This Week’s Quotation:
Imagine this. You have two friends, both of whom are dear to you. You have had a close relationship with them in the past. But now, every time you visit, they argue together. They pay no attention to your presence in their home. You can barely get a word in edgewise in the conversation. And when you get the attention of one of your friends, everything that friend talks about is filled with the disturbance of the relationship with the other. They end up throwing things at each other, and finally you decide it is time for you to go.
Becoming a Sun p. 154-155
This is what it is like for the sacred in the human experience. It comes to visit our consciousness. But the two friends—thought and feeling—are squabbling.
The Sacred Comes to Visit
Author, Becoming a Sun
I sometimes wonder if people think that meditation is just a mental exercise—as if you could just think in a certain way, or perhaps not think at all. And that would achieve something.
My experience of meditation is entirely different. It is a party between thought and feeling. I find it magical and enchanting to discover how my emotions respond when my thoughts unfold creatively, particularly when I meditate upon what is truly sacred to me.
Feelings soften. They begin to flow. My thoughts become even more fluid. My chest and belly warm.
It is glorious when the sacred comes to visit and I give her a home in my heart and mind; when I welcome her with a delighted interchange that honors her presence.
Does that ever happen for you? What is that like?
I’d love to hear about your experiences.
What does it mean to become a sun?
Every human being is already a sun on the inside—a being of intense love and light. The difference is that some people have the vision and courage to become a sun on the outside. This difference is our human destiny.
7 Responses
Sometimes, when the sacred comes to visit, my heart and mind rejoice to feel the presence of the source of all beauty, meaning, and blessings. Quite often, my eyes well up with tears of joy to experience such fulfillment. My heart runneth over with praise and thanksgiving at the very thought of such intimacy with the creator of all that is.What joy. What bliss. What perfection.
Early this morning the sacred came to visit via a call from a friend who was very concerned about her 95 year old mother who had been hospitalized overnight. My friend’s feelings were impacted by the situation and she wanted to talk it through. We did just that; the feelings and the logistics came into play and there also developed some meditative space between us. There are times when we can help each other to maintain the peace essential to alignment of thought and feeling and seeing clearly the path forward.
It happens for me when worrisome thoughts come up and instead of pushing them aside, I pay attention and then might decide my body isn’t well enough to make a decision at present, or the pandemic, employment whatever it is needs consideration and might actually be more relevant now. So things can settle again. Sometimes I get to act on my compulsions too – even if it means moving 3 young trees all weekend because I have finally seen the possibilities in having a lane for horses!
My experience of meditation is to completely quiet my mind and allow the inspiration and healing vibration of the Divine to wash through the inner chatter of past and future thoughts, bringing me fully into the present and into balance. “Be still and know I am God”.
When I meditate there becomes a clarity and lightness in my experience. There is a sense of comfort and okayness about life.
One kind of meditation for me is to focus on my breath. To bring thoughts and feelings into a rhythm. Both breathing and walking can provide a meditative rhythm. My experience is that rhythm brings my thoughts into a creative flow, which is soothing to my emotions, and my inside becomes fluid. Trying to empty my mind, to get rid of thoughts and feelings, that may well become squabbling.
The sacred comes in the amazing sunrise I was greeted with this glorious morning. Thankfulness fills my heart and like others, tears fill my eyes at the wonder and beauty of this and every day. Love and blessings to all