May 31, 2015

Pondering’s

 

Contemplation

 

I am speaking here of the central theme of all Quiet Time and Meditation, that unexpected moment when we find ourselves in the very presence of the Universe, our Eternal Wisdom, the One we call God, Life Itself. Contemplation, in the context spoken here, is not something one does, but is a gift that occurs in an unguarded moment. It is that moment when you first see a newborn infant, and your breath catches, and your mind goes blank with the wonder of it all. Every person has had moments like that, when beauty and wonder catch you off-guard, the breath catches, and time seems to stand still. Sometimes a sunset, a leaf, a sudden view, an ‘aha’ moment when you realize that this person is the one you want to spend your life with forever; so many different occasions that makes time vanish and everything around seems suspended in nothingness.

 

Contemplation is this sense is a gift from the Universe, the brush with Eternity that makes life worth living. When one finds themselves in this timeless moment, as soon as one realizes that, indeed, that is where you are, the moment ends and the ‘real world’ steps in, and that space is gone. That is the most frustrating part of contemplation, for one is in that state only as long as one is not aware of being in that state, or, indeed, in any state. When it occurs, it is only a period of statelessness, a blank opening into Eternity. Nothing else matters, indeed, nothing else is present. Thus it is a suspension of all that is, including time itself.

 

Contemplation is that mystical place of Nothing, where only an awareness of Being is present. This is a state of bliss, where pain ceases, the world itself ceases, all else ceases to be part of the awareness. This state is not a state we can figure out how to obtain, but is gifted to us from a power within and without. We suddenly become one with the Universe, all Life is ours. We suddenly find ourselves immersed with the “Kingdom of God that lies within”, and we understand deeply that all is one and we are one with that All that is One, all Life, animate and inanimate, the Universe itself.

 

The Ego

 

The ego is that part of us that assures us that we can get along just fine in the limited physical sensibilities that we have in this world we are in this Now. But in order to function well in the physical world, the ego has to limit our intake to only those things that make sense to our physical world that we can see, touch, taste, hear, and smell. All else lie outside the physical realm, and the ego can not handle anything outside the physical reality it understands. Thus the biggest block to entering into the mystical world of contemplation is our ego, and it is the part of our psyche that limits the contact with the Universe, working to bring us back into the ‘real world’ of time and the senses. It is the ego that pummels our mind when we are in that suspenseful moment of awe with our newborn child or grandchild, insisting that we return to earth and stay alert, for ‘something may happen’.

 

The ego works hard to keep us aware of our senses and the passing of time. The ego chatters at us constantly, in every moment. As the years go by, the ego and the sensory world the ego understand tends to dominate more and more of our life, until there is no room for the Eternal Wisdom to speak to us, unless we take the time to develop that internal side of us that is, and has always been, in contact with the Universal language of the Eternal Wisdom, that Kingdom of God that lies within. The tools I have spoken of in the past are those tools that others have developed for themselves to find a path through the jungle of the ego. The task each of us has is to take those tools, adjust them to fit Who We Are, and find the road that brings us to the possibility of Contemplation. If we are open sufficiently, the Eternal Wisdom may invite you in if it will truly benefit you at this time.

 

The Path of Contemplation

 

When you find yourself, or realize that you are in contemplation, you are already on the way out. As I had said, Contemplation itself is in a zone without time, and can only be recognized in hindsight. After a contemplative experience, you will know, without a doubt, that you were in the zone of Contemplation. If you have any doubt, then you were not in Contemplation. The experience is that powerful. Most often when it occurs, it will be only a momentary experience, but since it is a timeless experience, it will be so ingrained in the memory that you will never forget that experience.

 

There is a cautionary note: the gift of Contemplation is a gift from the Eternal Wisdom, and we, you and I, have no control over the length or depth of the experience, nor do we have any control over the content of the experience. We cannot even choose or not choose to have the experience. What occurs is up to the Spirit, even though the basic form will be extracted from your memories, so that it makes some sense to you. Whether it will be an experience “in the body” or an experience “out of the body”, as St. Paul described it, will depend on your hidden expectation, and while in the experience you, like St Paul spoke, will probably not know wherein the experience occurred.

 

I want to stress the wonder of this state, the fact that it is always comes when we are not looking for anything so wondrous, and it always catches us by surprise. It never occurs when we expect it to occur, and anytime we try to set a stage where this may occur it will be like the wind in the willow, just out of reach. If we try to reach for it will dance just out of sight, there but not there. It never comes at our beckoning.

 

If it is planned for with strategic prayers, wonderful prayer settings, beautiful lights, glorious places, it will be wonderful, but it will not be contemplation, but a deep meditation. Beautiful, but not that heart-stopping pause that true contemplation brings.

 

What if, despite all that you do, these prayer experiences never occur. Well, that is all right too. These experiences are nice, and do provide an internal kick that is hard to replace, but are not required. Mother Theresa ‘complained’ in a letter to her spiritual mentor shortly before she transitioned, that she had not had any of these experiences for the last 50 years of her life. She had apparently had them while younger, but they had vanished as her work intensified. She obviously did not need them to remain true to her path. She had missed the experiences, but the memory of them was sufficient to keep her going. So the experiences are truly nice, and you may be blessed to receive them, but their lack of presence does not mean that all your work and prayers are for naught.

 

Even if we do not experience these moments during our Quiet Time, we will still continue to have them when a sudden sight of awe strikes us in a more natural setting, such as a walk in the woods, in a museum where the wonders of art can enthrall us, our family that enchants us, or an infinite number of settings that our Eternal Wisdom opens for us.

 

The purpose of all that we have talked about, including this discussion of Contemplation, is to live a Life of Abundance, or a life of Joy and Happiness. When we have these experiences, it is icing on the cake. They do not make or break us in our quest for Abundance, but add to the experience as Life goes on. I want to stress that contemplation is a gift, one meant to encourage us and show us that indeed, we are on a path the intersects God in this world of physicality, and that God is in all, and in these moments of awe we have been given the gift to see the Wonder of God in All, the Eternal Life that fills all that we are.

 

Meditation

 

Our Eternal Life, You gift us with moments so profound that the world stops while we gaze in wonder at this sight of Heaven that lies within. It always comes as a surprise, and it is all the more wondrous for being a surprise. We are thankful when we receive one of these magical moments, long or short. Most of all, we are grateful for the Joy and Happiness that You bless us with, knowing that these moments of wonder tell the tale of what the state of transition awaits us in the future, so that this life of physicality can be the same wonder as the life beyond time. Life itself can be enchanting, and we ask that our hidden mystical eyes continue to expand, so that we may see more and more of the wonder of the Universe and beyond.