Meditation

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Meditation, in the history of mysticism, has been called "interior prayer." For it connects us with the cosmic Mind, the deepest level of the Unconscious. This galaxy of Love, beauty, intelligence, and wisdom exists deeply within your mind. You might recognize that it is Reality, Spirit, or God.

The mystic's God has never been above the clouds, or in outer space. Her God is Love, and exists in inner space.

The mystic worships Love, for "God is Love." So, in her sacred moments, she turns inward, not outward. She has fully outgrown the childish illusion of the "big daddy in the sky."

Ideally, in time, the practice of meditation becomes more and more continuous. Periods of "meditation" (immersion in deepest Mind) become longer and more frequent, until she arrives at a point where she continuously, unbrokenly, seamlessly lives "in God." This is the fulfillment of the words of the mystic Paul, "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thes 5:17)

Of course, her unconscious contact with the great Mind is continuous. It is seamless, but she does not always recognize it every minute of every day. When she reaches the point or level in consciousness where she is completely submerged in the cosmic Mind, however, her recognition of her Unity is also, equally, unbroken. This is the reason that "individual minds" were created or "emanated" by the Creator from Her/His own Mind.

"I come from the Father, and return there," said Jesus. This statement was not just about his death, but his Way of life.

To come back to oneness with the cosmic Mind within, the mystic must work to eliminate much "static." This is caused by the over-activity, which is constant, of her ego-mind (the ordinary, everyday mind that is always thinking and talking to itself).

To quiet this "blah-blah" mind, with all its noise and confusion, many mystics choose a "mantra." This is a simple phrase that is repeated over and over, not as a thought, but to replace ordinary thought. Used often enough, it brings the mystic to a "thoughtfree" condition in which she can be used by the Lovemind. I often recommend a four-syllable phrase, but it can be of any reasonably short length.

An example is a computerkeyboard. If the keyboard had its own agenda, if it had messages that it wanted to write onscreen, it would be useless. You could not use it, since it would be already "using itself" to write its messages, so that yours could not "get through."

Our minds are like that keyboard. If they are continuously glutted, filled to the brim, with our own thoughts, desires, and "selftalk," as psychology calls it, there is no room for God (Lovemind) to express. We behave like autonomous keyboards writing (speaking or thinking) their own messages. So, we are essentially useless to the great Communicator of Love.

Meditation is ultimate humility. It is saying "Yes" to God, and it is also saying, "My personal thoughts are so nanoscopic and useless when compared to Thine expressions that I'm going to eliminate the personal so that Thou mayest replace them with Thy thoughts of Love, beauty, intelligence, and wisdom."

In time, the mystic finds deep inner wisdom inside her head. She knows things with absolute certainty, although she avoids dogmatism. She knows some things that she has not learned. Her personality is also revised into one of deepest tranquility, bliss-joy, and Love-compassion. Again, the mystic Paul identified the "fruits of the Spirit" as, "Love, joy, and peace" among others. (Ga 5:22)

The mystic unites with this higher Mind within, and good, loving, compassionate activities are produced by nature--her nature--like fruit is produced by a tree. Goodness does not have to be forced or intellectually manufactured; nor does wisdom. Both are just there, inside her.

It is often said that meditation has no goal. It is true that one should enter the state of meditation without shorterm goals. But the longterm goal of mindclearing is to allow Love to "take over" the mind, bringing joy, satisfaction, and contentment. This core-goal of the enlightened being is impossible without meditation or "prayer." When mystics spoke of the "prayer of silence," they were speaking of meditation. In ordinary prayer, you talk, and God listens. In meditative prayer, God talks and we listen.

Every true form of spirituality has included at least one form of meditation. This is as true of the Love-tradition of Christianity or Judaism as it is of Buddhism.