Meditation Thursday 16th September 2021.
Most of us have been on a pilgrimage, not necessarily a religious pilgrimage but maybe a holiday or a visit to someplace that has had some effect on our lives. When I think of my own life there have been many of these journeys and I hope there will be a few more. Arnhem land and Uluru in the Northern Territory, Israel and Palestine in the Middle East but perhaps more importantly the pilgrimage that I journey on everyday, including today!
The image of a journey or pilgrimage is a natural one to employ when we think about meditation.
The journey is continuous but like all journeys it has its ups and downs.
At the beginning, and there are likely to be many beginnings, it seems that the most important thing for us in our meditation practice is to experience things like peace, calm, serenity, silence and for those of us that are religious an intimacy with a Supreme Being.. These are extraordinary gifts for which we must be grateful but following these ‘experiences’ comes something much more profound and that’s ‘meaning’.
Meaning usually arrives after we have been practicing for some time; it comes later. We begin to realize that this regular routine, this contemplative practice of meditation adds meaning to our lives and its meaning that brings us fulfillment.
Like all pilgrimages, the journey can be rocky. The road or track can be full of obstacles and there is the temptation to give up. But usually once we have stepped over the threshold, once we have pushed through and committed and persevered then the meditation journey becomes one of love. It’s at this point in the pilgrimage that the whole purpose of meditation becomes clear….to bring the mind and the experience it works on, into the heart, to become one.
And now let’s meditate in the way we are accustomed remembering that we not only meditate for ourselves but we meditate for the benefit of others. At the conclusion of your meditation period you might like to dedicate your meditation to all those effected by COVID 19.
MEDITATE
Remember to take a look at the Carmelite Centre website. www.carmelitecentremelbourne.org as they have a range of programs on zoom that may be of interest.