I have been wondering for some time now what
"activities" I should be doing to keep me sufficiently busy and yet stay
conscious of the direction my life is going. Last night my usual night reading showed me
the way.
From the book The Jeshua Letters: A Remarkable Encounter
With Jesus by Jayem, I came upon this question asked by the author, Jayem:
"But how do I know what is really the voice of Spirit, and not just more
subtle ego stuff?"
And Jeshua's response is:
"When you release all thought of what
your good is,
when you release all thought
that God is not to be trusted -
for what is resistance to Spirit but this belief?
and especially when you desire only to be empty,
then will you hear
the Voice of The Holy One."
Wow!! There's no Voice when there's no emptiness. And there's no emptiness when desires are still present.
The communication gets better, deeper and out of this world,
but I will stop here and ponder on these lines and begin to do a life
inventory. I need to stop and take a
deep breath and ask myself many questions, the key ones being:
* Do I know who I Am as a personal experience?
* Where am I in my inner life?
* How EMPTY am I?
* Have I added stuff into my life?
* Am I still living and thinking from my body?
* Am I afraid to take another step without the world?
* Do I still see myself as a part of the dream?
These are questions from the top of my head but are
guidelines for me. The word that strikes me the most from this piece of guidance is "EMPTY". I think its a very subtle point that seems to
be lost in translation in the world. Mostly, I hear
interpretations that don't fully nurture this idea to its completion.
And so, my life
inventory begins but before that I have this lovely piece that adds to my list of questions from one of my all time favourites, Nisargadatta Maharaj:
Maharaj: Truth is simple and open to all. Why do you
complicate? Truth is loving and lovable. It includes all, accepts all, purifies
all. It is untruth that is difficult and a source of trouble. It always wants,
expects, demands. Being false, it is empty, always in search of confirmation
and reassurance. It is afraid of and avoids enquiry. It identifies itself with
any support, however weak and momentary. Whatever it gets, it loses and asks
for more. Therefore put no faith in the conscious. Nothing you can see, feel,
or think is so. Even sin and virtue, merit and demerit are not what they
appear. Usually the bad and the good are a matter of convention and custom and
are shunned or welcomed, according to how the words are used.
Q: Are there not good desires and bad, high desires and low?
M: All desires are bad, but some are worse than others.
Pursue any desire, it will always give you trouble.
Q: Even the desire to be free of desire?
M: Why desire at all? Desiring a state of freedom from
desire will not set you free. Nothing can set you free, because you are free.
See yourself with desireless clarity, that is all.
Q: It takes time to know oneself.
M: How can time help you? Time is a succession of moments;
each moment appears out of nothing and disappears into nothing, never to
reappear. How can you build on something so fleeting?
Q: What is permanent?
M: Look to yourself for the permanent. Dive deep within and
find what is real in you.
Q: How to look for myself?
M: Whatever happens, it happens to you. What you do, the
doer is in you. Find the subject of all that you are as a person.
Q: What else can I be?
M: Find out. Even if I tell you that you are the witness,
the silent watcher, it will mean nothing to you, unless you find the way to
your own being.
Q: My question is: How to find the way to one's own being?
M: Give up all questions except one: 'Who am l'? After all,
the only fact you are sure of is that you are. The 'I am' is certain. The 'I am
this' is not. Struggle to find out what you are in reality.
(Nisargadatta Maharaj / I Am That - Chapter 10: Focusing)
Sometimes when something really powerful happens so unexpectedly, it takes a few seconds to realize that it actually happened especially when it involves an inner break through, an opening, a change for which you have wanted all your life but seemed so far way and impossible. That's what happened with me yesterday. My mind expanded a bit more. Its unexplainable.
Words are really inadequate to express certain inner happenings. It does not do justice. Perhaps, it is so because what happens within, must stay within for the experience to really, sink in, settle in, marinate and cook in the heavenly bliss and joy that gives the incredible fragrance and essence to the whole pot of love deep within. Its like its a deep secret between you and your lover and when you and your lover are ready to share with the world, the time becomes automatically available and you won't even know that your Light is extending and expanding drawing you closer and closer to the inner and the outer.
Its a question that keeps coming back to me over and over
again especially when I get caught up with the world affairs too much.
As I contemplate, and continue to contemplate, I am getting
the sense - the very deep sense - no matter who tells you so, in the final
analysis you have to KNOW this for yourself authentically, fully, completely,
totally so that this question does'nt remain a question but continues to unfold
as endless answers.
Be in this world, but don't get caught up. Have a good sense
of your being. Keep going back to the center of your Being as you replenish
yourself over and over again in The Light.
Today, I celebrate my own Spirit. The Spirit within me that moves me, motivates me, loves me like no other. Today, I celebrate that Love I knew not before because I was too busy looking for love in the world - from people, things, money, surety, and the list goes on. But I know now everything is a bauble and a toy compared to what lies within me, beneath me, above me and all around me - Love Itself.
Happy Valentine's Day, Dear God! I love You!
Today is a
celebration of Love
Today, I celebrate my
own Holy Essence.
Today, I celebrate my
Spirit.
Today, I celebrate
all that moves and motivates me.
Benedictine Monk Laurence Freeman OSB talks about what
meditation is and provides a simple meditation technique that Christians, or
anyone, can practice. Father Laurence describes the primary experience and
nature of meditation, and outlines a simple but effective method using a sacred
word or mantra.
Video transcript:
What is Meditation?
What is meditation and how do we meditate? The word
meditation is like the word “medicine.” It has this prefix “med,” which is a
Greek prefix that means “care” or “attention.” When we meditate we are being
careful, we are paying attention.
Meditation is a universal, spiritual tradition, wisdom. We
find it in all the great religious traditions of the human family. Years ago I
was teaching meditation, Christian meditation, in Australia. I was talking
about the 2,000-year old tradition of Christian meditation, going back to the
teaching of Jesus on contemplation. And then an aborigine, Christian aborigine,
who was in the audience came up to me afterwards. He thanked me for the talk
and he said, “You know, our people, my people, the aboriginals,” he said, “have
been meditating for 40,000 years. We call it didgeri, which is a silent,
non-questioning awareness, a harmony with the world around us.” They go to a
sacred place, maybe a rock or near the river. He belonged to a river people. He
said, “We just sit beside the river and feel the flow of the river and we open
ourselves to the presence that is in nature.”
So meditation goes back to the very earliest intuitions of
humanity of what lies deeper than the senses, or deeper than even our rational
mind. In meditation you could say we go from the mind to the heart, from
thought into silence, from words and images and planning and problem and
analyzing–all the things that we do all the day in our active minds. We go
deeper than the mind. We go into that place of the heart.
The heart is not just a romantic, emotional symbol. We find
the heart as a symbol in all the spiritual traditions. And it is a symbol both
of the interiority of the human person and also the wholeness of the human
person, where the body, the mind and the spirit converge into the true Self,
into the person I most deeply and truly am, through all the years and all the
experiences of my life.
Stillness
So meditation is our journey of consciousness, shifting the
center of consciousness, from the mind to the heart. And we do that, not by
trying to achieve anything, but simply by being still. Stillness is the primary
experience of meditation. So when you meditate, sit physically still. The
stillness of body will help to bring you to a stillness within, the stillness
of mind.
Silence
Then we also practice silence, because in silence we are
learning to pay attention. Remember that word “med,” to pay attention. We’re
not thinking about God. We’re not thinking about the meaning of life. We’re not
thinking about ourselves or our problems or solving our future plans. In
meditation we’re not trying to have good thoughts, but we are letting go of all
thoughts, moving to that deepest level where we are paying pure attention to
pure being.
So silence is about attention, but in order to be silent to
pay attention, it’s very helpful to have a quiet place. So when you meditate,
try and find a quiet time and a quiet place.
Simplicity
And the third really important quality that we practice in
meditation is simplicity. And by that I mean that we’re not analyzing
ourselves. We’re not saying, “Am I happy? What don’t I have? What do I need to
make me happy? What are my problems? What are my daydreams?” In meditation,
then, we let go of thoughts, words, images, and daydreams. We come into the
present moment. That’s the essence of all meditation. And it’s only in the
present moment that we can find God, the God who is, the God who reveals the mystery
of God as I am. “I am who I am,” God said to Moses.
How to Meditate
This is the nature of meditation, but how do we do it? How
do we become silent, and simple and still? And how do we let go of our worries
and plans and daydreams and desires and fantasies, and slip into the only place
where we truly are real, which is the present moment?
In the Christian tradition there’s a very simple method,
taught from the beginning of the Christian spiritual tradition, which has deep
resonance with the same method taught in other traditions even older than
Christianity. And that is to take a word, a single word, short phrase, a sacred
word, a mantra, and to repeat this word continually, gently, faithfully,
attentively, during the time of the meditation. The saying of the word is what
focuses our consciousness. It’s what stills the mind. It’s what takes the
attention off our busy, active and distracted minds.
So you don’t have to fight your distractions. Just let them
go. And when you do get distracted which, of course, happens all the time, when
you do get distracted simply come back to the saying of your word.
The next most important thing is to know what word to
choose, and because you want to stay with this word all the way through the
meditation and from day to day. The recommendation of all traditions is to take
a sacred word, the word that is sacred in your own tradition. Stay with the
same word and give your full attention. It’s helpful if it’s not in your own
language because that means it’s easier to get out of your head and to let go
of thoughts, even good thoughts.
The word I would recommend is the word, “Maranatha.” It’s a
beautiful prayer word, a beautiful mantra. It’s in the language that Jesus
spoke, Aramaic, and it means, “Come, Lord.” You’re not thinking about the
meaning as we say it. And St. Paul ends the First Letters to the Corinthians
with it. So it’s a scriptural word of great sacredness, the oldest Christian
prayer.
If you choose that word say it with just four syllables:
“Ma-ra-na-tha.” Listen to the word as you say it. Don’t visualize it. Just
listen to it as you say it. As thoughts come, let them drop, let them go, and
keep returning to your word.
So this is how you meditate. You sit down. You sit still.
Sit with your back straight so that you are alert and awake. Meditation is
about being awake. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed. Breathe normally. And
then silently, in your mind and heart, begin to say your word, your mantra. The
word again I would suggest is “Maranatha, Ma-ra-na-tha.”
That’s the simple way of meditation. It’s very simple, not
easy, but you can meditate at any point in your life. You start to meditate
from where you are. You can teach a child of six to meditate. You could
meditate on your death bed. The important thing is to start where you are, to
accept yourself where you are, and begin to deepen your spiritual journey from
the place you find yourself to be.
Regular practice and community
If you want to meditate seriously, build it into your life,
then meditate twice a day. Aim at this twice daily rhythm of beginning the day
and ending the day with about twenty minutes of meditation on each occasion.
And if you want to strengthen, to deepen, to encourage that
practice, then be in touch with others who meditate. Meditate with them
regularly. The community that grows out of meditation is a community of
spiritual friendship. If you’d like to contact one such community, a Christian
meditation community, you can do so through the internet, wccm.org, or for
younger meditators, thespiritualsolution.com.
The community that meditation creates begins with the
harmony, the peace, that we find within ourselves. It’s a simple way, and it’s
a way that leads to fullness of life
ღ.¸¸.✫*¨`*✶ღ.¸¸.✫*¨`*✶
Dom Laurence Freeman OSB is a monk of the Olivetan
Benedictine Congregation of Monte Oliveto Maggiore and Director of The World
Community for Christian Meditation. Fr Laurence was born in England in 1951
where he was educated by the Benedictines and studied English Literature at
Oxford University. Before entering monastic life he had experience with the
United Nations, banking and journalism. In the monastery his spiritual teacher
was John Main with whom he studied and whom he helped in the establishment of
the first Christian Meditation Centre in London.
These days I feel very lonesome alot but in mixed proportions of seeing it as a good thing and seeing it as sad thing. I'm ALONE and yet ALL-ONE with The One. Not lonely, just alone. I need to be completely awake energetically and metaphysically to see and experience the beauty of such a life state or phase that I am experiencing presently. Its easy to fall asleep, meaning, to fall into the trap of the ego and see it as something else completely other than what it really means.
So, when I feel this heart pull, this hard tug to withdraw and cocoon within, the first book I pull out to help me expand this heart desire is Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections on the original meaning of Jesus's words by Neil Douglas-Klotz. It surpasses all the other books I have read that represent the direct words of Jesus. For me, it is truly food for my soul. I have visions of Mary Magdalene, St. Teresa of Avila and Mira all rolled into one in their highest love and ecstasy for God and Jesus, while Mira considered Lord Krishna as her bridegroom. It is enough added inspiration to want to go into this inner tunnel of love, passion, courage, audacity and vitality. From the depth of darkness emerges The Light. I want desperately to bask in That Light with full consciousness and consciously.
Let me share a prayer for the sheer delight of the Soul:
Jesus explains how to pray and with what attitude and mind we should ask. Every word is a nugget of gold. He also reminds us that we haven't done this. For me, the personal message is I haven't prayed sufficiently and deeply enough to be unified in absolute and utter completeness with Spirit. As I read these words, I feel great warmth and fire in my heart. I want to stay in that fire of love.
Jesus said:
All things that you ask
straightly, directly, that you desire -
like an arrow to its mark,
like birds to their watering
place -
from the Breathing Life of
All, Father-Mother of the Cosmos,
Yesterday, being Sunday, I had a lot of spare time to think through my life issues - the past and the present ... how the past never leaves you till you learn the lessons it was meant to teach you, then you forgive all your trespasses, and finally you forgive everyone else who has trespassed against you. In the later, I found my list was long. But after a few hours I began to see the co-relation to all those happenings connected to the quality of my thoughts at that time. The list became balanced once I faced it towards me. If I felt rejected by people I loved dearly including friends and family, it was because I was constantly on a self rejection agenda. I was just reflecting my inner world and I was drawing those experiences to me. I have said this a zillion times and it still seems fresh every time I say it beyond the zillion times. This is what helps me to dig deeper into my Self exploration project: KNOW THYSELF.
I really would love to share a few things I learned as a newbie spiritualist which I learned through trial and error to have a fuller and more meaningful experience in the Spirit world. What would I tell my younger self? I read a wonderful quote by Nisargadatta Maharaj (who is a favourite of mine) where he said that the problem with people was that once they began the journey into themselves and discovering their I Am Self, instead of sitting with it and marinating in it and going deeper into the Self, they run off to start ashrams and teach yoga, etc. I found that to be absolutely spot on. Its an inherent thing we do as human beings. We want to immediately want to 'tell', 'teach' and 'save' others. If I were to start my journey all over again, these are the guidelines I would certainly remember to hold on to for a deeper understanding of who I AM, not what the world tells me, but what my Spirit tells me and if, I have actually been listening with a quiet mind and a receptive heart, I would automatically know, that I do not need to do any of the above, I have to just move with the flow without needing to consider myself 'special' in any way.
So, here's what I would tell my younger self.
♥ Focus on your own journey Dear Lavina.
♥ Focus on Spirit, not on the human side
of the teacher, guru, mentor, whatever.
♥ Accept that everybody is in the perfect
place that they are meant to be. Just
like you, when they hear the call of their soul, they will begin to ask, seek and knock.
♥ It is perfectly normal to tell the whole
world about this new and deliriously happy experience. Share but don't preach even if you have been
told to do so. Remember that religious
and spiritual organisations can get very sales and marketing savvy. Numbers
apparently mean a lot. Your 'success' in
expanding the organisation will bring you accolades and you will be called a
'committed' and 'true' 'disciple', but that title lasts till you fall from the
pedestal.
♥ Don't try to change anyone. In truth, there is nothing to change, but you will figure out that later! Don't criticize other beliefs. Its not cool.
♥ Once everyone knows you are doing this
freaky spiritual thing, everyone will expect you to become a 'saint' and every
'wrong' doing will be under scrutiny and remember, you will hear about it as many times as others feel they should let you
know, and that can go on forever, if you do not pull in the reigns and begin to
do serious self inquiry.
♥ If you become a sincere in your efforts,
your present world will crash. Most of
the people you knew to be your friends
will begin to disappear. Your life gets
turned upside down. Don't panic!! You are being cleaned out and all your dirty
laundry is out there for you to see so that you can have it 'washed' and
'cleaned'. That's what the Holy Spirit
does. She begins to squeaky clean you up
like the Mother That She Is. Once again,
don't panic! It is normal.
♥ Let go!!!! And forever for the rest of your life keep
releasing and letting go. Release and
let go the world as you know it, the people who inhabited it, all your habits, addictions, cravings, etc. Let them
all go! You are being spruced up and
emptied out for the Spirit of Life to flow through you. Never, never, hang on to the old and what's
gone. All of that stuff was there for a
purpose. All of that stuff has gone for
a purpose. Let it be. Remember the Beatles song "Let It
Be"? Well, go sing it cos
everything is gonna be alright!
♥ When you want to leave the organisation,
feel absolutely free to do so. When you
will get the itch and the urge to move
on, then MOVE ON! Don't get bogged down by the belief that you
will hurt your friends and your seniors.
You will hurt them only if they do not understand the workings of their
own soul. The spiritually mature send
you off in grace and gratitude and mean it with all their hearts. Others will probably stop talking to you, but
its okay. All the more reason, you know
its time to move on.
♥ And, now, congratulations! You are
walking the wilderness and exploring the terrains of your Soul independently, alone and solo. You came into this world alone. You will leave alone. You don't go to heaven two-by-two. Walk with everyone with ease, but keep your
whole consciousness on the Inner Sanctuary that you are carrying within.
♥ If you are meant to do anything else
after you have been sufficiently prepared by the Spirit, you will know. You will not have to market yourself. Everything
will happen naturally. Anita Moorjani's
story is the best example I know apart from the famous Non-Dual Indian
teachers, like Nisargadatta Maharaj, Ramana Maharashi, Papaji, and a few others including Mooji. Everything will happen on its own
accord. No need for self promotions! As
Joel Goldsmith says, when God wants to be known, He will shout it from the roof
tops without you needing to do so!! I
love that!
♥ And finally, do not insult your Soul by being ignorant of your MAGNIFICENCE!!!
Remember your I AM Presence always. That
IS the only jewelery you will ever need
in your life. Go with the Flow! Blessed Be! ♥
“The I AM does not concern
itself with your sins or limitations, with your past or future. Does not
concern itself with your body or affairs; with your father or mother, your
husband or wife; with your station in life, your color, age nor education. The
I AM concerns itself only with you. Ever it declares, There is no cause or
effect besides Me; I see no ignorance or darkness, no evil, anywhere, for to Me
there is nothing but Myself. I am the All in all.” (The Self I AM, page 12, by
Lillian de Waters)
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