Stay Awake! Be quiet! God will come to you. As we sit in meditation, we sometimes feel abandoned. We are in too much of a hurry to really empty our minds of the mundane demands of our decadent society. We must practice being quiet. As with our television boxes, we must push the reset button to get the program we crave. With our minds, we may have to hit this reset button over and over again before we are able to experience true quiet and solitude in our active brains.
We leave our self-imposed wildernesses to prepare a way for God to enter our consciousness; the ritual and practice we follow to prepare us to be a true contemplative are necessary for deep understanding of the teachings and ethics of Jesus. During Advent, we are in a time of exalted expectation; we open our hearts to receive the shining light that Jesus brings and find strength in His Glory.
Personally, I devote ample time to experience the intensity and awareness of being alive in Christ’s light. I possess no knowledge that was not given me by our God. Jesus reminds us about material wealth when he invites us to possess nothing materially for those who possess nothing, possesses all. With practice, I have been able to rid myself of the unease of silence. With God’s help, I can possess conscious attentiveness of the mission of my life.
© Russell Kendall Carter
Meditating to Heal 