An essay found in my book “From There to Here and In Between”
In the past few months I have begun incorporating a 20 minute meditation into my day. Thanks to technology like Apps for my Iphone, I have a meditation timer that brings me back to the day with the gentle sounds of birds singing. No shrill Iphone alarm for me, just quiet, peaceful sounds of nature.
There are all sorts of ways that meditation practitioners center themselves and quiet their minds at the beginning of a meditation. The method I use was suggested to me by a friend whose sister is a Buddhist. I believe the words are actually Scriptural from the Christian Bible, which makes me smile thinking that a Buddhist uses the saying for meditation.
This is what I say to start:
Be Still and Know that I Am God
Then, I repeat the phrase, each time dropping the last word, until my last thought before beginning to recite my mantra is:
Be
The last couple of times I have meditated the thought has been impressed upon me that I should write about the larger meaning of the words in this short sentence. This thought has been persistent, particularly as I drop deeper into the enclosure of the inner journey. Today was no exception, so as soon as the birds recalled me to the present, I poured another cup of coffee and sat down to write this essay in the manner that was suggested to me in the meditations.
Be still and know that I am God - What is God? Who is God? Is he/she/it even a what or a who? How can a human even wrap her head around such a concept? I long ago laid aside the belief in an anthropomorphic divinity sitting on a throne in a celestial city with streets paved of gold. This doesn’t mean that I don’t feel contact with a Higher Power, but that concept of the Undefinable simply seemed too limiting. When I see the pictures from Hubble, I know that Whatever created the Universe is beyond any words, terms or definitions man or woman can understand.
Be still and know that I Am - Whatever the Undefinable is, It is all encompassing. And always has been. It is present, existing, and consistent.
Be still and know that I - The big “I”. This makes me believe in the intelligence of the Undefinable. I also recognize that the sort of intelligence I am able to understand is likely at the single cell level. No way can I truly comprehend the intelligence of the “Big I”.
Be still and know that - That. What is “that”? It is everything. I will spend my entire life trying to discern the nature of all of “that”. It is infinite and always expanding.
Be still and know - Be still enough to know, to learn, to recognize the revelation.
Be still and - “and”. There is always more.
Be still - No movement. No sound. Allowing my inner ears and eyes to see what my busy-ness hides from me. Something very hard for me to do.
Be - Just be. In the moment. In the present. Accepting whatever circumstances surround me. Existing in my human form without expectation, need or desire. A condition to be achieved.
I love the time I spend in meditation now. Often I have great difficulty keeping errant thoughts to the side, but I remember that my current spiritual teacher says just to gently push those thoughts to the side and return my focus to the mantra and my breath. To borrow from another path, It’s all about progress, not perfection. It’s the days when I can simply “be” that keep me coming back for more.