First Meditation

Hylas said:
The great Time passes, the great World remains.
Yours is a small time, and a small world.
The small world can be ordered, the small time controlled.
Control time first by breathing regularly;
second by meditation on the outer;
third by meditation on the inner;
fourth by recent memory and near expectation;
fifth by distant memory and remote expectation;
sixth by a return to the present;
seventh by holding on.
Order the world first by sitting quietly;
second by standing and turning about;
third by clearing and cleaning a proximate space;
fourth by collecting in the middle all that is to be done;
fifth by moving each thing to the right or to the left;
sixth by doing one thing in the middle until it is done;
seventh by keeping on.


Second Meditation

Hylas said:
The great World has no value, the great Time has no meaning;
they Are, and Become, in and of Themselves.
The small world has the value you find in it,
the small time has the meaning you give to it.
The small world is your portion of the great World,
the small time your portion of the great Time.
The great World and the great Time are called Universe;
the small world and the small time are called life.
To life belongs meaning, to Universe, Being.
Your life is your portion of Universe;
the meaning in your life, your portion of Being.
Your life has sprung from Universe, and will return to it;
make of it what you can, make in it what you must.
Make from necessity, or from true desire —
what is made from idleness may cause harm.
Your life and its meaning will end together.
Do not leave harm behind you, for others to inherit.


Third Meditation

Hylas said:
Universe is One, and its great World One.
There are many small worlds, one for each life.
Between the great World and the small worlds are middle worlds.
Middle worlds are the worlds of men and women:
they may last longer than many lives,
they may give meaning to many lives.
Your middle world is not chosen by you;
you were born into it, others told you of it.
No middle world is One,
though to the unenlightened each seems One.
This is the root of War.
The unenlightened belongs to one middle world only,
the enlightened belongs to many.


Fourth Meditation

Hylas said:
Make from necessity, or from true desire —
what is made from idleness may cause harm.
Learn then to recognize your own desire;
yield to it, cultivate it — this is not idleness,
this makes you what you are.
But learn also to recognize necessity:
what Universe compels, what others need.
Necessity is the bridle of desire;
it too can be desired. Learn this well:
desiring what is needful makes us free.
Consider your desires and others' needs.
Be guided by the stars: think how they offer
consideration and desire, the yearning for the infinite
and the calm of order. Stand beneath them
on a dark night, away from the city's lights,
for a long time; contemplate, be at peace.