Prayer and Meditation
Chapter 9
Plunging into the Ocean of God
Jesus and Kuthumi Dictated to the Messengers
Mark and Elizabeth Prophet
Superior Index Go to the next: Chapter 10
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May Wisdom's Flame Surround You!
Throughout the world men extol meditation as a means to self-realization - to nirvana, to the triumph of the individual in his relationship with God. Meditation takes many forms, but when it takes the form of the meditator and brings him into the fiery furnace of God's love, to the crucible of God's will, to the fount of illumination that he may drink, to the mantle of service that he may give, and to the expressing of the abundance of nature in his life which he purifies through meditation and frees from desires inordinate, then and only then can the ascended masters and the cosmic hierarchy use the individual to the fullest.
I speak of meditations which are like unto individuals who are afraid to get wet. They dangle their feet in the ocean and fearfully, momentarily, and always prepare to run from the inundating waves. Meditation, then, must be entered with a willingness to go where God goes.
We are aware of the fact that in the world today, as always, ignorant men are quick to impute to any relatively new religion the responsibility for disturbing men's minds, for "disturbing the peace." For example, if someone who is associated with a new religion has a mental or an emotional disturbance, friends, parents, and relatives may say, "He has lost his mind because of this new religion."
Every day mankind, many of whom have no religion at all, are losing their minds over matters of far less concern; and while we admit that some men have lost their minds about religion, these would probably have lost their minds about any number of things in which they might have become engaged; for the seeds of their disturbances were involved in their own karma and the record needed purification. In other cases, benign individuals have been disturbed by their own sense of struggle in searching for God. These need to learn the power of relaxation, of total commitment, and of a divine constancy that suffereth no punishing sense simply because it aspires.
Aspire to the highest, if you will, in your meditations and in your thoughts; but do not be disturbed or frustrated because any particular day does not bring to you the full fruition of that which you seek. The fruit is in the very bud of aspiration; and, given time to come full cycle, Nature will bring the fruit to your feet.
I do not say that exposure to the sun, to the air, and to good thoughts constantly obtained will not enhance your chances of bearing fruit; nor do I think that the time cannot be shortened, for it can. However, we do wish to point out that meditation carried on by sound minds can produce greater soundness of mind and healing than meditation that is carried on by unsound minds. For the benefit of all concerned, I would mention certain observations and requirements in the practice of the art of meditation.
First, one must obtain the sense of one's self. The ancient maxim "Man, know thyself" is the key to the spiritualization of the self which must be known ere it can be transformed. Then one must quiet the vibratory conditions and waves of feeling and thought that lurk everywhere in the atmosphere seeking to disquiet the individual. After one has succeeded in quieting the turmoil of mind and feeling, thoughts about others, about self, about deeds one feels have been performed to one's hurt, after regrets are stilled and the mind is emptied of its negative content, it is ready then to begin the process of feeding upon the divine ideal.
What is the character of God? What is his nature? How can his nature be known? Will the knowledge of the character of God obtained from the Universal be lacking in any bookish interpretation or scholarly rendering written by saints and sages of the past? Will the individual suffer as the result of his own meditations upon God? Will he become separated in mind and heart through whatever advancement is handed to him?
Now once again the mind must be stilled; one's motive must be reexamined. Why am I meditating? I am meditating upon God that I may become Godlike. Is God aloof to the world or is he simply inaccessible? If God is aloof to the world, then of course the result of meditation would be to make the devotee also aloof, creating a spiritual snobbishness. But if God is only relatively inaccessible to the world simply because men cannot or do not reach up to him, this fact should not interfere with the orderly course of man's meditation, providing he does not try to convey to others all of the internal loftiness and spiritual gifts of knowledge imparted to him in his meditations.
All that is received in one's private meditations is not intended to be copied down and made into a set of academic rules to govern the spiritual unfoldment of others. Much internal training is given to smoothen the ruffles in one's own nature in order that he may, in the eyes of the heavenly Father, do one thing and one thing alone; and that is, reflect God. That which is required of one may not be required of another; for as long as there are disturbances in his receptor mechanism or scratches on the mirrorlike surface of his mind and heart, every anomaly, every wrinkle, will make an imperfect picture.
Meditation, then, is to quiet the storms that rage in the personal self, that foment maya40 in consciousness. It is to purify and calm the atmosphere of thought that men might realize that all things less than divine are simply not divine (yet men have imbued them with their own ideas and objective realities).
Now man must recognize the Spirit of the Lord that bloweth the wind. The Invisible must become visible unto him. He must deal with subtleties and cosmic innuendos. He must recognize the whisperings of the voice of God that teach him the meaning of love - "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace." Man must become an instrument for all Good (all of God) to all men; but he must perceive as God does that he cannot always do more than to radiate his attainment softly, imperceptibly into the universe. To force his opinions and discoveries upon others can put him in the position of being the target of much resentment.
The disciple who meditates upon God must learn the art of graciously identifying with God, whose mounting concerns for the world are real and tangible today as they have always been. His concern shines with the sun of his constancy; yet he feels no pang of distress or pull into the maelstrom of human discontent, the depravity of men's depredations.
Now the soul is with God. God is the sole reality of being, and reality is contacted by the disciple. What must he do with this great commodity which he has imported from the highest realms but which he cannot impart to any below, save to those who are ready? Is not his role to make himself a doorway for the greater light which he feels he cannot dispense? But is this wall of nondispensation all-engrossing? And is it true that he cannot dispense the greater light or impart it unto any?
The power of example is the strongest bond in the world that speaks of the Most High having descended to mankind. What shall I say, then, of the avatars, of the great ones who have come as mighty lights blazing through the heavens - the Christ who came teaching and preaching the good news, the Buddha who came meditating and explaining the Eightfold Path, Mohammed who came as on a fiery steed, stirring and imparting the knowledge of the law, and of the many others who have descended to the earth to do the will of God?
It is a mistake, blessed ones, to assume that one must lag behind and wait because family, friends, or neighbors do not respond to those powerful but subtle emanations of God that have always existed in the atmosphere. Meditate, then, with the idea of plunging into the ocean of God! Meditate with the idea of obtaining all that God has in store for you! Meditate with the idea of finding the Most High God if it costs all that you have and more! Go in debt for it if you must, but realize that meditation is mediation between God and man!
Your thoughts must become chalices into which God can place the truth about himself; and when that truth is known within the framework of the relative, as more and more upon earth aspire toward their ascension, they will find that removing veils is a joyous experience. We do not deny that it can be difficult, for men have often identified with the veils they have created. But now through meditation these veils will be removed one by one, and the burning power of the light will show man a new archetype of himself.
Onward and upward into the light in search of truth, I remain