Meditation for Thursday 29th May 2025
Silence, stillness and simplicity……
These are qualities towards developing a rich contemplative life that is nurtured by regular meditation and mindfulness practice.
Silence is an essential element of meditation. When we are in an environment where there is little noise and our thinking has ceased, no thought moves, no desire stirs; when we are utterly silent, that silence is meditation and in that silence we find peace. There are exceptions. I once heard of a meditator who could meditate on Flinders Street Station amidst the hustle and bustle of peak time passenger traffic and station announcements. For most of us this is not an option!
Stillness is not just about us developing the right posture for meditation but a deeper dimension that is discovered when we sit still. Often, particularly when new to meditation we might be still for a relatively short period, say five minutes, but as we progress in our practice we gradually build our capacity for stillness, usually after finding our comfort threshold.
Meditation is simple, it is the very art of simplicity amidst a world where every day gets quickly filled with activity. Experienced meditators find that the contemplative life that regular meditation promotes gives rise to a desire to live simply and in a consumerist society to appreciate the understanding of ‘enoughness’. The ancient reminder of the joy of just being, letting the mind be just as it is, sitting still and simply breathing is the joy of simplicity.
As we begin and end each day let us be mindful of these attributes so that our life will permeate joy and that joy will bring silence, stillness and simplicity to a noisy, frantic and complex world.
Meditation
____________________________
For the latest information about the programs offered at the Carmelite Centre go to www.thecarmelitecentremelbourne.org