Channels for the Light

Archive for the ‘Meditation’ Category

This is a meditation I did this morning that really helped start the day out on a positive note.

Sit in a dark, quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Find a comfortable position so you can be relaxed. I used a couple of old pillows and propped myself up against the wall in my bedroom, but anywhere is fine.

Close your eyes, take several deep and relaxing breaths, and begin to imagine the Love of God filling your inner being. With each deep breath in, feel Love filling and infusing every fiber of your being. With every breath out, send that Love out into the world and envision it enveloping not just the world at large, but your family and your friends and everyone you care for. Love in… Love out… See yourself as a channel for the Light… A channel for Love…

And see if that doesn’t set the stage for a wonderful day ahead…

Namaste!

“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” — Baba Ram Dass

The quieter you become, the more you can hear what is really important. The quieter you become, the more you can tune in to the peace of Being which lies behind and beyond thought. The quieter you become, the better you get to know the Self. The riches of Being knows no limits. When you and I cease striving for the riches of the material world for a while and look inward, we discover that we already have from birth all of the riches we will ever need — spiritual riches beyond measure which have always been and always will be for all of eternity.

As the Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

Be still, and know that you already possess everything that you really have need of.

Namaste!

One of the things in my own personal life that I am really trying to focus on right now is awareness — awareness of each moment, awareness of what is happening in each moment, and awareness of my reactions to events of the moment. Those who teach mindfulness meditation refer to being consciousness or unconsciousness. If you are conscious in the moment, then you have the ability to be fully aware in the moment and you have the ability to consciously choose how to respond to events as they happen. If you are conscious in the moment, then you can watch your thoughts and watch your reactions to your thoughts, and change them if you wish to.

One thing that I see as vital to our happiness and fulfillment in life is awareness of our thoughts. We must become consciously aware of our thoughts, and we must learn how to control our thoughts. As Buddha pointed out:

The mind is everything, what you think, you become.

Or, as the Bible says in the Book of Proverbs:

⁷ For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

“ Eat and drink!” he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
(Proverbs 23:7, New King James Version)

Or, as Earl Nightingale put it:

You become what you think about.

Of course, this timeless truth has been stated in much the same way by other well-known historical figures as well.

What I would like to encourage you to do is to work toward becoming conscious — conscious of each moment, conscious of your thoughts in each moment, and conscious of how you can change your thoughts to react in a healthier, happier way to events of the moment.

If you have an interest in learning more about mindfulness meditation, I can wholeheartedly recommend the following two books:

What you think, you become. So think your best thoughts today!

Be Blessed!

Namaste!

This video was filmed at Kuroshio Sea in Okinawa, Japan — the 2nd largest aquarium in the world. Sit back, watch in HD on YouTube (new window, maximized), and mellow out for a few minutes.

I’m currently reading a great book on mindfulness meditation called Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. In it, the author talks about the meditative arts of non-doing and effortless activity. I love the way this third-century poem from China expresses these ideas:

Prince Wen Hui’s cook
Was cutting up an ox.
Out went a hand,
Down went a shoulder,
He planted a foot,
He pressed with a knee
The ox fell apart
With a whisper,
The bright cleaver murmured
Like a gentle wind.
Rhythm! Timing!
Like a sacred dance,
Like “The Mulberry Grove”
Like ancient harmonies!

“Good work!” the Prince exclaimed,
“Your method is faultless!”
“Method?” said the cook
Laying aside his cleaver,
“What I follow is Tao
Beyond all methods!

“When I first began
To cut up oxen
I would see before me
The whole ox
All in one mass.
“After three years
I no longer saw this mass.
I saw the distinctions.

“But now, I see nothing
With the eye. My whole being
Apprehends.
My sense are idle. The spirit
Free to work without plan
Follows its own instinct
Guided by natural line,
By the secret opening,
The hidden space,
My cleaver finds its own way.
I cut through no joint, chop no bone.

“A great cook needs a new chopper
Once a year – he cuts.
A poor cook needs a new one
Every month – he hacks!
“I have used this same cleaver
Nineteen years.
It has cut up
A thousand oxen.
Its edge is as keen
As if newly sharpened.

“There are spaces in the joints;
The blade is thin and keen:
When this thinness
Finds that space
There is all the room you need!
It goes like a breeze!
Hence I have this cleaver
Nineteen years
As if newly sharpened!

“True, there are sometimes
Tough joints. I feel them coming,
I slow down, I watch closely,
Hold back, barely move the blade,
And whump! the part falls away
Landing like a clod of earth.

“Then I withdraw the blade,
I stand still
And let the joy of the work
Sink in.
I clean the blade
And put it away.”

Prince Wen Hui said,
“This is it! My cook has shown me
How I ought to live
My own life!”

– Chuang Tzu

Deep, but wonderful stuff… I hope you find meaning in it as I have. When our whole being apprehends, when we are fully engaged in the Now — living in the moment, our spirits are free to embrace the joy of the work of life!