Guest guest Posted August 20, 2003 Report Share Posted August 20, 2003 Meditation of the week Meditation: Chore or Core? Some of us find ourselves not meditating as often as we think we should. We know there are benefits to meditation. We'd like to be calmer and clearer thinking, more peaceful, kind and compassionate. We wish our immune system were stronger. We'd like to be able to let go of the worry and anxiety, and we'd like to recover from stress more quickly. We know our spiritual life could use a boost and that meditation would help us tune in and understand a deeper truth. But it seems like work. It seems like an obligation. It is something we should do, but we resist; maybe because it is a should. Maybe it reminds us of going to church when we were young when sitting still and quiet seemed like torture and what we really wanted to do on a Sunday was run around with our friends screaming at the top of our lungs having a ball. Sitting in a church pew may have seemed like time taken away from living, and now meditation feels something like that too. Maybe it is time to switch around our thinking. We could take the mystic's point of view that the point of life is to worship God and our activities either support or distract us from that intention. Going to church or meditating worshipfully are not chores for those who see those actions as central to their existence. We could also adopt the view that time spent in meditation is when we get to be the most real. As we sit cross-legged on a cushion, the peripheral falls away and we have the opportunity to experience being in its pure form. In meditative repose, we just are. Our value is not determined by our achievements. In fact, the question of our value or lack of it is moot. We can chose to think that meditation is not a chore; it is the core. Meditation is not a means to an end. It is the end, and the beginning and the in-between. It is living time and beyond time. If you find yourself postponing your meditation sessions, examine why. Notice whether you view meditation as a chore or as a core experience. Orient your mind away from the obligation to meditate because it would be good for you. Think of it as an opportunity to be awake and at rest-to be conscious and alive. Take the time and make the effort to give yourself the gift of time sitting alert and not doing. You deserve the gift, as do all beings. It is your birthright. It is your nature. Respect yourself by being quiet with yourself. Allow yourself the opportunity to be a part of life by stopping the action that keeps you separate. At this moment what more need we seek? As the Truth eternally reveals itself, This very place is the Lotus Land of Purity, This very body is the Body of the Buddha. - Hakuin Ekaku Zenji, Song of Meditation Peggy Jentoft http://solarraven.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 20, 2003 Report Share Posted August 20, 2003 Just picked up your meditation of the week, Peggy, thanks, just what I need. Walk in peace and harmony, Maureen. - Rosequartz CHW Wednesday, August 20, 2003 5:08 PM [CrystalHW] Meditation of the week Meditation of the week Meditation: Chore or Core? Some of us find ourselves not meditating as often as we think we should. We know there are benefits to meditation. We'd like to be calmer and clearer thinking, more peaceful, kind and compassionate. We wish our immune system were stronger. We'd like to be able to let go of the worry and anxiety, and we'd like to recover from stress more quickly. We know our spiritual life could use a boost and that meditation would help us tune in and understand a deeper truth. But it seems like work. It seems like an obligation. It is something we should do, but we resist; maybe because it is a should. Maybe it reminds us of going to church when we were young when sitting still and quiet seemed like torture and what we really wanted to do on a Sunday was run around with our friends screaming at the top of our lungs having a ball. Sitting in a church pew may have seemed like time taken away from living, and now meditation feels something like that too. Maybe it is time to switch around our thinking. We could take the mystic's point of view that the point of life is to worship God and our activities either support or distract us from that intention. Going to church or meditating worshipfully are not chores for those who see those actions as central to their existence. We could also adopt the view that time spent in meditation is when we get to be the most real. As we sit cross-legged on a cushion, the peripheral falls away and we have the opportunity to experience being in its pure form. In meditative repose, we just are. Our value is not determined by our achievements. In fact, the question of our value or lack of it is moot. We can chose to think that meditation is not a chore; it is the core. Meditation is not a means to an end. It is the end, and the beginning and the in-between. It is living time and beyond time. If you find yourself postponing your meditation sessions, examine why. Notice whether you view meditation as a chore or as a core experience. Orient your mind away from the obligation to meditate because it would be good for you. Think of it as an opportunity to be awake and at rest-to be conscious and alive. Take the time and make the effort to give yourself the gift of time sitting alert and not doing. You deserve the gift, as do all beings. It is your birthright. It is your nature. Respect yourself by being quiet with yourself. Allow yourself the opportunity to be a part of life by stopping the action that keeps you separate. At this moment what more need we seek? As the Truth eternally reveals itself, This very place is the Lotus Land of Purity, This very body is the Body of the Buddha. - Hakuin Ekaku Zenji, Song of Meditation Peggy Jentoft http://solarraven.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 21, 2003 Report Share Posted August 21, 2003 This reminds me of several years ago when I heard a woman say, " We get caught up in busy and it is difficult to take time to pray! " I remember thinking, " But isn't that the whole purpose of recovery, to take that time, to change our old habits, to find a new connection and maintain that conscious contact to our Higher Power? " Prayer is asking and meditation is listening for the answers. For me today, I don't find it a chore to do, but as that woman said, " It is so easy to get caught up in busy, and skimp on time and not reap the whole benefit from meditation. Like so many other things in life, we only get out of it what we put into it. Meditation can take many forms, sometimes it is just taking our 'whole' self into what we are doing and being grateful and present in the moment. When I am in the now, not focused on what happened yesterday, and not projecting into the future worrying about what is around the corner, and when I stay in today, I feel I am open to receive and the direction is there, it is whether I choose to listen or ignore it when it appears. Love Always, Butterfly Post your free ad now! Canada Personals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.