Reflection of the Heart (Meditation)

While Dej & Arisaig are hard at work putting together the choreography of this meditation, I figure I should put together material to help facilitate the education of how this meditation is intended to work and the philosophy behind certain aspects of the different forms.  To begin, though, I guess I need to introduce what this all is XD.

First, this isn't just my meditation.  Although a lot of thought went into this- I believe that Dej & Arisaig should share the bulk of the credit for the work they are putting in to do the Choreography of each line.  Sotunus also should receive credit for taking my initial idea (to build a mantra-based meditation) and recommending the use of Physical Movement around a Labyrinth to truly draw out the self-awareness this meditation is intended to spark.

This Meditation is called "Reflection of the Heart", and is built around the first line of the Jedi Code: "Emotion, yet Peace"/"There is no Emotion, there is Peace".  It was first conceived as an idea after witnessing and contemplating emotion-based practices in various traditions (Christianity, Hinduism, Polynesian, New Age, etc) which assert that emotions play a significant role in our physical health.  Psychology and Physiological studies even seem to back these traditions up- demonstrating that our emotions can create their own stressors and impact how the body rips itself apart trying to make up for the toll we put on our body.   You can read about that a bit more here .   At their extremes, our emotional state can also have other implications- such as personal choices that end up forcing your immune system to have to heal itself. Such as diving into a bottle, reckless driving, turning to drugs, breaking relationships that are there to support you, or even turning to spirituality as a form of escapism.

I chose the name "Reflection of the Heart" because this meditation is about processing one's emotions- which is linked to the spiritual concept of "the heart".  It does also have a bit of inspiration from the Mulan song "Reflection"- as she constantly wants to recognize the "girl staring back at [her]".  When our emotions are high, we can get to a point where we don't recognize ourselves in our actions.  The reflection tells us a great deal about who we are, and what we are going through.  Staring into our own eyes, rather than the features about us, it can become incredibly difficult to lie to ourselves about what we are seeing.  It's also a good opportunity to talk to yourself and watch how we respond.  Although there is no mirror in the meditation itself, the same concept is intended to be invoked within one's mental space.

The meditation has 3 developmental stages, depending on one's physical ability:
Base: Mantra 
Intermediate: Seated or Full Body Kata 
Advanced: Labyrinth Kata

The Meditation (regardless of which developmental stage you are in) calls for a Lightsaber, or a sword-like weapon (katana, bokken, broad sword, etc) with an easy to remove sheath (but one that will not easily fall off either).  

Each Mantra has its own movements associated with them (we'll get into those details later).  Here is the quick break down of how each mantra is used-

I am a Jedi, a Guardian of Peace: 3 Stances
You only repeat this mantra 3 times.  Once for each stance associated with the mantra.  The intention of this line is to remind you of what your goal is- to live as a Jedi, which is a guardian of peace.  It comes from the first line of the Alternative Code (sometimes called the "Skywalker Code") in the fiction.

These are my emotions, let them speak to my soul:Full Kata
This is repeated until you feel you understand your emotions.  Unlike the other lines in this meditation, this one was uniquely developed for the meditation.  

I will be mindful of my emotions, and control my actions: Full Kata
Like the previous line, this is repeated until you have thoughts of adverse/non-constructive actions have been laid to rest.  This line comes from the Heartland Jedi Code, and written with the First Line of the "Emotion/Peace" line of both versions of the Jedi Code in mind.  Once you start getting to more constructive thoughts, you should stop here.  It means that you are beginning to think with more clarity and you've processed your emotions to achieve peace.  That's the goal of this meditation.  

These are my emotions, thank you, be still and go in peace: One movement
This is the final statement, and only said once to express both gratitude and honor them as they are departing.  This line was originally designed for a guided group energy healing meditation to respond to crises.  The intent was to help participants ground out their emotions before arriving where the Force guided them.  Because bringing one's own emotions into a healing session -especially energy healing- can have devastating results.  The "Reflection of the Heart" meditation adds only "thank you" to the original line.

Finally, if there is still a need to make decisions on the matter you have been processing during this meditation, you are to take a seat and contemplate your options quietly in still meditation.

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