Glory be to the Father within me, and to the Son
that I am, and to the Holy Mother that surrounds
and enfolds me. As it was in the beginning, is now,
and ever shall be, in a world without end. Amen.
– A Doxology to the Triune Nature of God, by Marc –
The Gift of Contemplation
During an interview, Abbot Thomas Keating, OCSO, addressed an important aspect of contemplation: Contemplation is a gift from God which we already have. Here is what he said.
[Acknowledgment: Our appreciation and gratitude to coutreach for publishing the above video on YouTube.]
Experiencing the Self as the Christ
At the core of the mystical experience is the experience of the true Self, our deepest Self. Listen to Fr. Keating speak of our deepest Self.
In experiencing the true Self, we experience the Christ, God within, as our very identity.
By experiencing the Christ-Self, we come to conscious union with God or oneness in God. This is the unio mystica, the mystical union, the mystical experience of God — the illumination of the soul.
[Acknowledgment: Our appreciation and gratitude to coutreach for posting the above videos on YouTube.]
Practice, practice, practice, practice, and practice more.
Living in the Moment, Living in the Now
One of the clear benefits of meditation is its capacity to enable “momentariness” in our experience — the ability for us to live in the present moment, in the “now.” In his video below, Eknath Easwaran explains what momentariness is and how it comes about as a result of our meditation practice.
[Acknowledgment: Our appreciation and gratitude to EknathEaswaran for publishing the above video on YouTube.]
In this other video, Easwaran talks of when the mind is stilled.
[Acknowledgment: Our appreciation and gratitude to EknathEaswaran for publishing the above video on YouTube.]
“And I am testifying to you from personal experience that I don’t have to keep my mind thinking all the time. When it is not necessary, it doesn’t think. And when you are able to do that, then you realize what the meaning Om shanti, shanti, shanti means. There is such peace in my mind at that time, as a Catholic mystic says, if you squeeze my nail, peace will come out of it. This is permanent joy. This is the peace that passeth all understanding. And once you taste that, you realize what your real need is.”
- Eknath Easwaran -
Persist with Your Practice
Practice makes perfect. Your spiritual practice is the expression of your devotion to God and your commitment to the spiritual journey. Practice builds you up for the task and activity of contemplation. Practice opens you to the mystery of Oneness. Practice enables you to realize the Truth. Practice opens you to the transforming mystical experience of God.
Living the mystical life is never easy. It requires the commitment of a lifetime — a commitment to study and practice, and to persist in our study and in our practice.
The few who embark on the spiritual life find it difficult, and it is difficult. There is no question about that. The fact that living the spiritual life is not an easy way should not disturb us because, if we are determined to attain the spiritual way of life, we must be prepared for a period of struggle, effort, study, and discipline.
The main struggle for us is that we are the product of centuries of living exclusively in the external. Not only are there centuries of materialistic living behind us, but right in our cribs we began to live with rattles and dolls, later with marbles and with every of kind of game that would keep our attention centered on the outer world. Sadly enough, even when we entered school more attention was usually paid to keeping us entertained and occupied with games and sports than with intensive study or with teaching us how to be still enough inside so that we could concentrate. Because of the preoccupation with nonessentials, there are only a few who have developed the ability to concentrate and know how to study.
An ability to find inner peace and stillness is required in following the spiritual path. Our entire demonstration rests on our attaining the ability to be so quiet in mind that we can hear “the still small voice” and receive impressions from within. (Joel S. Goldsmith, from The Art of Spiritual Living,
Chapter: “The New Dispensation of Prayer”)
The spiritual life is difficult. But if we are determined to attain the spiritual way of life, we must be prepared for a period of struggle, effort, study, and discipline.
Your persistence on the spiritual path means that the spirit of God has already touched you. You have not chosen God. God has chosen you, and God will not let you go until you arrive safely at home in His bosom. The constant recognition that the spirit of God has touched you and will not let you go is one of the greatest helps on the way.
— Joel S. Goldsmith —
The constant recognition that the spirit of God has touched you and will not let you go is one of the greatest helps on the way.
Once the Spirit has you in its hands, you are caught hook, line, and sinker. It grabs hold of all of you, until your inner transformation is made complete. 
The divine romance has begun….
You can only surrender to It. You can only flow downstream with It on the way back to Its vast ocean of oneness. - Marc -
Once the Spirit has you in its hands, you are caught hook, line, and sinker. It grabs hold of all of you, until your inner transformation is made complete. The divine romance has begun….
You can only surrender to It. You can only flow downstream with It on the way back to Its vast ocean of oneness. - Marc -
So, practice, practice, practice, practice, and PRACTICE.
Krishna (Sanskriit: Kṛṣṇa),
Avatara of Lord Vishnu
Krishna (Sanskriit: Kṛṣṇa),
Avatara of Lord Vishnu
“In this way you will be freed from bondage to work and its auspicious and inauspicious results. With your mind fixed on Me in this principle of renunciation, you will be liberated and come to Me.“ (Krishna, Bhagavad Gita 9.28)
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