Mind Practice: What Is It?

[David_Mastrogiovanni]

Namaste once again Gentlemen.
I've followed these posts as well as I can and find your study of the priciple/theories of meditation far more studied than I have allowed myself to delve into.
I was graced last year by being accepted as a chela of the Sadhan order of yoga under Sri Prabhu Ram Lal whose father is said to have been an astrologer...so interesting how life seems to procede along a determinate path if we give in to our "true nature'.
What I would like to add in this post is something I found in the book "Kabbalistic Astrology" by Rabbi Joel C. Dobin.
Now it's been pointed out to me that the book is flawed in some of the Rabbis' astrological calculations [He was obviously not working with a computer generated ephemeris at the time of his writings [the 1970s'] and the Rabbi admitted to me some years ago when I was in correspondence with him, that Astrology was only a minor study of his when He was a young man. Yet he is obviously well qualified in Kabbalistic interpretation [after all he is a Rabbi...{and I come from a Roman Catholic/Quaker mixed marriage...although both of my folks became something of Theosophists...thus not being of Hebrew upbringing and considering the Rabbis education, a graduate of Princeton and the Hebrew Union College/Jewish institute of Religion, I will assume that the Dr. Dobin knows his material].
On page 114 the Rabbi comments on the Book of Isaiah 47:13.
"Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the 'astrologers, the 'star gazers' the 'monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee."
"...In his poetic polemic, Isaiah identifies two different types of astrologers. There are the 'regular astrolgers [HBRY SMYMf] and the 'star gazers' [XZYMf BKKBYMf]. Once again, the English translations do not begin to transmit the true meanings of the Hebrew terms. The term used for 'astrologer' in Hebrew translates literally as 'divider of the Heavens'. The astrologer divides the Heavens into constellations and then interprets the horoscope so derived according to known priciples. This term would apply to modern astrologers as well.
On the other hand, the Hebrew term translated as 'star gazer' really means 'those who have prophetic visions from the stars'. This would imply the type of person who, after casting a horoscope, uses it as a type of mandalla; by concentrating on this picture of the Heavens relating to one specific person in a meditative disciplined way, the astrologer is aided in some psychic manner to understand the native, his personality, and needs, and future. In the light of later Jewish tradition-which states that not only every person, but every animal and plant has its' ruling planet-this second definition of astrologer-type makes sense. I can only think of todays' varied astrological disciplines, among which are those striving to define and refine the horoscope, its' houses, and planetary angles [the 'scientific' astrologies]; and those seeking to define and refine the psychic and karmic vectors of horoscope interpretation [the 'esoteric' astrologies]. It may very well be that we have reflected in the Book of Isaiah, more than 2500 years ago, an already well defined dichotomy between the two astrological disciplines, which we would call today the 'scientific' and the 'esoteric' schools of Astrology!"

...the point of my post here is that there is evidence to support Michaels' belief in astrological meditative practice in other schools of spirituality aside from those already mentioned...and considering the great number of astrologers that we are communicating with, in this forum, of Judean/Christian backgroud/belief this should be of great interest to them along with evryone else.

[Michael Erlewine]

Dear David,

Thanks for the post. The only school or lineage of thought/practice I know anything experientially is the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, as regards meditation and astrology. Of coure, all the various Tibetan lineages meditate and use astrology. And many of the various Indian religions do the same. China does meditation and astrology, but I am not familiar with the various traditions to understand just how they are linked. Same with the Japanese traditions, where there is plenty of meditation, but I don't know how/if they mix it with astrology.

Thanks,

Michael