An Interview About The Benefits Of
Advanced Meditation
With Genie Joseph, PhD
Interviewed by Jon Terrell, M.A.
As a teacher of Advanced Meditation for over 50 years, I experience its benefits daily. I spoke to one of my former students, Genie Joseph, who I interviewed about Advanced Meditation, to find out how the training affects her. Genie, who lives in Tucson, Arizona, learned this form of meditation at the School of Actualism in New York City, where I was one of her teachers. Since I now call this work "Advanced Meditation," I've edited the interview using this new term. Previously, we called it "Agni Yoga" or "Actualism training."
Jon Terrell
Jon: What motivated you to get involved in meditation?
Genie: I had been looking for a form of meditation that was a “match” for me. I wanted to know the benefits of meditation that I had heard of. I liked the idea that you could have sublime experiences even as a beginner. In my classes, even at my first meditation session, I felt I was connecting with something more significant, a giant field of pure energy. I didn’t have to wait for years to have profound experiences.
Jon: Why did you choose Advanced Meditation?
Genie: I also liked that the work was independent of a “Big Guru.” I don’t like that someone else must be the intermediary for my spiritual experiences. I want to feel a deep and personal connection with the divine and that experience is up to my efforts and willingness to receive.
Jon: What specifically attracted you?
Genie: I was attracted to the idea of working with Light, working with energy directly. It seemed to bypass “religiosity” or stories about what was right or wrong or who God is. I respond to energy, so this method validated that experience. Everything is energy, and this form of meditation allows you to experience higher and higher octaves of energy as you directly encounter spiritual realms of consciousness.
I also liked the fact that there was a specific structure in the sequence of meditations. We weren’t just “vibing out” on higher energy. Still, there was a sense of Light “Work” in that we were actually moving energy, shaping energy, and using energy to alter the experience. The School of Actualism also had a very important concept of “grounding,” meaning that we weren’t just trying to “get high” on energy, but we were tapping into higher frequencies and then learning how to bring those energy fields down into our human, physical experience.
Jon: Was there an early experience that affected you that you can talk about?
Genie: In terms of my own personal healing, I remember one early experience I had when I was told I had a virus by my doctor. I decided to see if I could “unify” with the virus and experience the consciousness or intention of the virus. As odd as this may sound to those not used to thinking of everything as alive and as a frequency of energy, it made sense to me because of what I was learning in my training. I could energetically “connect” with the consciousness of the virus. I could “listen” to what it had to offer me. I remember it as a kind of inner negotiation. I was able to get the lesson and let it go. I was then able to clear the virus out of my system.
Jon: Wow! That must have really confirmed the power of this form of meditation. Do you have other examples of the benefits of meditation and, specifically, how this Advanced Meditation helped you?
Genie: Of course, there were many experiences of healing myself and others. I do remember one that stood out in my mind. A TV director and I were editing a commercial on the sixteenth floor of a building where the elevators had been shut down for the night. The director said he felt ill and he lay down on the floor. He was very cold, had little pulse and seemed in a deep sleep. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t think ambulance men would walk up sixteen flights or carry him down. I began doing the inner healing work I had learned in my meditation classes. It also put me in a deep state, and I was almost asleep. About a half hour later he sat bolt up and said “Why are you sleeping? We have to finish editing!” He was fine, and acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Jon: Now looking back over your years of meditation experiences, how is it integrated into your life?
Genie: Later in life I often use an energetic approach as an additional method to problem solving. When there is a problem with something or someone in my life – meaning they are not behaving in the way that I want them to behave – I remember that there is an energetic component to my feeling of disturbance. I am able to work on cleaning up my own energy patterns. This often results in a change of attitude on my part. I am not as upset as I was before doing this inner work. This gives me a clearer perspective as to what action to take (if action is needed). It helps me release judgment about the other person. Many times things change outside as a result of my shifting my personal energy field. This method of dealing with issues is the kind of discipline I learned in my sessions. I feel very grateful for this approach to living.
Jon: Thanks Genie for participating in this interview About Advanced Meditation!
*Genie's Bio: Genie Joseph, Ph.D., is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, creator of The Act Resilient Method, and author of a book by the same name. She is the founder and Executive Director of The Human-Animal Connection, in Tucson, Arizona, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating joy, health, and healing through helping people find peace, purpose, and a profound connection with animals.
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