Varieties of Contemplation and Meditation

I was a relatively atypical teenager who was fascinated by the journey into the way of meditation. I would arise early in the morning and spend 10 or fifteen minutes quietly sitting in our lounge room before starting the day. I have continued on in one form or another throughout the next sixty years of life. It has become a way of life for me but that does not mean it has been easy. The way of meditation is a complex one,  as if sailing on the wonderful seas of life with the wind at your back, to the calmest of seas devoid of any movement. I have pursued several techniques over the years. I propose to share just of few of these.

I met a grand lady in my early twenties who proved the be my mentor. There was a group of us who were attracted to her for her wisdom and insights into the way of spirit. She had been sick for many years of her growing up until she was miraculously healed by a group of people praying for her.  She continued to grow in the way of spirit and healing until she came to Australia from Scotland to be near her brother as her mother and father had died and she had no family left. She remained single throughout her life. Here in Australia, she developed a ministry called “healing and wholeness’ which gathered many people pursuing the life of the spirit.

She was a great teacher of the way of prayer. Here prime work was done in teaching the way of silence (or contemplation). This all centred around the pronouncement “Be still and know, I AM God”.  Variations of this mantra were “ Be still and know I AM… truth, life, love.  The crux of this teaching was the declaration of “I AM. Amongst many forms of prayer as the season gripped me for many years I was centred in this prayer, sometimes with success and sometimes not.

My next significant approach was the word from  John’s gospel which highlighted and expanded the great I Am sayings. It elaborated on the approach mentioned above but with more detail. I Am the bread of heaven. I Am the light of the world. I Am the door to the sheepfold. I  Am the Good Shepherd. I Am the way the truth and the life. I Am the true vine and I Am the Resurrection and the Life.

The variation of this approach was what I call my cosmic era. The reflection upon John’s teaching in his prologue lay the foundation for the I AM sayings. It connects the I AM with the word.

1. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

2. In him was life: and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

3. The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have beheld his glory,  the glory as of the only Son of the Father full of grace and truth.

The simple reciting of this section from St John's Gospel creates ample room for reflection upon the great scientific paradigm of the beginning of all, but finally locating in the Christ who in all things from the beginning of time to the current and the fulfillment of the future.

This form of prayer may stand as is, or if desired by following all or one of the seven alternatives, scattered through the gospel. It may then be concluded with St Patrics Breasplate…

“Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort or restore me, Christ beneath me Christ above me, Christ in comfort, Christ in danger, Christ in friend and danger.”

A different form of meditation is what I refer to as the five faces of meditation, It refers to five specific occasions on which Jesus prayed. They are arising early each morning, the temptations in the desert, the transfiguration, Gethsemane, and Pentecost. I plan to discuss these now.

1.       Jesus arose early each morning and went to a lonely place to pray. The image of the desert setting presents a grand image of the rising sun transforming the sky from darkness to light.

The far horizon to the deepest ravine where there may be a refreshing pool. Let your mind wander around the scene in preparation for the day.

2.  Following his baptism Jesus wandered into the desert and faced three temptations. Each was solved by the reflection upon the scriptures. This is a time for us to reflect upon the moral dilemmas we face each day.  It requires concerted reflection upon the guidance of Jesus. The answers may not appear quickly but we sensitise ourselves to be ready for when we need such guidance.

3.   The transfiguration was the story of Jesus taking the three favoured disciples up the mountainside, where he was transfigured in their company. It was as if Moses and Elijah appeared with them and a cloud of deepening consciousness engulfed them all. They merely heard the words,  “This is my son in whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” This is the story of conscious awakening. We are called to interiorly reflect as best we can and listen for the voice. We must patiently listen. We wait for the Lord and listen. That is the objective. We are refreshed by the silence, the stillness energises us for the descent from the mountain top and we walk on awakened and alert.

4.    The arrival in  Gethsemane followed the deeply provocative Last Super when Jesus identified his life with bread broken and wine poured out as a gift of self-giving. In the garden of Gethsemane, he left his disciples apart and prayed in earnest that not his will be done but the Fathers. And so the end of his life slowly emerged over the coming 24 hours. The incarceration, the trials, the denial, the trek to Calvary, and the crucifixion all followed. We all must die and we follow the story of Christ's death, but not necessarily as dramatic. That being said, there are countless examples of sad, unprepared, and tragic examples. We live one day at a time not knowing when that time will arrive. We hope for death at an old age surrounded by family and friends, but this is not guaranteed. In a similar vein we face tragic experiences that take us to the limit of our circumstances but in time recover and survive. Life is full of such experiences and we are blessed for a while before in time we will come to the end. We cannot escape this outcome. Jesus walked this path before us doing good every day of his life before this time came, uttering the words,  ‘not my will but yours be done’. The mature prayer is ever mindful of this time, as we live every day as if it is our last, blessed for the life we have been given.

5.  Jesus was lain in the tomb for 3 days. In that time a dramatic event took place. He rose from the dead and began to appear to his friends with short glimpses of reassuring life. Fifty days later he appeared in an amazing new form. The disciples were gathered for the feast of Pentecost. Upon their gathering ascended tongues of fire and a mighty gushing wind and they all began speaking in different languages that they could all understand. This was a dramatic display indicating something deeper was taking place. It was the mind of the risen Christ breaking through the gathered consciousness of the meeting. This was the awakening of Christ-consciousness in the minds of people that they would learn to live with. It was a gift for all humanity to pursue through the years and centuries to come. It was a turning point in human history that eventually we would all embrace Christ-consciousness. The journey goes on. We celebrate this magnificent gift of life.

These two basic forms of meditation speak of two approaches to the mind. One is the more contemplative style, the ability to rest quietly in the knowledge of being, not seeking to put form to one’s time of prayer, but just knowledge that one rests in the presence of the great I AM. The second is for the more discursive and imaginative mind. One is enriched by the wandering but guided mind through the life of Christ. One can focus on any of the scenes or all of them.

The human mind is very varied. Carl Jung's Myers Briggs Personality Indicator will highlight how we each have a preferred preference for functioning. The different approach is to be accepted. It may be that one is disposed to use either or. Of the many types his indicator points out we should follow our natural inclination. Let the spirit guide us to be ourselves.