24. A Meditation In Solitude

Hello,

Welcome to Guided Jewish Meditations.

My name is Eliezer.

It has become uncomfortable for us to be alone.

The constant connectivity of today has eroded the ability for us to be comfortable in the sole company of our mind,

Alone with ourselves.

When disease strikes the world in unprecedented fashion,

When the lives of almost 8 billion people come to a complete standstill due to an organism so small you'd need over 8 million of them to fill the width of a meter,

We suddenly find ourselves alone,

Quarantined and in isolation,

Alone with our thoughts,

Fears,

Anxieties,

And prayers.

It is when we are alone that our true self comes out.

It is also a wonderful time to meditate,

To contemplate and to reflect.

A time when we can overcome the initial awkwardness or discomfort that arises from being alone.

Today's meditation will focus on being alone,

On the self and the soul that keeps it alive.

It is a meditation that will allow us to confront who we are,

What drives us in our lives,

And on how much our relationship with the divine means to us.

Please make yourself comfortable in a quiet location where you can meditate.

Sit or lay down,

Settle in and gently close your eyes.

Begin breathing slowly and evenly,

Relaxing your body and calming your mind,

And try to let go of any negative energy you may be feeling at this time.

If you are anxious or worried,

Give yourself the gift of letting go of these emotions for just a little bit.

Consciously remove them from your mind and continue breathing slowly and deeply,

Further relaxing you until you are ready to begin this meditation.

You open your mind's eye,

Look around and find yourself standing at the top of a mountain high above the landscape all around you.

The air is completely still except for a gentle,

Slow breeze,

The warm sweet air surrounding you from all sides.

The overwhelming stillness of the world around you invades your mind,

Leaving you with nothing but your own thoughts,

Alone with yourself.

In complete solitude,

You allow yourself to relax and become familiar with this state of being.

As you begin to look around,

You see the landscape around and beneath you extend as far as you can see,

The haze of the horizon swallowing up the earth in the distance.

You take a deep breath and meditate on your mind,

Your thoughts,

And your life.

In complete solitude,

You begin to experience a divine echo emanating from your soul,

Questions that arise in your consciousness,

Slowly filling your mind.

Who are you?

What is your life truly about?

Why do you get up every morning?

What makes you happy?

And what do you live for?

As these questions reverberate in your mind,

You begin to experience the loneliness of the self,

Fully exposed,

Vulnerable,

Nowhere to go,

With no excuses left to hide behind.

Meditate on these questions,

Allow yourself to fully face them,

Confront them,

And recognize their importance in your quest of leading a happy,

Fulfilled life.

As you continue to confront these questions,

You begin to experience an awakening of the soul,

The divine spark within you.

It begins to vibrate deep within you,

A stirring of your innermost consciousness,

Awakened by the questions you have been contemplating.

You recognize the deep interest your soul has with these questions,

The intrinsic tie it has with your decisions and mission in life,

And how it yearns for you to strive for good,

For virtue,

And for a connection with the source of all.

It is in this moment of solitude that you acknowledge the importance of your soul as part of living a happy,

Fulfilled life.

You recognize that spirituality lies at the root of all,

The divine connection you have with the eternal Creator serving as your beacon in life,

The inner compass that gives you the ability to choose wisely at every moment.

Take a deep breath,

Allow your mind to connect to your soul,

And recognize it as the source of the true direction in your life.

Acknowledge its deep investment and interest in your life,

In the choices you make,

And in the pursuit of the divine it so existentially craves.

As your meditation deepens,

You begin to feel your soul radiate outward into the air above you,

Surrounding you with waves of light.

An ancient voice materializes in your soul one that emanates from deep within you.

It rings true and wise,

Like the loving words of an ancient scholar,

As it says,

Follow the connection of your soul.

Use this time of solitude to connect to the divine,

To seek out the source of your life,

And to recognize it as the source of everything that exists at this very moment.

Whatever situation you may find yourself in today,

Whatever challenges you may face,

It has all been precisely arranged for you by the infinite source.

As these words reverberate deep within your soul,

You suddenly feel the waves of light surrounding you shoot up high into the sky,

Briefly blinding you with its light as it illuminates the air above you,

A beacon for all to see.

Continue meditating on these words.

Allow them to penetrate your mind and fill you with a sense of calm,

Of purpose,

And of deep contentment in the knowledge that nothing exists without the direct control of the Creator,

Who orchestrates all at every moment.

In the deepest recognition of the self lies the connection to the divine.

When you realize that you are an integral,

Critical part of creation,

When you recognize the self-worth that comes from this reality,

Then being alone becomes an opportunity to connect to the infinite source of all,

The one who keeps everything in existence at every moment.

When such a recognition of the divine exists,

Then anxiety and fear dissipate,

The fear of disease and illness evaporate,

And all that is left is a spiritual connection and relationship more existential and real than any relationship in life.

It is then that you cherish the times you are alone,

Because it gives you the opportunity to continue pursuing this relationship,

Investing time and energy into the source of your soul,

The reliance on the love of the Creator always there forever with you.

As your meditation of solitude intensifies,

You begin to experience a shift in the air around you,

As the ground far beneath you begins to move.

All the way into the distance,

You observe many more mountains begin to rise from the world beneath you,

All of them reaching up and leveling off at a similar height as you.

Standing upon the summit of each mountain is a single person,

A soul occupant,

Alone just like you.

You try to find an end to the sea of people extending in all directions,

But as far as you can see,

The landscape is filled with mountains,

An ocean of people extending into infinity.

You observe the lives of millions of people,

Each one confined to their own island,

A solitude world onto their own.

As this new reality begins to settle in,

You close your eyes and breathe in deeply.

Meditating on all this newfound life around you,

You recognize a profound truth emerge from deep within your heart.

We are all social creatures.

We require social interactions to be happy.

Man does not fare well when he is alone,

And the relationships we share with others are as important as the food we eat and the water we drink.

And perhaps this period of solitude was meant for us,

The people of this beautiful planet,

As an opportunity to experience what it feels like to be alone,

In order for us to truly miss how precious it is to live with our fellow man in peace,

Respect and tranquility.

As this reality surrounds your mind,

You slowly open your eyes and notice that every person throughout the vastness of space around you has revealed the light of their soul just as you have,

With millions of bright columns of radiating light ascending from the myriad mountain tops around you.

As this light reaches the heavens above you,

It merges and fuses into one central column,

United with you through the light of a million souls,

Bathing the sky with divine light.

The gentle vibration of spiritual energy fills the air around you as you begin to experience the divine connection of humanity as a whole,

Each person a world unto their own,

Yet united through their souls,

Forever connected to the infinite source.

Every man and woman a critical part of a master plan.

We are nearing the completion of this meditation.

Take a moment to collect your thoughts,

Relax your body and mind,

And slowly bring yourself back to the present.

Thank you for joining me today.

It is during challenging times such as these that we can search for the silver lining that lies within these challenges.

The ability to utilize moments of solitude to help us along our goals in life could be one of those hidden gifts.

My name is Eliezer.

May we all remain healthy,

And may peace be with us always.