As we begin to meditate,
We say the mantra,
It seems,
In the head with constant battering of our thoughts and distractions.
And later,
We find ourselves saying the mantra but being constantly interrupted.
And that can be discouraging.
So we need support.
Meditating with other people is very helpful.
Knowing that you meditate within a tradition and a community really makes it much easier.
The second level,
It's more that we enter into the hard disk of our consciousness where everything that has ever happened to us,
All of our unfinished files and memories are waiting to be resolved,
Are waiting to be healed.
And meditation is a deep healing of the mind.
At this level,
We need to avoid becoming self-absorbed in our own past or our own story and to continue saying the mantra faithfully.
But now we're saying it a little more gently.
And it's more as if we are sounding it with less effort.
So at first we say it with all our monkey mind.
Then it's more as if we're sounding it.
And the third stage,
You could say,
Is when we listen to it.
And we are a little more detached,
A little more free from our own ego thoughts or our own daily shopping list of things to do.
This is a natural process and it unfolds in daily life,
Of course.
As the mantra sinks more deeply into our heart,
This natural process unfolds.
And you'll find,
Quite naturally,
Without having to force it,
That as you're waiting for the elevator,
You will find that you're not just aimlessly wandering in your mind or looking around in a distracted way.
But you'll find that the mantra will quite naturally arise in your heart.
And it will center you.
It will be a bridge to the depth of the peace and joy that is in you.
So in daily life,
In those few moments when you're in the elevator,
When you're waiting for the dentist,
When you're waiting in a line to check in for something,
Or when you're doing the cooking or cleaning at home,
Quite naturally,
The mantra will arise and connect you and bring you into the present moment.
It's one of the great fruits of meditation that is open to us all.
And there is no pill that no pharmaceutical company has yet invented that can in any way compete or imitate that gift of continuous prayer,
Of living in the spirit in the present moment.
Let's meditate now,
Taking again a moment to be aware of our posture,
Body,
Mind and spirit coming together in this 20 minutes of meditation.
Relax and alert,
Closing our eyes lightly,
And then silently listening to the mantra as we begin to say it and sound it.
Ma-Ra-Na-Tha.
Ma-Ra-Na-Tha.
Ma-Ra-Na-Tha.
Ma-Ra-Na-Tha.
Ma-Ra-Na-Tha.
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Ma-Ra-Na-Tha.
So let's conclude with this prayer of Saint Paul,
We find in the letter to the Ephesians.
Very beautiful prayer that in many ways sums up everything that I've been saying in these short sessions about meditation within the Christian tradition,
Within the mystery of Christ.
And a prayer that was very close to the heart of John Mayne.
Saint Paul says,
With this in mind,
I kneel in prayer to the Father,
From whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.
That out of the treasures of his glory,
He may grant you strength and power through his spirit in your inner being.
So that through faith,
Christ may dwell in your hearts in love.
With deep roots and firm foundations,
May you be strong to grasp with all God's people,
What is the height,
The length,
The depth and the breadth of the love of Christ,
And to know it,
Although it is beyond knowledge.
And so,
May you come to fullness of being,
The fullness of God himself.
