Meditation and Being
Meditations on silence and communion with the source of being.
I accidentally stumbled upon meditation before I knew there was a word for what I was doing.
For me, it all began among the trees.
When I was a child, I was fortunate enough to have spent my adolescence beyond the reach of urban metropolises. My soul resonated with the earth. As an only child, the rocks and flowers became my brothers and sisters. There were many days I would spend swimming in the local creek, drying off in the warmth of the sun.
I felt alive in nature. There was bliss in the silence.
Sitting beside the trees of the woods, I let my thoughts fall away from me. In the woods there was no judgment. There was no past or future, only the present moment.
I fondly reflect upon those days of peace in my early life.
Years later, I discovered the practice of meditation along the path of my spiritual journey. I became fascinated with the concept and the potential for liberation from the self.
According to contemporary historical understanding, meditation, as a method for achieving dissolution of the ego, originated in India thousands of years ago. However, it is possible that the practice began much earlier in time, going as far back as to the origin of our species.
In India, followers of Hinduism meditate as a means to reconnect and merge with Brahman, the supreme principle behind all things. Buddhists mediate to liberate themselves from suffering. In Christianity, mediation focuses the core being of an individual toward the source and sustainer of creation: God.
These great spiritual traditions are all ways to approach and honor the great mystery of existence. While some traditions may be more helpful than others to specific individuals, it is in identifying the similarities that we can bridge the chasms which separate us.
We argue furiously over the name of God. Is this not a waste of time?
Meditation silences the mind to arrive at ONENESS.
Why must we silence the mind? We must silence the mind because too much is getting in the way of the truth. Our minds are like foggy windows. On one side of the window lies our soul and on the other side is the truth. I want to look out the window! …but I must clean it first. Mediation is how we clean our window.
While as a child I found peace in the silent woods. As an adult I have struggled to find those silent woods along Main Street. This is the mission of life: to find the Kingdom of Heaven now!
The great Christian Mystic Meister Eckhart once said,
“…Whoever really and truly has God, he has him everywhere: in the street and in company with everyone, just as much in church or in solitary places or in his cell.”
Thich Nat Han, a Zen Buddhist, teaches us that we can mediate anywhere and under any condition. We just have to let go.
Meditation has nothing to do with mental strength. Mediation is surrender.
Life in the 21st century has been dominated by our drive to consume and control. We want new phones and computers. We want new cars and homes. We want new friends and romantic partners. We want more. Yet, despite all these vanities, we still aren’t satisfied.
Perhaps we have enough of what we want and little of what we need.
We need to surrender to the moment.
Are you truly aware of what surrounds you? The nearby creek. The bridge at the end of the road. The elderly man who lives next door.
How about even closer? The color of your walls. The plant in your kitchen. The dust on your table.
Even closer? Your hand. Your heartbeat. Your breath.
It is in the moment you find your true self: your soul. We know this from experience. A friend can tell you about a city for years. You can study its history and talk to its people, but until you go to the city you can never truly experience it. The same goes with your soul. If you are not present, you are living in a daze — an illusion! Clean your window!
Take the first step. Just breathe. Focus on your breath as the air moves through your lungs. It may help to close your eyes.
Take another step. Center your focus on what you encounter in your soul space. Do you feel the presence of love? Let “Love” be your mantra.
Originating in the East, a mantra is a word or phrase used to silence the mind of distractions. Hindus may use “Om”. Christians may use “Abba”, the intimate title Christ used when speaking of God. Ram Dass, a spiritual teacher best known for his seminal book Be Here Now, used the mantra “I am loving awareness”. Listen to your heart. Seek and you shall find.
In the autumn of 2019, I traveled to San Diego, California on a spiritual pilgrimage of sorts. Upon arrival, my good friend and I got settled in our home away from home. It was a small “hippie shack” in Lemon Grove, a few miles outside of the city limits. There is so much I can say about our stay.
Something energized our beings.
One day, before the sun crashed into the sea, my friend and I decided to meditate on the adjoining deck at the hippie shack. I began by focusing on my breathe. Then I used my mantra of choice. Following that I began to silently pray the Lord’s Prayer — word by word, focusing my attention exclusively on the message that was conveyed nearly two thousand years ago. When I reached the end of the prayer, I had gone so out of my body into my soul space that I no longer felt any connect to physical things. My body disappeared entirely. I was totally encompassed by luminous divine love. Although I am not a perfect person, the love of what has been called God is so overwhelming it spills outward and touches all people. It penetrates the entirety of the universe. It is in this spill of love that all things were created. Love is the source of being.
I never wanted to leave this experience. It felt like I was being reborn — a baptism of spirit. Yet, as soon as I began to crave the experience, It began to leave me. I tried everything I could to cling to it, but my ego got in the way. Just like that it was gone… or was it I that had left?
Mediation is about detachment.
Life is such a drag when we concern ourselves with things we cannot change. It is far better to be an appreciator of the moment rather than a prisoner of the past.
Smell the flowers, don’t cut them.
When we congregate for religious purposes, we become one in witnessing and participating in the service. When we gather together for music festivals, we become one in dancing and listening to the sounds. We focus ourselves on a shared point of love. Unity is a form of collective meditation. It is an affirmation of the moment. Unity brings us into our core being.
A conversation amongst partners. Reading a collection of poems. Singing in the shower.
When you have become fully present in the moment you are liberated — you are free.
You may find your freedom after climbing to a mountain top or skateboarding down a winding hill. You may find it on a subway train swaying back and forth along a rusted metal track or stuck outside during a hurricane. You may find it caring for an ill grandparent or comforting a friend in their time of need. You may even find it in a jail cell.
Your ego is the only thing that stands in the way of the ecstasy of true freedom.
You can meditate anywhere and find peace everywhere — in the countryside and cities. God is in all things, and beyond them, waiting to be found. He’s smiling, anticipating your arrival, like a good father awaiting his children to return home.
