Meditation
After saying farewell to them, he (Jesus) went up the mountain to pray. -- Mark 6:46 "A mountain represents an exalted state of mind where the divine plan may be perceived and unfolded; a state of spiritual realization." -- Charles Fillmore, The Revealing Word
"If a person has a really deep interest in spiritual growth, he or she cannot do away with the practice of meditation. That is the key!" -- Dalai Lama
Our teaching at Living Water Unity Church says that each of us is endowed with a Divine purpose in this life. Many of us spend much of our lifetime feeling that we are not achieving what we were meant to achieve. Have you ever had that feeling?
Meditation may help us in many ways: experiencing a deeper peace, attaining a greater awareness of our divine purpose, bringing more joy into our life, even improving our brain functioning. Quieting the mind to allow the "still, small voice" to speak lovingly to us will help us harmonize with that purpose, redirect our intentions to its achievement and, thereby, experience a more fulfilling and joy-filled life.
A Buddhist "mindfulness" guided meditation will help you experience this process. [Select your modem speed and allow a few minutes for the audio and slides to load onto your system. Set your system volume at a normal level. If you do not have the required "Flash" media player software installed on your system, a link is available on the meditation start page for you to download it. If an error message occurs indicating a script error, respond "yes" to the question "Continue running scripts on this page?"]
Another Buddhist meditation, referred to as a "metta" meditation or "lovingkindness" meditation, takes a bit different approach, focusing on developing a deep sense of caring for yourself and all creation. [This meditation will require RealOne or RealPlayer 8 Basic media player be loaded. If you do not have it installed, a link is available on the meditation start page for you to download it.]
Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk that led the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Talks of the Vietnam War, speaks of the importance of and leads a breathing meditation. Books and tapes by Thich Nhat Hanh may be purchased in our bookstore.
There are many ways to meditate, and many teachers from whom to learn. But the process is not complex; in fact, it is a very simple process (simple but not necessarily easy, the chattering mind can be calmed with patience and perseverance).
A favorite meditation technique recommended by our minister is one taught by Sri Eknath Easwaran in his book Meditation. Easwaran suggests memorizing a favorite prayer, such as the Prayer of St. Francis or the Prayer of Willingness. Then, while sitting in a comfortable, upright and balanced position, silently and repeatedly recite the prayer. With each repetition, slow the recitation, leaving more "space" between each word; let the space be short enough to not let extraneous thoughts barge in but long enough to experience a quiet period (perhaps a second or two between each word during the first repetition). On subsequent repetitions, let more "space" enter between each word -- but not enough time to let distracting thoughts arise.
Should the mind become distracted with extraneous thoughts, simply start the prayer from the beginning, using the same speed of silent reciting as when the extraneous thoughts arose. Focus on keeping the mind attuned to each single word, then on the quiet between the words -- alternating between focusing on the next word of the prayer and focusing on the quiet between the words.
You may start with only ten minutes of meditation at first, with perhaps three seconds of quiet between words during the last repetition of the prayer. This meditation time can be increased gradually to twenty, then to thirty minutes in subsequent sessions as this becomes more comfortable. Be gentle with yourself as you practice this. It does not need to be an endurance test.
Favorite prayers for this include:
In joy.