Meditation for Thursday 21st October 2021
My kitchen is full of cupboards.
It’s a relatively small kitchen so there are no spare or empty spaces as each cupboard is full of plates, pots and food.
When I’m in my kitchen, and I’m there a lot, I never feel as though I’m occupying an empty space.
When you go into the great cathedrals in Europe you are immediately in a space that is empty. Most of the European cathedrals have little seating so the sense of emptiness is very apparent. True there is beauty in the stain glass windows, rare and ancient paintings and the majesty of the architecture but the cavernous nature of the cathedral gives you that sense of emptiness. The space in the cathedral unlike my kitchen is empty yet within the emptiness there is an opportunity to fill my heart with wonder.*
We approach meditation with a poverty of spirit, an empty heart waiting to be filled.
This great mystery is the practice we nurture each time we meditate.
The mind is empty, as we seek to be in the moment.
It’s our emptiness that is filled not by thoughts and distractions but rather by the emptiness which becomes the centre point of our meditation.
When my kitchen cupboard is empty I respond by going to the supermarket and get the cupboard filled-up again. When we meditate our emptiness is filled by an ‘emptiness’ that is enriching and rewarding.
It’s mysterious but it’s wondrous, as wondrous as the emptiness of the cathedral that can make my spirit soar.
Now let’s meditate in the way you feel most comfortable remembering that we meditate for others as much as we meditate for ourselves.
MEDITATE
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Take a look at the offerings from the Carmelite Centre
as there may be some programs you might enjoy. Go to www.thecarmelitecentremelbourne.org
*Loosely based on a story by Greg
* Loosely based on a story by Greg Homeming ocd