Meditation in the States • Lecture by Lorraine Walter

from August 16th, 2026

We welcome you to watch/listen to the video, read the transcript below, and/or share your thoughts in the comments!

About the Lecturer

Lorraine Walter has been an active member of the Metaphysical Chapel of Life since January 2023, serving as both an approved Laying on of Hands Healer and a Director at Large on the Board of Directors. A former Licensed Practical Nurse with over 40 years of experience, Lori brings a wealth of healing knowledge to the Chapel. She is a Healing Touch for Animals Practitioner®, Attuned Sekhmet Reiki Practitioner, Animal Reiki Practitioner, and Certified Crystal & Chakra Healer. She has studied under renowned teachers including Geehan Rakha, Lisa Powers, and International Master Dowser Raymon Grace, and has shared her expertise by teaching at dowsing groups and the Memorial Spiritualist Church. At the Chapel, she regularly offers healing during Sunday services and animal healing at our monthly Psychic Fairs. Lori says that what she likes most about the Chapel is that no one is told “this is how you need to be,” but instead, people are permitted to be who they are while at the same time being allowed to freely pursue their unique journey!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkxF0LI3Dkg

A History of Mass Meditation

Thanks for the lovely introduction, Brandon, and thank you for allowing me to speak at Chapel today. My topic for today is "Meditation in the States."

Humans have been performing meditation back as far as 7,000 years, and back before writing, it was passed from teacher to student by word of mouth. Its popularity grew here in the States during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Today, I looked up what today was, as far as anniversaries that had to do with meditation. Today is the 39th anniversary of what was referred to as the Great Harmonic Convergence here in the States. What was the Great Harmonic Convergence, you ask? It was the world here in the States' first synchronized global peace meditation, coinciding with an exceptional alignment of solar system planets on August 16th and 17th, back in 1987. This event was organized by spouses Jose Argualis and Lloydine Burrs Arquelis via the Plant Art Network, which was an international network. It was a peace movement they founded in 1983.

Timing of the harmonic convergence allegedly marked a significant celestial alignment of the Sun, Moon, and all six planets as part of the Great Trine. The Great Trine was when the Sun, Moon, and 6 out of 9 planets formed part of the Grand Trine, that is, they were aligned at the apexes of an equilateral triangle when viewed from the Earth. The Planet Art Network is an autonomous world peace movement founded in 1983 by the Arguelas, with the purpose of organizing the harmonic convergence of 1987. And there is also some astrological interpretations.

The convergence was purported to have corresponded with the shift in the Earth's energy from warlike to peaceful. Believers of this esoteric prophecy maintain that the harmonic convergence ushered in a five-year period of Earth's cleansing, where many of the planet's false structures of separation would collapse. At here in STEAM, this event was the beginning of a new age of universal peace, with signs indicating a major shift that was about to occur, a turning Earth's collective karma and Dharma. And that this energy was powerful enough to change the global perspective of man from one of conflict to one of cooperation. Actress and author Shirley MacLaine called it a window of light, allowing access to higher realms of awareness.

According to the Arguelis, the harmonic convergence also began the final 25-year countdown to the end of the Maya Long Count calendar in 2012, which would be the so-called end of history and beginning of a new 5,125-year cycle. Evils of the modern world, such as war, materialism, violence, abuses, injustices, and oppression would have ended with the birth of the sixth sun and the fifth Earth on December 21st, 2012.

It talks of power centers. An important part of the harmonic convergence of services was the idea of congregation at power centers. Power centers were places such as Mount Shasta, California, Mount Fuji, Mount Yum Nuska, and Grasshopper Hill Farm, Maine, where the spiritual energy was held to be particularly strong. The belief was that if 144,000 people could assemble at these power centers and meditate for peace, that the arrival of a new era would be facilitated.

Harmonic convergence celebrations took place at over 200 sites in the United States. Most notably, as previously mentioned, Mount Shasta, Central Park in New York, Chaco Canyon, and Sedona, Arizona. 50 other celebrations occurred at sites worldwide, including Ayers Rock and Mount Fuji, Stonehenge, and the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Participants danced, drummed, chanted, and meditated together with celebrities such as Shirley MacLaine, John Denver, and Timothy Leary taking part in the celebrations. Johnny Carson even had his studio audience chant OM on the day of the convergence. Bet you didn't know that.

Meditation's Ongoing Legacy

The idea that mass meditation could have an impact on the world even persists to this day. It's bolstered by the popularity of mindful meditation. In fact, the Global Consciousness Project has been investigating whether meditation can create a coherent human consciousness since 1998, and that mass events like the Big Quiet at Madison Square Garden and the Mass Meditative Initiative in Los Angeles brought thousands of participants.

Of course, the biggest proponent of the idea that meditation can change the world is Transcendental Meditation Movement, which believes that if just 1% of a community practices this technique, it can reduce crime and improve the quality of life for everyone.

The Global Conscious Project is an international multidisciplinary collaboration of scientists and engineers. They collect data continuously from a global network of physical random number generators located up to 70 host sites around the world at any given time. The data are transmitted to Central Archives, which now contain more than 15 years of random data and parallel sequences of synchronized 200-bit trials generated every second.

Our purpose to examine subtle correlations that may reflect the presence and activity of consciousness in the world. We hypothesize that there will be structure in what should be random data associated with major global events that engage our minds and hearts. Subtle but real effects of consciousness are important scientifically, but the real power is more immediate. They encourage us to make essential, healthy changes in the great systems that dominate our world. Large-scale group consciousness has effects in the physical world. This has been proven by science. Knowing this, we can intentionally work toward a brighter, more conscious future.

The Global Conscious Project, created originally in the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Lab at Princeton University in my home state of New Jersey, is directed by Roger Nelson from his home office in Princeton since 1998. The Institute of Noetic Sciences provides a logistic home for the Global Consciousness Project.

Now, to talk about the Big Quiet in Madison Square Garden. This occurred on August 20th in 2017. The effect of meditating is just greater when more people are involved.

Jesse Israel, 32, tells the Post, there's just a feeling of depth and a pull to it when there's a big group.

Israel, who co-founded the music label Cantora Records in his New York City dorm room, started a monthly meditation group called MediClub, and he started it in a buddy's Soho living room in 2014. The following year, they expanded to iconic destinations throughout the city, such as Lincoln Center, One World Observatory, and a boat near the Statue of Liberty. The 2017 Big Quiet event in Madison Square Garden drew 2,000 people.

Now to talk about Mass Meditation Initiative in LA. They held a World Meditation more recently on June 22nd, 2024. As stewards of the Earth's energetic field, they held a global mass meditation and planetary grid work event, coinciding with the summer solstice and full moon, a monumental alignment for collective evolution.

Their plan was to elevate consciousness and harmonize Earth's energy fields to create a powerful, unified, collective field. Their mission was simple yet profound. Activate light pillars at key energetic markers worldwide. These encompassed power points, planetary chakras, energetic hotspots, vortexes and significant sacred sites, pyramids, megalithic structures, and ancient cities. Everyone's participation was to help weave a web of light around our planet, creating a network of elevated frequencies and healing energies that amplified our collective impact.

The group's intentions were to embrace an unparalleled opportunity and truly unite to light up our crystalline bodies as we work with all elements to balance and harmonize the divine feminine and masculine energies. The group hoped to focus on everyone's connection and cleaning with the sacred waters, further imprinting these crystalline light structures while activating the master crystals within the crust of our Mother Earth's body.

What Is Meditation?

So, that's just a list of some more profound events that have occurred here in the States. So, I'm gonna go back to talk to meditation, as far as its uses and how to perform a meditation.

Meditation can be difficult for some. I really enjoy the meditation here at church, and that's referred to as a guided meditation. Sometimes people just sit quietly for 10-15 minutes or so and meditate. That does take practice. So, to start, you would sit quietly, focus your mind, and try to unclear any thoughts. You might wonder where to begin, or how long to practice, or what you're actually supposed to be doing, or whether you're even doing it right.

The good news is that meditation does not require any special equipment, a perfect environment, or years of commitment to gain value. But starting effectively does mean understanding what meditation actually is, what different approaches exist, and which factors shape your individual experience.

So, the definition of meditation is a mental practice in which one intentionally directs their attention in a specific way, usually to a single point of focus. That focus might be your breath, a sound, a visual object, a phrase, or a body sensation.

The core mechanic is the same. When your mind wanders, which it will, constantly, you notice it and gently return your attention to your chosen focus. Do not mistake meditation with relaxation. Relaxation can sometimes occur during meditation. You are not trying to clear your mind or achieve blankness. You're training attention itself. Each time you notice a distraction, refocus. That's a repetition of the skill you're developing.

The experience varies widely depending on what happens during your session. Some people feel calm, others feel restless, bored, or notice physical discomfort that they haven't recognized before. All may feel normal. Meditation is not about having a specific feeling. It's mainly about practicing attention, and that practice happens whether your session feels good or not.

Different meditation traditions emphasize different focal points and techniques. Understanding the main approach helps you to recognize what might suit you personally and your goals, though trying several before committing is entirely reasonable.

And you may ask, well, why meditate? And there have been proven, scientifically benefits of meditation. It reduces stress. Helps to control anxiety or depression. Supports emotional health. Enhances self-awareness. Can lengthen your attention span. It's known to reduce age-related memory loss, which is dementia and Alzheimer's. Can generate kindness. Make help to break dependencies. It is known to improve sleep. It is known to help control pain. It is known to decrease blood pressures in those with high blood pressure. It can definitely boost your immune system. And please know that anyone can meditate anywhere, at any time.

Types of Meditation

So, I'm gonna go through a few different types of meditation.

The one is breath-focused meditation, which is often called mindfulness, and it anchors your attention to the natural rhythm of your breathing. You notice the sensation of air leaving and entering your nostril and lungs, the fall and rise of your chest, or the temperature of your breath. It's accessible, portable, and requires no props. This is why many beginners start with mindfulness meditation. The challenge here is that breathing is easy to overthink once you've paid attention to it. And that's true.

The next type of meditation would be body scan meditation, where you move attention systematically through different parts of your body, noticing sensations without trying to change them. This approach often feels more structured and can be easier to follow if sitting quietly with your breath. It may feel too open-ended. This typically takes a longer session, 15 to 45 minutes in formal practice, and works well if you find physical sensation easier to anchor than your breath.

Another form of meditation is mantra, or loving-kindness meditation, which is a repeated word, phrase, or intention as the focal point. Rather than observing something happening, like your breathing, you're actively generating and repeating a mental contact. This can also be referred to as a mantra. This appeals to people who find pure observation difficult, or who want their practice directed toward a specific intention, like compassion or calm.

Visualization meditation uses imagery as an anchor. Imagining a peaceful place, a color, or a symbolic image, this approach suits people with strong visual imagination and those who find abstract meditation techniques harder to grasp.

Final meditation would be called movement-based meditation, which is referring to Tai Chi or certain yoga practices, that merge attention training with physical motion. Personally, I find that hard to do. If sitting still feels impossible or wrong for your body, this method may be an entry point that works.

None of these are objectively better than the other. Your fit depends on your temperament, physical comfort, cultural background, and what feels suitable to you. The point is that you should practice all of them, and just find which one mends well with you, and which one feels the most comfortable.

Building a Practice

And my advice to you all would be to start small and be specific. Commit to a concrete habit. Make it at 7 o'clock in the morning on your bedroom chair for 5 minutes before breakfast, Monday through Friday. Specific commitments are easier to follow than vague intentions.

Use anchors. Tie your meditation to something you already do daily. Like, if you have coffee, take 5 or 10 minutes before your coffee or after your coffee to do a meditation. You can do it before bed, during your lunch break. Habit stacking, which is attaching a new habit to an existing one, simply increases follow-through.

And please be able to accept imperfection. Missing a day or week doesn't erase your practice or require you to start over. You restart whenever you are ready. People who sustain meditation long-term typically have a flexible rather than rigid approach.

Revisit your why. Periodically ask yourself, why did you start that particular meditation at that particular time? Are you still interested in that reason? Has it changed? Alignment between your practice and your actual value helps keep motivation alive.

Please don't be afraid to experiment with all different types of meditation. The types, times, durations, and location over a week may differ. You're gathering information about what fits your life and temperament, not searching for the one right way.

Please know that meditation is learnable, accessible, and free. We all like free stuff. What works for you personally will become clear only through your own practice. Again, being a teacher, if you're gonna learn it, and learn it well, what do you have to do? Practice, practice, practice.

Getting Started

So, what works for you personally will become clear through your own practice, not through reading about it. The most important step is by sitting down and starting. Start somewhere. Whether it's imperfect or whether it's a time or space you have available right now.

And for those who want to expand on the meditation, if you're a YouTuber, there are a million tons of meditation videos on YouTube. If you don't YouTube, you can go to, you can buy tons of CDs, there are tons of CDs out there that have both, and what I would recommend is getting one that has both guided and unguided meditation. So, if you want to start, I would start with the guided meditation, like we do here at Chapel.

Sometimes you can borrow CDs from a library. I don't know if they do that anymore, but I used to borrow CDs from a library.

So, my personal recommendation to start meditating would be starting small and short times. We keep the meditation here short at Chapel in consideration of time, but don't sit down and try to meditate for a half hour, because it's not going to work. Start small, 5 or 10 minutes. And, like I said, there's tons of videos on YouTube that just have guided meditations for 5, 10, 15 minutes, I would suggest starting there.

Definitely incorporate things that are familiar to you. An item to focus on, like a crystal, a picture, a favorite object in your house. A familiar, relaxing song that you already know, a favorite comfortable spot, whether it's in your house or in your backyard. I mean, Erica loves to go out and meditate in my backyard, just a quiet area, but bring “Off,” because the skeeters here are bad. So, you may want to start practicing with short guided meditation, like we do here at Chapel, till you practice and are able to guide yourself through a meditation practice.

The main thing is just to start. Thank you for being here for my meditation talk.