God of the Machine Meditation (PDF)

God in the Machine
A Guide to Enlightenment through your Body

The physical body is the first illusion, Malkuth.
The imagined body is the second illusion, Yesod.
The energetic body is the third illusion, Hod.
Illusions within illusions within illusions.
Peel back all of the illusions, and you’ll find… Divinity.

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Table of Contents
What is this?

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Will this work?

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The Lightning Flash of the Tree of Life

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The Nature of Appearances

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The Return of Man To Divinity

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Prerequisite Skills

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1: Basic Concentration

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2: The Body Scan

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The “God in the Machine” Meditation

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Stage 1: Malkuth - The Physical Body

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Stage 2: Yesod - The Imagined Body

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Stage 3: Hod - The Energetic Body

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Stage 4: Netzach - The Energetic Flow

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Stage 5: Tipheret - The Energetic Sparkling

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Stage 6: Geburah - The Energetic Dying

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Stage 7: Chesed - The Energetic Birthing

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Stage 8: Binah - The Womb of All Sensations

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Stage 9: Chokmah - The Impulse of Creation

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Stage 10: Keter - The Ultimate Source

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Appendix

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What is this?
This is a meditative exploration of the body and the inherent divinity within. With the body as
interface, you will unlock higher states of consciousness, a deeper connection with your
subconscious mind, a deeper connection to your body, and you will discover the secret of
enlightenment. And the best part is… it’s free!
In brief, the practice will involve a nuanced application of body-scanning Vipassana meditation
progressing in ten stages. Each stage is named after a Sephira on the Qabalistic Tree of Life,
starting from Malkuth up to Keter. Each Sephira represents a different perception of your body.
You begin in Malkuth, which represents your “physical body”. You will then use body-scanning to
“dissolve” the perceived body into its component parts. As you do this, you “walk up” the Tree of
Life via the route of the Lightning Flash. As you visit the higher Sephiroth, your attention
becomes more focused, and your perceived body becomes more subtle. Eventually, when you
reach Keter, you will know God… not as a concept, not as a metaphor, but as a real experience.
Unlike traditional Pathworking exercises, you will not need to know any symbolic
correspondences of the Tree of Life, nor do you need to have any visualization abilities.

Will this work?
The essence of this practice is based on Buddhist Vipassana meditation. I have simply reframed
it in terms of the Tree of Life to spell out certain nuances along the way. The practice should be
done for at least 60 minutes a day to be most effective. It is also recommended that one attend
a 10-Day Vipassana course in their country, if applicable, as it will supercharge their practice.
However, for full disclosure: I am not enlightened. However, I understand the basic practice of
Vipassana. I believe that this technique is the most direct route to enlightenment. I am sharing
my practice for others who wish to try it out.

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The Lightning Flash of the Tree of Life
Disclaimer: Do not read the following literally. Take everything as metaphor. This is my
interpretation of the Lightning Flash on the Tree of Life. It is not necessary to fully understand it,
nor to believe in it. However, it will make it easier to understand the meditation exercises later.

In the beginning, is the formless Nothing. The Nothing is…
…And in order to finish that thought, there must be a concept of a
"something" which the Nothing "is". Let's call this "something",
Keter (One).
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Keter is formless Nothing... no thing, no form. Hence, it has the
potential to become any thing, any form.
The Crown above all else.
The potential to "become" is the potential for movement, a blind
force, Chokmah (Two).
The Wisdom that wants to dance.
The potential for blind "force" to follow a certain pattern, a "form",
hence becoming that which it can become, is Binah (Three).
The Understanding of how to dance.
_____________________________________________________
This is the Trinity which holds the limitless potential for all forms.
The infinitely-faceted philosopher's stone which is simultaneously
every form at once. This is the eternal idea, Divinity.
Still, nothing exists yet, for it is only empty potential. How can
Divinity become conscious of its own infinity? It cannot perceive
itself for that which is perceived is not the perceiver. Hence, it must
perceive a reflection of itself. There is no actual mirror though, but a mirror is a good metaphor
for the bringing into existence of Existence, the giving of Form to that which is Formless.
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Formation begins with the defining of forms... the patterns which the movement (force) must
follow.
The creation of pattern, the defining of what a form "is", is Chesed (Four).
The Merciful love of Existence for itself, and all its parts, with no discrimination.
The destruction of pattern, the defining of what a form "is not", is Geburah (Five).
The Strength of Existence to stay the course, and adhere to the pattern.
The resultant refined pattern is Tipheret (Six).
The Beautiful dance of life.

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____________________________________________________________________________
With the pattern defined, the movement (force) must enact that dance, else the form is but an
empty husk.
The enacting of the dance with movement, the ensouling of the empty form with force, gives it
substance. This is Netzach (Seven).
The Victorious feeling found in the dancing itself.
The pattern once enacted, the empty form once ensouled, renders its own form visible. This is
Hod (Eight).
The Splendor of the dance form.
The enacted-pattern, the ensouled-form, is an image perfectly representing an actual thing, the
prototype of the dance. This is Yesod (Nine).
The Foundation of a particular dance form.
Divinity can dance this dance a limitless number of times. Each instance of the image is a thing
itself. This is the final product, Malkuth (Ten).
The Kingdom wherein the dance is actually happening.
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All Ten emanations occur in an instant, without delay... a lightning flash. This did not occur in the
past. It is happening right now, and is the only thing that is happening, continuously... forever.
Notice that the reflection in the mirror does not exist as a thing in itself, just as your own
reflection in the mirror is not a living human-being. A mirror does nothing but reflect the image
received. This is why man cannot cross the Abyss to Divinity, for there was never Existence to
begin with, but only Divinity perceiving itself in the mirror.

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The Nature of Appearances

Observe this optical illusion. At first, there appear to be two triangles. However, upon closer
inspection, the triangles are seen to be an illusion. There are no actual lines to define any
triangles!
Even so, it appears there are triangles because the black lines and shapes seem to imply them.
More specifically, the black shapes are not special; the mind itself creates the implied triangles.
It is only through closer inspection that the mind-created implied triangles are banished, and the
image is seen for what it really is: black lines and shapes.
Of course, this is a difficult state to maintain, for the mind will stubbornly insist that there really
are two triangles there! Try it! Try to look at the picture without seeing two triangles.
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You must understand this in order to progress up the Paths of the Tree of Life. Each Path
represents a transition from one state to another, from one Sephira to a higher one. The starting
state represents what is "apparently there at first glance”, just like the two triangles above. The
destination state represents what is "actually there upon closer inspection”, a dissolution of the
apparent illusion.
And just like the optical illusion above, the mind is going to stubbornly insist on its own implied
illusions. The Tree of Life will be a very slippery climb!

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The Return of Man To Divinity
Man, as a physical human being in Malkuth, can now make his way back up the Tree of Life to
reclaim his divinity, in reverse order of the Lightning Flash.
This is done by the gradual breaking down of the illusion of his own solidity. This process does
not involve the mind; intellectualizing and philosophizing will not serve. Actually, the illusions
which we seek to see through are propped up by the mind. The mind is the enemy which
stubbornly insists upon its illusions.
No, our friend is not the mind, but rather, awareness. Through the conscious directing of
attention to the illusion that is the body, the illusion is slowly seen through.
As a brief roadmap, these are the Ten layers of the body:
Malkuth: The physical body.
Yesod: The imagined body.
Hod: The energetic body.
Netzach: The energetic flow.
Tipheret: The energetic sparkling.
Geburah: The energetic dying
Chesed: The energetic birthing
Binah: The womb of all sensations
Chokmah: The impulse of creation
Keter: The ultimate source


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Prerequisite Skills
You should seek to develop fully the following skills before attempting the main practice.

1: Basic Concentration
Sit down comfortably, close your eyes, and focus your whole attention on your breath. Don't
control your breathing, but let it breathe itself. As your attention wanders to irrelevant thoughts,
which it will, gently but firmly bring it back to the breath without judging yourself.
You should be able to at least focus on your breath for a period of 10 minutes without too much
distraction before moving onto the next exercise.

2: The Body Scan
Begin with 10 minutes of breathing meditation, as above, to quiet your mind.
Then, beginning at the crown of your head and moving downwards, move your attention through
the different parts of your body, and feel the sensations therein. When you reach the toes, make
your way back up to the head. Upon completing a cycle, repeat.
Do not skip any parts of the body. The exact order that you visit the different parts of your body
is up to you. However, you must pick an order, remember it, stick to it, and do not deviate. The
speed that you go is up to you, but do not rush through, and do not linger for an extended time
on any one part.
Pay attention to pleasant sensations as well as unpleasant sensations. Notice intense
sensations as well as subtle sensations. Observe every sensation impartially, exactly as it is,
without wanting it to be different. Notice if you are judging any sensations as good or bad, or if
you feel any tension in your body as a result of such resistance. Allow the resistance to be there
too; make no attempt to relax it. As you practice this non-judgment, your tensions and pains will
tend to melt away on their own.
Do not go looking for "special" or "magical" sensations. If you feel the air on your skin, that’s a
sensation. If you feel internal heat, that’s a sensation. If your ass is itchy, that's a sensation.
One more thing: do not move even an inch. It will hurt after a while. Note that I did not say it
may hurt; I said it will hurt. You will want to adjust your position, but do not. Unless you think the
pain poses a serious physical problem, then do not move. The pain is more often than not
psychological, and will eventually go away on its own, if you practice non-judgment. The more
you want it to go away, the longer it will stay. Having said that, try to choose a seated position
that will not cut off circulation to the legs.
This technique is the basis of every exercise to come, so you must master it. Refer to the
Appendix for advanced instruction.

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The “God in the Machine” Meditation
You should master each stage before attempting to progress to the next. This might mean, for
example, that you only go up to stage 3 for a week, and ignore the higher stages until you are
ready.
When beginning any session, you must begin with Stage 1 and progress upwards. You may skip
any “theory” sections that you have already read through before, and just do the “practice” parts.
However, it is vital that you understand the theory of each section.
Due to the extremely intense states of concentration required at the higher stages, you should
not try to set timers, or even bother to remember what stage you are at, or what the instructions
are. As long as you understand the theory beforehand, you will subconsciously meditate in the
right way.
In order for this practice to be most effective, you should meditate for at least 60 minutes per
day, without missing any days.

Stage 1: Malkuth - The Physical Body
Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Silence your phone, and empty your bowels.
You have not eaten within the last hour, nor are you famished.
Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Begin with 10 minutes of breathing meditation to quiet your
mind. Follow this with 10 minutes of body scanning. Acknowledge to yourself how “solid” and
“real” your body feels. Try to explore what about the body feels “solid” and “real”.

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