above three steps as many times as desired.
3.2.1.5. Fourfold Breath⁑
Like the Twenty-Count Breath, the Fourfold Breath is another simple breathing technique to calm and regulate the breath, body, and mind. However, unlike the Twenty-Count Breath which rapidly calms and relaxes the body, the Fourfold Breath is good for maintaining the stability and rhythm of a body, and is good to enter into after a series of Twenty-Count Breaths. In other words, while the Twenty-Count Breath is good for “sinking into relaxation”, the Fourfold Breath is good for maintaining a floating presence within relaxation once relaxation has already been achieved. By engaging in a series of rhythmic, paced breaths, a discipline of the body and the mind can be cultivated to provide peace.
Sit, stand, or lie down in a relaxed position with the back straightened.
Exhale completely with an Expelling Breath.
Perform four Twenty-Count Breaths.
Breathe in through the nose for four counts.
Hold the breath for four counts. Avoid closing off the throat while holding the breath.
Exhale completely through the nose for four counts.
Hold the lungs empty for four counts. Avoid closing off the throat while holding the lungs empty.
Repeat the above four steps as many times as desired, preferably to complete multiples of four.
3.2.1.6. Thrice-Seven Breath⁑
As opposed to the rhythmic breathing of the Fourfold Breath, the Thrice-Seven Breath is a breathing technique to purify the body through breath itself, first by alternating the sides of the body that are purified by breathing out through each nostril individually, then with the body as a whole by breathing out through the mouth.
Sit, stand, or lie down in a relaxed position with the back straightened, with the arms resting at your sides.
Exhale completely with an Expelling Breath.
Breathe in through the nose, lifting up the right arm forwards from resting position up to as high as it will go, then bring the index finger of the right hand to the right nostril, gently pressing on it to plug it up.
Exhale completely and forcefully through the left nostril, then let the right arm drop to rest.
Repeat the above two steps, but using the left arm to close off the left nostril so as to exhale using the right nostril.
Repeat the pair of nose-exhale breaths six more times for a total of seven iterations.
Breathe in through the nose, lifting up both arms out to the sides from resting position as high as they will go.
Exhale completely and forcefully through the mouth, letting both arms drop in front of you slowly back to rest.
Repeat the above mouth-exhale breath steps six more times for a total of seven iterations
Complete the final exhale with an Expelling Breath.
This breathing technique may be coupled with a simple imagining: on the inhale, imagine purifying white light filling the body with the breath, and on the exhale, imagine the black filth and pollution of the body being ejected with the breath.
3.2.1.7. Three Styles Breath⁑
While other breathing practices may focus on stabilizing the body as with the Fourfold Breath or on purifying the body as with the Thrice-Seven Breath, other breathing practices can have other effects, like empowering or refreshing the body. The Three Styles Breath makes use of three gestures to flush the body with breath and energy drawn from below and above to freshen the body.
Sit, stand, or lie down in a relaxed position with the back straightened, with the arms resting at your sides and feet shoulder-width apart.
Exhale completely with an Expelling Breath.
First Style: Breathing from the Earth
With the hands facing palm-up in front of the lower abdomen, breathe in through the nose, lifting the hands up to the base of the sternum.
Turning the hands over so that they face palm down, breathe out through the mouth, lowering the hands down to the lower abdomen.
Repeat the above two steps as many times as desired.
Second Style: Breathing from the Earth and Heavens
With the hands facing palm-up in front of the lower abdomen, breathe in through the nose, lifting the hands upwards and outwards to be fully extended to the sides.
Breathe out through the mouth, slowly dropping the elbows to bring the hands closer to the body.
Breathe in through the nose, bringing the hands back out fully and upwards until the palms face each other high above the head.
Breathe out through the mouth, lowering the hands palm-down down to the lower abdomen.
Repeat the above four steps the same number of times as one did the First Style breath.
Third Style: Breathing from the Heavens
With the hands facing palm-up in front of the lower abdomen, breathe in through the nose, lifting the hands upwards and outwards to be fully extended then upwards until the palms face each other high above the head.
Breathe out through the mouth, lowering the hands palm-down down to the lower abdomen.
Repeat the above four steps the same number of times as one did the First Style breath.
Each style of breath may be repeated as many times as desired, but each style of breath should be done for the same number of times, e.g. three breaths in the First Style then three breaths in the Second Style then three breaths in the Third Style.
As with the Thrice-Seven Breath, this breathing exercise may be accompanied by a simple imagining:
First Style breath: on the inhale, draw in light from the Earth directly beneath through the soles of the feet, rising to the heart, then bubbling up and into the head; on the exhale, drain the light back down into the Earth through the soles of the feet.
Second Style breath:
On the first inhale, draw up light from the Earth around the body; on the first exhale, dissolve the light into the body.
On the second inhale, draw light from the ambient air and the Heavens above around the body; on the second exhale, dissolve the light into the body.
Third Style breath: draw light from the ambient air and the Heavens above the body; on the second exhale, shower the light through the crown of the head down through the body to drain into the Earth through the soles of the feet.
3.2.2. Meditation⁑
Much how physical exercise like weightlifting or running trains the body to better perform physical labor, other kinds of exercise train other parts of the human being. Meditation, or synnoia, is an exercise to mentally train the mind itself, and since everything one does involves the mind to one degree or another, everything one does can benefit from the practice that meditation engages in and provides. It goes well beyond simply “clearing” or “calming” the mind, but rather allows the mind to work more fully and more deeply, simultaneously strengthening as well as relaxing the mind which can open up new states of awareness that, in tandem with the states that ritual and prayer induce, can allow one to reach into new states of light and life itself.
There are many forms of meditation that have been developed and used across all sorts of spiritual traditions, including awareness meditation, walking or dancing meditation, chant meditation, contemplative meditation, and the like. There are many ways to learn meditation, and depending on one’s own constitution and temperament, certain types of meditation may be more or less beneficial than others; as such, exposure to different types of meditation, including the traditions and contexts in which they arise, and studying under a teacher is ideal.
Some approaches to meditation can include:
Just breathing, then mentally following the in-breath and out-breath without attaching thought to it.
Being aware of being aware.
Resting in mind itself.
All the cosmos opens to me as I open to all the cosmos.
Chanting PSINŌTHER NŌPSITHER THERNOPSI (“the highest god” or “the sons of god”).
This may be combined with breathing by breathing in on PSINŌTHER, holding the breath on NŌPSITHER, and breathing out on THERNOPSI.
Chanting the name of a deity.
Dwelling on a particular verse or line from the Hermetic texts, repeating it mentally and inwardly, holding onto it and reclaiming it whenever the mind strays from it, e.g. “God is the Good and the Good is God” (CH II.16).
An example of meditation according to the Christian saint Symeon the New Theologian, as found in volume IV of the Philokalia:
Then sit down in a quiet cell, in a corner by yourself, and do what I tell you. Close the door, and withdraw your intellect from everything worthless and transient. Rest your beard on your chest [i.e. let your head droop by tucking in the chin slightly], and focus your physical gaze, together with the whole of your intellect, upon the center of your belly or your navel. Restrain the drawing-in of breath through your nostrils, so as not to breathe easily, and search inside yourself with your intellect so as to find the place of the heart, where all the powers of the soul reside.To start with, you will find there darkness and an impenetrable density. Later, when you persist and practice this task day and night, you will find, as though miraculously, an unceasing joy. For as soon as the intellect attains the place of the heart, at once it sees things of which it previously knew nothing. It sees the open space within the heart and it beholds itself entirely luminous and full of discrimination. From then on, from whatever side a distracting thought may appear, before it has come to completion and assumed a form, the intellect immediately drives it away and destroys it with the invocation of Jesus Christ.
An illustrative idea of meditation by Shunryū Suzuki in Zen Buddhist tradition is also helpful to consider:
In zazen, leave your front door and your back door open; let thoughts come and go—just don’t serve them tea.
A form of awareness meditation that can be recommended, to be practiced in stages over multiple sessions as one becomes more skilled in it:
Begin by sitting in a comfortable position with the back upright.
Steady the breath, first by doing the fourfold breath several times to regulate it, then breathe naturally without driving the breath.
As the breath becomes steady and stable, begin to observe your thoughts. Do not try to erase or suppress thoughts, nor to intentionally clear the mind or to “not think of things”. Simply let thoughts arise, accept that they occur, and let them go on their own without following them.
When you catch yourself having engaged with or participated in a thought, let it go and return to observing. Thoughts will continue to arise on their own; let them, acknowledge them, and let them pass.
After this becomes something one can reliably do after several sessions, begin to not only observe the thoughts but where they come from, what part of the brain or mind they arise from. Do not follow them or participate in them, but be aware of not just the thought but the very arising of the thought itself. When you catch yourself having engaged with or participated in a thought, let it go and return to observing.
After this becomes something one can reliably do after several more sessions, begin to not only be aware of thoughts and their origins, but be aware of being aware; turn your observation to observation itself, to the “witness” that is doing the observation. This will induce a strange tension at first, but will settle into its own state over time and with practice. When you catch yourself having engaged with or participated in a thought, let it go and return to observing.
It is recommended to spend at least some time in some form of meditation every day, preferably in the morning, and most preferably immediately before one performs the Leitūrgia.
How long one spends in meditation is a matter of one’s own skill in that form of meditation and one’s time allowance for it; one should spend at least five minutes a day if starting a meditation practice, then increase it by five minutes every seven or ten days until one has reached at least half an hour in meditation. If possible, it is also recommended to allow a minute or two before meditation proper so as to settle the body, breath, and mind, and to allow another minute or two after meditation to ease one back into normal bodily and mental awareness. The use of a quiet timer with a gentle alarm is recommended alongside the development of a meditation practice.
3.2.3. Journaling⁑
An important aspect of developing a sense of self-awareness and self-development is through journaling, the act of keeping records of one’s experiences, undertakings, and thoughts. Although it might seem simple to the point of triviality, the practice of regular journaling is vital to a contemplative practice. Through keeping a journal, one not only keeps a record of one’s experiences which can help augment and develop one’s memory, but also keep track of one’s own development which can allow one to see where one is now compared to where one was on the Way of Hermēs.
Journaling should be both regular and frequent, ideally with a record written once a day every day. For those who are new to the Hermetic Synaxis, journaling should be considered a mandatory practice as one is getting established in their work, which can also aid them in developing a sense of routine and discipline as well as of honesty and objectivity. Although what one records in one’s hēmerologion “journal” (pl. hēmerologia) is ultimately a personal matter, the following should be considered as a non-exhaustive list of examples of topics for journaling:
Insights and observations about the Hermetic teachings
Hopes, disappointments, successes, failures, and other moments of note
Concerns, fears, worries, and other issues that arise in the Way of Hermēs
Dreams
Omens and other unusual but numinous experiences in day to day life
Experiences in the lead-up to or after a ceremony, especially those done for the first time or those with particularly intense preparatory periods
Specific preparations and setups for individual ceremonies, especially those with more involved considerations or layouts
Conditions and contexts surrounding ceremonies, e.g. diet, health, or weather at the time of a ceremony
Predictions of divinations performed or oracles received, as well as follow-up notes regarding their having come to pass
Descriptions or drawings of spirits, symbols, or other visionary experiences
At least one hēmerologion should be kept, but for those with the resources and willingness to commit to it, keeping three hēmerologia is ideal: one for recording thoughts and events generally, one for recording conversations in communion with deities and daimones (especially for taking notes in the middle of such rituals or ceremonies), and one for recording prayers, invocations, ritual schemata, characters or glyphs received from spirits, and the like as a personal vademecum.
What one uses as a hēmerologion or how many hēmerologia to use for different topics or focuses is up to one’s personal preferences. However, it is ideal to use a physical hēmerologion dedicated to the purpose, not used for other notes or tasks, written with non-erasable ink instead of something erasable. Such a hēmerologion may be embellished or decorated as one chooses within reason; avoid using one’s blood or bodily fluids to write in or decorate it, and keep it of a reasonable size for portability and handling. Digital documentation systems may be used if one chooses, so long as on is able to focus on them without distraction and kept in an isolated and secure medium. However one chooses to journal, however, one’s hēmerologion or hēmerologia should be considered private; although one might choose to reveal select information about oneself and one’s development to others, the hēmerologion that records this all should be kept to oneself and away from the eyes of others.