The Practice of Nested Meditations
Since the 76 nested meditations in Divinity in Disguise were published in 2003 (two of which are included in this essay), I've been asked many times how I write them. Many people are finding that the nested form is accessible and helps them move, in a few words, from surface observations or feelings into deeper layers of experience.

First, a few guidelines. There's no need for every stanza to connect logically to the one before or after. Each stanza is its own separate meditation, as is apparent if you pause for a breath or two between stanzas in the two examples below.

Each stanza begins with the words from the prior stanza in the exact order and with the same spellings and line breaks. It might seem easier to allow oneself to rearrange words or use homonyms (e.g., soul and sole), but part of the magical feeling the nested form evokes comes from seeing that the exact words, in the same order, take us to such different places as a new line is added. The form brings delight in part because its tight structure -- which would seem to straitjacket the writer -- cannot prevent the piece from escaping to surprising enlightenment.

I honor you.
I honor you,
my soul.

I honor you,
my soul
companion, as you are.

I honor you,
my soul
companion, as you are
Divinity in disguise.

We are the strokes of life.

We are the strokes of life
upon you, a still being.

We are the strokes of life
upon you, a still-being-
painted masterpiece.

We are the strokes of life
upon you, a still-being-
painted masterpiece
God is calling, "Claudia."

The unexpected shifts characteristic of this form are achieved through changes in word meanings, punctuation, or inflection. The phrase "as you are" speaks its truth about unconditional acceptance in stanza three of the first example (left column), then surprises us as it takes honoring far beyond acceptance in the final line.

I use the acronym SCOPE to teach my method for writing nested meditations.

S    Show up with a pad of paper and a pen or pencil. The muse skips over your house if you're not poised with pen in hand!

C    Calm your body, mind, and spirit with a few minutes of deep breathing.

O    Observe your inner and outer world. Make note on paper of inner thoughts or feelings or outer perceptions (sights, sounds, smells). Let the flow be free.

P    Play with one or more of the lines you wrote down in the step above. See if you can add another line that shifts the meaning in a surprising way. If not, rework the first line or choose another one to play with. Keep playing your way from stanza to stanza.

E    Enjoy the enlightenment that often comes from such wordplay.

The SCOPE acronym also reminds us that this form can be used to zoom in on an experience (like a microscope) or zoom out for the big perspective (like a telescope). Either way, we can enjoy the enlightened awareness that comes through wordplay.

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Kevin Anderson is a psychologist and coach, and author of Divinity in Disguise: Nested Meditations to Delight the Mind and Awaken the Soul (selected as one of the best spiritual books of 2003 by Spirituality & Health). To contact him or to order Divinity or his recent book, The 7 Spiritual Practices of Marriage, email balance@buckeye-access.com.

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