What is Metanoia?

The word Metanoia has been used for well over two thousand years. It is a profound ancient Greek word meaning “transforming the mind, a new way of thinking, renewing what is in your mind”. It was used by many Greek Schools of spiritual development and also by the New Testament writers, in the sense that Metanoia is something that changes your life, something by which you make amends, something that changes your mind-set or mental structure, a change of Heart.

In the Western world the word Metanoia was used in the identical sense as the word Mantra (Man-Tra, an instrument of the mind) was used in the East. Metanoia can be translated into modern language as “the working of the Light-Force within you, mind-altering perception of Truth or Reality, Spiritual In­sight, Magical Mind, a transformation of your Consciousness”. It has two connotations:

• You use a word (a divine sentence) which transforms your mind and hence brings about a revolution in your life.
• You experience a transformation which, as a result, re-creates your mind and hence your life.

Metanoia is the technique which Saint Paul described as “being transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:6). The fundamentalists and evangelicals describe this principle as “being born again” or “being a born-again Christian”, but they interpret this in an extremely narrow sense. The deeper significance of Metanoia or Mantra is “being transformed by the Living Light-Force”. This is a universal principle applicable to every human being on this planet.

Metanoia is the principle of becoming New by invoking the Soul-Power, the Being of Light, by the right mind-set or attitude.

Aspects of Metanoia

The Two Kinds of Metanoia

• The Inner Voice, the Voice of Light, the Voice of God.
• The Divine Name as Sound-Vibration used for transformation.
• Verbal structure, thought-constructs, thoughtforms.

Metanoia is not just “positive thinking”. It is a mind-purification process. It is thought directed to invoke Soul-Force. It is an active thoughtform, a mind-channel, a channel created in the mental body into which the Soul-Force may pour.

You are thinking all the time, but most of your thoughts are trivial and life-destroying rather than life-supporting. Metanoia is thinking True-Thoughts, thoughts of True-Life. These True-Thoughts gradually lift the darkness of ignorance from your mind and release the Power of your Soul into the personality.

The Three Degrees of Metanoia

• The transformation of the mind by thought-power, which results in life-changes.
• As a result of life-changes, the mind is flooded by the Light of Intuition, resulting in further life-changes.
• As a result of these deeper life-changes, the Voice of the Spirit rearranges perception on the personality level, leading to Insight, Illumination, Higher Consciousness, Self-Realization and Mystical States of Consciousness.

Each movement upward in Spiritual Evolution (as distinct from the evolution of the physical organism) is simply movement into a higher rate of vibration. The subtle worlds differ only in their vibration. The Great Invisible is but a series of ever faster vibration-layers, or rings within rings, worlds within worlds. The Absolute vibrates so fast that it becomes the No-Vibration or Zero Point, which includes within it all vibrations.

The Work of Metanoia

This Work of Metanoia (Transformation) is twofold:

• The Affirmation-Invocation processes and the intoning of the Divine Names.
• The Silent Work of various inner meditational processes.

Invocation of Metanoia is a “tuning-up” or “tuning-in” device to enhance your personality vibration and the Consciousness-Quality within you. It is practised as follows:

• Choose a Metanoia which you are attracted to in the moment and quietly “brood” over it, digest it in silence, work with it in the depths of your Being, or meditate upon it.
• Keep your Metanoia sentence (or sentences) in your mind and repeat it aloud as many times as you wish, or repeat it mentally during the day. Work with it in your mind until you “get it”, until you are transformed by it.

Invocation of Metanoia is dynamic action. Meditation is passive action. The Work of Metanoia involves both kinds of action. This dual Work will result in the integration (Yoga) of the personality, and the integration (Yoga) of the personality with the Soul.

There are two kinds of thinking:

• In the logical mind: abstract, intellectual, unemotional, unfeeling.
• In the Heart Centre: full of feeling, realization, deep concern.

Metanoia is thinking with the Heart, or thinking in the Heart.

This is effective and will bear fruit.

As a man thinketh in his Heart, so he is.

Proverbs 23:7

If you “think” your Metanoia as some abstract, feelingless idea, you are wasting your time. If you use the logical mind, such as when you do mathematics, it will not bear fruit for Metanoia-thinking.

 

The Metanoia given here are Thoughts of the Heart. They are insights, intuitions, realizations of truths which came from the Heart, and thus should you use them also.

* What you think, you become. You become what is in your mind. Therefore, it is important to have Holy Thoughts.

* Energy follows Thought. Thought directs Energy.

* Where continued Attention is held, events materialize. Attention is the True Creative Power.

* My thoughts are Power and produce tangible results.

* My words are Power and produce tangible results.

* Reality is in two parts: the world of Being and the world of Becoming.

* The quality of the world of Becoming is change. Without change there is no progress.

* Thought creates reality in the Worlds of Becoming (action).

* Light is Reality in the Worlds of Being (tranquillity).

* Veiled and Hidden in every form is the Essential Light.

* The spirit within you is always free.

 

The World of Being in Unlimited Energy. Pure Cosmic Consciousness, Limitless Power, Unending Joy. Eternal Peace and Measureless Bliss. There is no stress experienced in Boundless Being.

The World of Becoming is ever restless, ever changing, ever active, ever dissatisfied, ever seeking for something else. There is no real rest or peace possible in the transitory state.

Therefore establish yourself in Being. Unite the two worlds by profound meditation. Make the two Worlds into One.

This is the goal of Life: Become the ALL.

 

Excerpts from Heaven & Hells of the Mind. Vol 3, pages 1412- 1417