You and The Other.

God as seen as Being the Presence of Another who is always with us and Whom we can sense in moments of quite and solitude. By Fr. Thomas Keating.

Did Jesus Meditate? Part 1 of 2.

Among Christians there are a wide variety of opinions concerning meditation. Some see it as beneficial and practice the art daily. Others see meditation as "the work of the devil", and avoid it like the plauge (swine flu?). What would Jesus say about the practice of meditation? Even more closely to the point; what would Jesus do? Did Jesus meditate?

Meditation would have been no stranger to Jesus of Nazareth. Meditation is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. It is also known that there were Buddhist missionaries in Palestine during the time of Jesus, so He would have been familiar with their practices as well. If we look deeply at the teachings of Jesus contained in the Sermon On The Mount, I believe we find evidence that Jesus did in fact meditate, and taught His disciples to do likewise. In His teaching on Prayer Jesus taught...

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you, they have recieved their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask."

Matthew 6: 5-8

In the above passage from Matthew, Jesus teaches his followers to pray in solitude, using as few words as possible. Short and sweet seems to be what Jesus teaches concerning prayer. Yet many times in the Gospel accounts Jesus is said to spend an entire night in prayer before making a major ministerial move. Jesus is said to rise from sleep hours before his other disciples so he could go into a quite place to pray. Jesus is even said to have gone into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights to fast and pray. If Jesus believed in keeping spoken prayers short, what would He be doing for hours on end, or even days on end, praying in the wilderness? I believe He was spending time listening to God, being with God. In short, Jesus meditated.

In the short excerpt below from The Lost Gospel of Q, Marcus Borg seems to agree. What Jesus was doing for hours on end in solitude was what we today would call meditation. (See Did Jesus Meditate? Q9. Editors Note) For me it makes perfect sense. What do you think?

Blessings,

Ralph L.

St. Francis Place: Spiritual Outreach.

The Kingdom Of Heaven Is Within You.

DOES SATAN EXIST ?

God As "The One"

Thomas Keating Centering Prayer Guidelines Intro

The Mystic Heart - Part 1- The Supreme Identity

In this dialogue series, Brother Wayne Teasdale and Ken Wilber discuss the advent of an integral mysticism in the postmodern world. Reflecting on their own spiritual experiences, the relation of science to spirituality, the lives of the great inter-spiritual pioneers, and how youth culture is revitalizing the mystical traditions, Brother Wayne and Ken show how an integral perspective can bring the revelations of mysticism into everyday life. In so doing, we learn to give fullest expression—as parents and professionals, students and seekers—to the Mystic Heart in each of us.

If, as historian Arnold Toynbee put it, the introduction of Buddhism into the West "may well prove to be the most important event of the 20th century," we might also argue that the re-discovery of the contemplative roots of Christianity will be equally important. And as we enter the 21st century, it stands to reason that the recognition of a common mystical ground between Buddhism, Christianity, and the other World Religions will be the most important event of all.

What Is Our Dharma (Duty)?

"I See You In Me, And I See Me In You."

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