What is it that true love has in common with meditation? And how is true love different than our common concept of love? We begin with meditation, sitting quietly to touch the stillness. What we find when we first sit is a cacophony of thoughts and feelings that spontaneously arise when we close our eyes. It is intimidating to hope for quiet in the midst of the noise. At this point it is critical to begin the practice of focusing on a single thing; the breath, the mantra. It is in this focused attention that the storm of thoughts and feelings begin to subside. This is a gradual process that works best if we sit quietly every day.
One reason we must do this practice is because the mind is not accustomed to stillness. We need to take the myriad thoughts and reduce them down to one thing. Once we can focus on just one thing; the next step is focusing on just the stillness. This is not easy, but it does arise naturally with persistence in practice. Be patient.
The other reason for the practice is that we must separate the conscious observer from the contents of the mind. Consciousness is the watcher; the mind is simply a conduit of sensory information. Thus we create a separation between unchanging consciousness (the Self) and the ever-changing mind.
The purpose of meditation is to still the mind; this brings the steady state. But why do we even want the stillness? In the emptiness (shunya) we begin to explore the experience of our inward turning awareness. At first it is just empty. In time we begin to experience the fullness of serenity, and moments of sweetness that arise spontaneously. This is our true nature. This is the love that is ourself (our Self). Immersion in the fullness of the stillness brings us happiness and contentment no matter what happens in the changing world. The steadiness of true love sustains us.
A great saint tells us that, Love is motiveless tenderness of the heart. Motiveless means no expectation. Tenderness means tender all the time. Does this characterize your love relationships? Think about this! Normally we think of love as affection and dependency with the expectation that the pleasure will last. When the pleasure fades, do we fall out of love? Through the practice of meditation, the inner love fulfills us while outer loves come and go.
The Siddha Master, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda tells us, Once the fountain of love is unlocked in our hearts, we see the magnificence of our existence. With that love we turn the world into a paradise. This is the inner love that develops as we become established in the inner sweetness of just being. If this is what we want, then it is the longing that powers our path of awakening.
Deep Peace,
Dennis Hill
we can live off those bliss nuggets of “inner sweetness of just being” everything is there