meditation and prayer

For the next few weeks I will be sharing some thoughts on prayer. Prayer and meditation, in my view, are best practiced together.

Meditation is, at the root, the practice of emptying oneself utterly. From the perspective of total emptiness the necessity of gratitude (thankfulness) comes to light.

Ultimately prayer is a timeless song of thanks and love shared by the Creator and His creation. Of course, in the beginning, it takes on less lofty forms. One of my favorite prayers is:

"Our Lord, shower us with Your mercy, and bless our affairs with Your guidance." (Quran 18:10)

If you don't have a regular prayer practice consider it … meditation is the forerunner to prayer.

Bob

why worry?

When we sit in silence we come to realize the wisdom of letting go. Clinging, fretting, and worry are signs of not facing reality. It is not that we should release. It is that we will with absolute certainty release everything anyway. Why wait for release to come as rude shock at the end?

"Everyone on earth perishes; all that remains is the Face of your Lord, full of majesty, bestowing honor." (Quran 55:26)

bob

To meditate is to empty

To meditate is to empty; Let go and be guided:

"God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a Niche, and within it a lamp; the Lamp enclosed in Glass; the glass a brilliant star, lit from a blessed Tree, an Olive neither of the East nor of the West whose Oil is well-nigh luminous though fire scarce touched it. Light upon Light! God doth guide whom He will to His Light." (Quran Chapter 24, Verse 35)

bob

beginners mind

When we first begin meditation practice we have no thought that we have attained something. It is a challenge to keep this mind-set.

When we have a sense of attainment we lose our innocence. When we lose our innocence we start playing God; when we start to play God we lose our gratitude … what a horrible loss.

stay fresh in your practice!

bob