3. Day 23: Why Meditate?

The other day I ran across a brilliant answer to “Why meditate?”  The answer I give most often is “Because it feels good and returns me to peace and wholeness.”, but the answer below gives the “why” behind my feelings of peace, joy and wholeness.

“Meditation is how you can consistently pay attention to what is.  This inner feeling, this knowingness, this awareness that begins to arise in you, if consistently paid attention to, will tell you directly all that you need to know.  Inside the space of your body and inside the space of your psyche, there is a power and awareness that, when paid attention to, begins to calm down your entire system, take the edge off your pain and stimulate a sweet feeling within you.  It is a feeling of “all is well”.  Until the moment you feel the Divine, you are only someone trying to believe.  The moment that you, with awareness, feel this spatial quality move within you, you will experience the hope that says:  It is true.  God exists and God exists in me.  Do this enough and God becomes a reality because the space is so much vaster that the concept in your mind.”—From The Heart Of A Gentle Brother, Bartholomew

My meditation practice began with learning to practice extending love to my thoughts (fears, pain, feelings). From this vantage point I am beginning to see there is nothing I cannot extend love to.  Meditation is a form of listening and accepting.  Meditation, prayer, intention are all a part of my daily practice of deepening my awareness of the beautiful presence of God-is-love.  Meditation can begin with just sitting quietly for five minutes each morning noticing your thoughts.  The more you practice, the more you become aware of and the more you become aware of the more you realize Love is present.  Always.  All ways.

Meditation is how I have become aware of my fears and feel safe enough to extend love and kindness to them.  The more I do this for myself, the more I am able to extend love to all I meet.  Especially you.