There's an idea that the best place to meditate/pray is in the fields. The city, full of folks occupied with their worldly concerns ie. getting money etc., has a "worldly" energy, a materialistic aftertaste.
When praying or meditating in the fields, however, it's written that all the vegetation "join" in one's prayer and increases it's power and effectiveness.
The energy is more pure.
These days, going out in the fields can be dangerous, especially at night. However, if there's a park you know is SAFE, why not spend a few minutes there? Breathe some fresh air, appreciate the miracle of nature around you, and whisper, sing, or even shout out some words of prayer and thanks to your Creator.
If I can't get to a park, then even in my own home, I can try to get to that inner place that's spiritual, pure and seperate from my cellphone bills, etc. That can be big challenge b/c as I sit in my room, I can't help noticing that I need to sweep, and that I still haven't called my girlfriend back...Or how can you take those few moments when little Sarah is crying for attention AND there's a pile of laundry to fold?
But know that even a little bit goes a long way!
I'm trying to learn how to quiet and center myself even when I'm in a room-full of people. For example, just before my baby nephew attempts to use me as a ladder to get to who knows where, a quick prayer for help might just save me! lol
I once observed a father, attempting to control his over-tired and highly active kids, tell them to try remaining quiet for 5 minutes. A visiting friend who had experience in meditation, commented that the father was teaching the children the beginnings of meditating: to be still and quiet. After 30 seconds, the kids were bored stiff and resumed bouncing off the walls.
But that inner place is there.
That inner place full of vegetation, buds, petals, seeds, life, and love is there.
In you. In me.
And it's accessible.
So, why not take a stroll in our park?
Even if it's just for 30 seconds...
G-d Bless
4 comments:
So, why not take a stroll in our park?
I keep the following quote handy to remind me to spend a little time in meditation daily. It goes like this:
"If you don't go within, you go without."
That's motivation enough for me. Thanks for the well-thought-out blog entry.
Namaste
Thanks, First Domino
The quote you have reminds me of a story I heard from a psychiatrist, Twerski. He's written self-help books.
He spoke how for 38 years he had depression.
He was head of a psych dept in a hospital, and he was finally getting a much needed vacation.
He went to some out of the place hotel so he wouldn't be bothered. In the hotel, there was a spa.
In the spa, he was told to sit in a bath. He did so.
After a few minutes, he got up and told the attendant he was done.
No, no, go back, he was told, the full treatment takes longer...
He goes back. Again, he only stays for a abit of time and is told to remain longer.
Long story short, he realized that he didn't like the quiet of his mind. It disturbed him.
Yet only once the realization came, only once he experienced that could he begin his path out of his depression...
Man o' man, I do NOT want to be without!!
Man o' man, I do NOT want to be without!!
That goes doubly for me.
I'm told that the mind has only one purpose, and that is to create.
Interesting thought when you consider all the things we usually use it for--creating realities that bring us suffering rather than joy.
Since we're more inclined to misuse our mind, than use it properly, we're given the admonition: It's better for us to be out of our minds, than mindful.
Hence, I meditate many times during the day simply by opting to be out of my mind--that is, to stop thinking, to pursue a "quiet mind."
Not an easy task, I might add, but doable.
Our thoughts, I'm told, are creative.
So, many times during the day, I take a minute or two, sometimes more when conditions permit, to just stop thinking--of anything whatsoever.
No thoughts, no creation. I'm also told that when we stop thinking (stop creating), God takes over, and during that time we can't tell His thoughts from ours.
Thanks for the story about Dr. Twerski. It's ironic that his profession exists to probe the minds, mental causalities, and aberrant behaviors of others, but, for a time, a "quiet mind" freaked him out.
Namaste
Interesting thought when you consider all the things we usually use it for--creating realities that bring us suffering rather than joy.
This is very powerful what you are saying. I heard of this idea-creating one's reality with the mind. (To the extent that it's possible...)
One place was from this "movie"/ documentary called, "The Secret." Idea was that the thoughts, expectations you put out into the world is what you create.
I had this friend who went for treatment for a foot problem to a alternative med doc, and she was told that along with the treatment, she should imagine the foot geting better. She laughed, but hey, we know there's truth there.
Re: meditating many times during the day not being an easy task.
I hear you, but it's amazing that you can do that!
Post a Comment