Is This Meditation?

SAT., AUG. 26, 1989, 7:05 AM
FARM, STUDY

I have encouraged you to refer to this that We do together as a meditation. Is it truly a meditation? If so, how is it different from more Eastern meditations? If not, what is it, really? Hear, o son, for My responses to My questions should fill these pages this morning.

In the classic Eastern type of meditation you sit quietly and quiet your mind until no thoughts are being generated. This is both a discipline and the absence of discipline. That is, it is not easy for one whose mind works fast and furiously during the waking day, and it requires discipline, developed over time, with some effort, to “close the mind down.” For meditation to be effective the mind must be “in neutral.”

Then I say that this also requires the absence of discipline. Discipline of the mind is developed by the mind, and can be another form of thought. As a discipline it can be severe, which is not the “atmosphere” for a good meditation. It is as if the mind were imprisoned and held captive. It is not to function, but it is not free either. And freedom is an important condition for meditation.

For a truly effective meditation the mind easily and gently, even voluntarily, stops it reactions to and considerations of the future, the past, and even the very present. This allows the spirit to function without competition, generating experiences that are not rational, not thoughts. These are controlled by the spirit, and the spirit always wants the best for you, for the spirit is eternal. It is that spark that comes from Me, enlivens what can be called an eternal soul… at least one that exists for much longer than a single human life span. And, finally, it returns to Me, the everlasting flame of life.

All right, then, what about this that We call meditation. When it is done correctly you do sit and “clear” your mind of competing thoughts, awaiting, with some gentleness, the title I shall offer you. Today I offered it quickly, without much application of discipline. On other mornings I withhold this title and make you struggle to quiet your mind and be receptive, in a more traditional sense. Sometimes it is you who are not willing to hear, even when you come voluntarily (but sometimes because you feel you should). Other mornings it is I who prolong the process. You needn’t try to discern which is which. Just assume that it is your responsibility to create the conditions for My Presence.

After the title is given I begin to communicate, and your mind must work in in some way to translate what you “hear” into words, sentences, and thoughts on this green-shaded paper. Yet it still is meditation, for your mind is not generating the thoughts. It functions only to put them into acceptable English, with reasonably acceptable punctuation. I want the “final product” not to be edited (whoops! close!), so I had to let you develop as a writer whose initial drafts of any writing are quite acceptable.

You are not a perfect meditator, so thoughts creep in during the hour or so that I ask of you. Still, your discipline is sufficient to quiet and dismiss these, gently, and My willingness is sufficient to keep the flow of the theme coming. You are not unaware of what is going on around you, and you can complete a Teaching even with distractions abounding. You could not do it without Me, and I could not do it without you. That’s why it is proper to capitalize the We. In this “exercise” you and I work together, and it is I, the Teacher, Who provides the content.