thought life

Regular meditation practice affords us a detailed view of our thought life. Our thought life is much like a physical landscape having various features and parts. Through silent meditation the elements and features emerge - some are big like mountains and some are small like streams and pebbles.

In silence we see: the incessant busyness of our minds, our focus on the past and future, our attempts to escape what is presently arising, our core belief that our effort will lead to "a better future", our negative self-talk, our attitudes about our physical bodies, and how we react when stressed, and so forth.

What we see we are free of …

bob

thankfulness

"It is God who brought you out of your mothers' wombs knowing nothing, and gave you hearing and sight and minds, so that you might be thankful. Quran 16:78

As we sit in silence and become still, the gift of life's bounty becomes evident.

Are you thankful the gift of your breath? Are you thankful for the gift of the sound of a bird? Are you thankful for the gift of the touch of the air on your skin? Are you be thankful for the gift of the ache in your leg?

Is being thankful perhaps the purpose of life?

peace be upon you,

bob

submission

Meditation is just another word for submission. When we submit we let go of this tiresome business of fixing ourselves. Does fixing ourselves ever really work? Aren't we just swapping problems? When we truly submit, we stop fighting what life presents, and we become open to Divine guidance.

When we willingly submit the Divine rushes in to heal us. Then we notice the thankfulness that is at our root. Gratitude to the One is the fruit of meditation.

submit to win,

bob

how to meditate

There are hundreds of meditation techniques. Experiment until you find one that is right for you. But one of the best ways is to simply sit in silence and "take what you get". Don't try do do anything, don't try to achieve anything but just submit to the silence that is always available in the present moment.

Don't analyze anything, or try to control anything (your thoughts, the noises around you or anything). Just surrender to the silence. As thoughts, feelings or sensations arise, just note them, release them, and gently submit to the silence. The four R’s are:

resist no thought

recoil from no thought

remember no thought

remember the silence

Take what you get from the session. Often the ‘best’ meditation sessions are those that seem most troubling.

be still

Meditation, at its essence, is just being still. When we allow stillness to pervade, our recoil from life diminishes, and we see the radiant peace and perfection behind all things.

Be still and see.

bob

regularity

The most important aspect of meditation practice is regularity.

We regularly practice being at odds with life which disturbes our peace of mind. Just think about how many times during the day you say something like: "What? That idiot!" We practice recoil hundreds of times every day.

Luckily, recoil from life is learned behavior and can be unlearned. To unlearn recoil and learn surrender repetition is needed. Even flossing our teeth requires regularity; how much more regularity is required for peace of mind?

control

Given that you cannot predict or control even the next thought that appears in your consciousness, how much control over other things around you do you really have?

When we release the illusion of control, we surprisingly feel safe, whole, and at peace. So … meditation is, at the root, letting go of our imagined control and just noticing the astounding mystery and absolute stillness that life presents each moment.

To put it succinctly: (Quran 4-126) "To God belongs everything in the heavens and the earth. God is in full control of all things". Meditate on this and notice the return of Peace,

bob