Universal Resonance

 I have returned to the book The Selfless Self by Laurence Freeman, OSB. Father Freeman studied and served with Father John Main to create the World  Community of Christian Meditation. He continues to serve as the director. I found the following passage to be insightful. It concerns a man who had been meditating for a few years "with the ordinary lack of 'experiences' that accompany the silent, ongoing change in our selves and lives." Then he was diagnosed with cancer at a time when he thought there was nothing seriously wrong with his health.  Father Freeman writes: 

"[The diagnosis]  shocked and stunned him. But then, at that very moment, he heard the mantra. The mantra began to sound and it rose in his heart with wonderful peace and certainty. From that moment until the time he was speaking, he understood more deeply  John Main's teaching that, through the mantra, we learn to hand over control to Christ. He felt every day, more deeply, the presence and the guiding spirit of Christ with him."   Father Freeman said it reminded him of a phrase that John Main wrote in one of his last letters in which he was describing his own illness and pain. He ended the letter with, "But it doesn't matter, it is all the Lord."     

The man would need to undergo several operations. After one procedure, he felt that his life and energy was so low that his death was a possibility.  Yet, in the recovery room, he again heard the mantra. However,  this time it did not seem to be arising from his own heart, but rather from the heart of all believers, "a universal resonance."

 Meditation is not about perfection. It is about the day to day return to the practice of opening our hearts to Christ.  Eventually, at some unknown and unexpected time, our very lives become imbued with this love.  There is no magic about mantras. A mantra helps pause our usual train of thought which can often be trite and repetitive, and can even be harmful to ourselves and those around us.  Once we become aware of these "tapes" running through our mind, we can begin to draw our attention away from them. They will fade, but yes, it takes time.  This is the "silent ongoing change" mentioned above. 

We are, and we are becoming. Christ be our light.    

 

The Selfless Self, Laurence Freeman, 1989, Darton, Longman and Todd, London, p. 128.    

   

Meditation via Zoom is held every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., Pacific Time. Send me a note if you would like to participate. Yes, even on Zoom we feel the presence of one another welcoming Christ into our hearts.   Together, we sit in silence together for 25 minutes.  A short discussion often follows, but you are welcome to leave at any time.  

   

photograph:  Oakland, May 2021