Toward a Deeper Meditation. John Van Auken
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Название: Toward a Deeper Meditation
Автор: John Van Auken
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Здоровье
isbn: 9780876048764
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The Taoist teacher Lü-tsu taught that the true way is action that leads to non-action. He said moments in non-action are rejuvenating moments in the “Elixir of Life,” the essence and source of all life, and therefore “the true energy of the transcendent great One.” He taught that lifetimes of karma are dissolved in just a few moments in this silent stillness.
Keeping holy the Sabbath is budgeting time for an intentional intermission from life, self-seeking, and self-consciousness. Meditation is a way to reconnect with and abide in this mystical place of the origin and destiny of all life.
As Cayce instructed in one of his psychic readings: “This is not for Sunday or for the Sabbath or for the new moon, or for some periods when there may be the turning away for the moment; for it is TODAY—‘if ye will hear my voice’—always, ever!” (615-1)
Each cycle of day and night is a reflection of the whole life cycle, in the great macrocosm and in the little microcosm of one’s own life. Each day, a bit of time should be set aside for time in the silence, because in that silence is spiritual nourishment, mental enlightenment, and physical rejuvenation. The body and mind need nourishment and exercise each day, as does the soul and the spirit, though few ever think of these needs. Few activities bring more contentment than time set aside for the nourishment that comes from sitting or lying in the silence.
Now many would say that this type of nourishment can come from reading, reflecting, praying, or walking in a pleasant environment, but none of these compares to time spent in deep attunement to the source of one’s life, the place from which all life sprang forth and to which all life will ultimately return.
The Trinity concept gives us an insight into the aspects of God and the phases of our relation to Him/Her. First, there is the parent, Mother-Father God; then there is the birth of the child, Son-Daughter of God; then there is the overarching Holy Spirit that brings all into oneness. Ultimately, there is only oneness, and we are, at our highest level of life, a part of that One.
Jesus shared with the woman at the well that the time for worshipping at her well or at his temple in Jerusalem was over. The time had come when the true worshippers of God would worship in spirit, for God is a Spirit and seeks our spirit in communion during the intermission from self-driven activity. Moments, however brief, in the stillness beyond activity, beyond self, bring us a peace and contentment that cannot be experienced any other way.
We need to budget time for an intermission of silent, centered, stillness with the source and destiny of life.
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Paradise and Heaven
In our many cultures and religions, from the East to the West, we humans have always told tales of a special place called Paradise. The word pairidaeza has its origins in the Avestan language of Zoroastrian teachings, in which it means a special “enclosure.” In Greek, paradeisos means a unique “park.” We associate this term with the original “park,” the Garden of Eden, that special place where God walked and talked with us. On the cross, in his final moments, Jesus referred to this place when he told the thief who was dying next to him, “This day you will be with me in Paradise.”
Paradise. The word means so much to us. It is a place of supreme happiness, exquisite beauty, perfect peace, and safety. It is where the righteous live after physical death.
In strict Christian teachings, however, paradise is not the ultimate resting stop for the deceased but an intermediate place for the departed souls of the righteous awaiting the final resurrection of the dead to eternal life with God and Christ. Cayce’s readings support this interim view of Paradise. When he was asked what Jesus meant by his statement to the thief on the cross, Cayce answered: “The inter-between; the awareness of being in that state of transition between the material and the spiritual phases of consciousness of the Soul.” (262-92)
Near death experiences (NDEs) have added to our understanding of Paradise as an inter-between realm that can be known while still incarnate. Most who have had a NDE return to this world profoundly changed by the time in the inter-between, mostly in their outlook and attitude toward physical life and death.
Buddhists have a concept that also seems to separate the ultimate heavenly reality from an interim paradise. According to some of their key teachings, nirvana, which means ultimate bliss, is of such a nature as to render one who experiences nirvana useless in this world. It is a heavenly state so far from earthly reality that there is no connection between the two. However, bodhisattva consciousness, literally meaning “enlightened existence,” is an interim state of consciousness of an advanced spiritual being who has chosen not to pass into full nirvana, choosing instead to continue in the round of rebirths in order to help others still in the body or even in the realms of life beyond bodily existence. Cayce appears to support this view of Paradise consciousness. During reading 5036-1 he answered a request to suggest a doctor who could carry out the recommended treatments, by saying, “There are those in Paradise who may work with these suggestions.” It’s good to know that there are healers in Paradise who can help others.
The Kingdom of Heaven
The Kingdom of Heaven is within us, Jesus taught, and he likened it to many things: to seed that a man sowed in his field, to leaven a woman hid in three measures of meal, to a treasure hidden in a field, to a pearl of great price, and to a net cast into the sea (see Matthew 13). Jesus said that one who has been made a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven is like “a householder who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.” Cayce’s readings say that the Kingdom of Heaven is attained through “the consciousness, the awareness of the activity of the spirit of truth in and through us, as individuals,” and explain further that “the individual does not go to heaven, or paradise, or the universal consciousness, but it grows to same; through the use of self in those things that are virtues.” (2505-1) Living in virtue and giving aid to others brings that happiness that is associated with the Kingdom of Heaven. It is a growing thing, like an unseen seed planted in good soil or unseen leaven kneaded into bread dough.
There is an implication in the Cayce work that as long as we are incarnate—in the body—we cannot fully realize or maintain a completely conscious connection with the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s somewhat akin to the Buddhist idea of nirvana being so alien to this world as to be impossible to sustain while actively functioning here. In one of his readings, Cayce said that the spiritual entity and superconscious mind are a “thing apart from anything earthly” and can only be experienced by lifting oneself up into the spirit and higher levels of consciousness. He explained that “the earthly or material consciousness is ever tempered with material conditions; the superconsciousness with the consciousness between soul and spirit, partakes of the spiritual forces principally.” He said that “we find only projections of subconscious and superconscious … in dreams and visions,” unless we lift ourselves “into the superconscious forces,” which are the higher spiritual forces and dimensions of our mind. Nevertheless, there is a connection between our earthly selves and our godly selves because the superconscious is affected by and helps affect our spiritual discernment and development, which occurs while we are in the earth realms and physical life. (900-16)
Heaven on Earth? СКАЧАТЬ