Meditation for Thursday 28th October 2021
Our plan is to resume face-to-face meditation , albeit masked next Thursday 4Th November at 7pm in the Malone Room. At this stage masks are compulsory and you must have at least one jab. From Thursday 25th November we are required to have both jabs, i.e. be fully vaccinated. On entry register with the QR code or sign in. The on-line resources will continue into the foreseeable future.
Let’s begin with some thoughts about change…..
“A journey of a 1,000 miles begins with the first step.” (Anon) “Fear not for the future, weep not for the past.” (Shelly 1792-1822) “Change is neither good nor bad, it simply is.It can be greeted with terror or joy, a tantrum that says ‘I want it the way it was, or a dance that says, “Look something new!” (Don Draper, ‘Mad Men’ TV series.)
We approach meditation knowing that it is an action that brings about change. At the beginning of our meditation we adopt stillness that state that expresses something of our inner self. We change from activity to stillness. With the change to stillness comes insight, not the type that we associate with new ideas but rather a stillness that is born out of the emptiness of our meditative mind. It’s through the stillness of our body that a stillness of the mind can more easily develop. The stillness we achieve through our meditative posture allows the stillness of the mind to be open and clear leaving space for the development of our interior life.
Most of us use methods to assist our concentration; concentrating on the breath, counting, reciting a mantra or looking at a mandala. These can be and often are religious mantras or mandalas but that is not a requirement.
There is a form of meditation made popular by the Melbourne psychiatrist, Dr Ainsle Meares, known as Stillness Meditation. Followers of his methods simply sit in silence without any reference to mantras, mandalas or concentrating on the breath. This effective method has many followers with its emphasis on ‘stillness’.
Whatever method we use and whether our motivation is religious or not the first step when we meditate is to begin in stillness.
Let me end with a two quotes from Dag Hammarskjold that are relevant to our reflection tonight… “The longest journey is the journey inwards.”
“The more faithfully you listen to the voice within you, the better you will hear the sounding outside.”
Now let us meditate in stillness in the way in which we are accustomed mindful the we meditate in stillness not just for ourselves but for others.
Meditation
A reminder to check out the programs offered by the
Carmelite Centre by going to www.thecarmelitecentremelbourne.org
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