laughter

The mind is the human organ that excretes fantasy.   

fan·ta·sy noun \ˈfan-tə-sē, -zē\
: something that is produced by the imagination : an idea about doing something that is far removed from normal reality

Silent meditation reminds us of this fact. This is why meditators, from time to time, break into spontaneous laughter while practicing.

peace on you,
bob

Happiness

Is it not the case that seeking happiness puts it sometime into the future.  Could it be that pausing allows it to catch up with you? 

stop seeking and see what happens!

peace on you,

bob

Gratitude and Humility

Meditation leads us naturally to gratitude and humility (humility being not taking things so darn personally (LOL)).

My friend John C. penned some words about gratitude and humility that I think are spot on.  I’d like to share John's words with you:

“Gratitude is what spontaneously arises in us when we are given freely something that we value deeply. So to the extent that we can be aware that nothing is more valuable than this moment and that this moment is given freely and is not our doing, we live in gratitude. Allah has given us this moment. Nothing is more valuable than that gift, for in it lies all possibility, all opportunity. Praise Allah! We don't need to try to be grateful. We just need to open our eyes. Gratitude is the gift that arises naturally when we are aware of life as it is.” (John C.)

I’ve put together some meditations along these lines: “not taking things personally”, “practicing gratitude”, and “trusting the One” … these are my current meditation practices. I hope you find them useful.

www.robertflegal.com/islamic_meditation/

peace on you,
bob

Silence

Silence is to the mind as water is to the body - it cleanses. 

When we sit in silence the mind becomes quiescent - free of thought leaving a vastness that is indescribable. 

In profound Silence all becomes clear.  It is our thoughts that cloud our understanding.  To quote Werner Erhard: “Understanding is the booby prize”.

Let it all go … Silence will guide you home.

peace on you
bob

control?

Meditation can be thought of as the practice of letting go of control. 

It is better to say that true meditation is recognizing that you had no control in the first place; seeing that there is nothing to let go of in any case - then immutable Peace shines.

“Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it. This is certain. The best course, therefore, is to remain silent.” Ramana Maharshi

To God belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth, and all matters are controlled by God. Quran 3:109

peace on you, bob

Practice is unlearning

The practice of meditation is the practice of forgetting - forgetting our past, forgetting our future hopes, and forgetting everything we have ever learned or experienced.

Through this forgetting we come to remember the miracle of this present moment - we weep with gratitude for the One who gives us life.

He is the One God; the Creator, the Initiator, the Designer. To Him belong the most beautiful names. Glorifying Him is everything in the heavens and the earth. He is the Almighty, Most Wise.(Quran 59:24)

empty yourself utterly

Meditation is the search for what to let go of … empty yourself utterly.

When we let go we realize that everything is just fine, and that all of our control pictures are unnecessary then we arrive at complete trust.    

Moses said, "O my people, if you have really believed in God, then put your trust in Him, if you are really submitters."

[Quran 10:84]

peace on you,

bob