Thusfar I've been teaching you how to move through the seven steps of the basic Seven Masters, One Path meditation process. Now I want to teach you an expanded version of this meditation, which when you have a bit more time, will take you greatly deeper.

When you pause to meditate, the first time you move through the seven focus phrases and meditative expansions, you'll shift into whatever experience comes to you in that seven-step process that takes perhaps a minute, maybe two. If you only have a very short time, you'll definitely benefit from that expansion of consciousness as you go on with your day.

I call this extended meditation The Spiral Meditation because first you move through the first round of seven focus phrases as if going around a seven-step circle - and then you move through the seven steps another time or two ... and in the process you move deeper, or upwards, or however you want to visualize the spiral...

In meditation, the first time you say "I am breathing deeply..." the words will take you a certain inner distance toward full focus on relaxed deep breathing. Then as you say the other six focus phrases, you naturally move further and further into an expanded meditative quality of consciousness.

• And when you again return to say "I am breathing deeply..." you will find that your attention is much more fully focused on your breath experience - and your experience noticeably deeper.

Therefore the second round on the Spiral will deliver a more heightened quality of consciousness than the first round - and when you go a third and perhaps even a fourth round, you'll find that you enter into a truly sublime state of meditation.

How do the seven masters relate to this spiral meditation? Let's take a quick look...