Distractions separate me from God.
I choose to be ONE with God, not separate.
Being spirits ourselves, both elevated as well as unclean spirits are able to use us to either help or hinder, assist or agitate, uplift or tear down our fellow humans. This will either bring us closer to our destiny or pull us further from our destiny.
Consider the story of sisters Mary and Martha.
The Prophet Jesus had come to visit them in their home per Martha's welcome.
Imagine the tremendous blessing of a Prophet of God visiting YOU in your humble abode.
What a glorious opportunity to sit at the feet of such Wisdom and soak up as much understanding as you can. Imagine your sister preparing food for Jesus, so you take it upon yourself to show the utmost reverence and humility by bearing your soul in tears and servitude, washing his feet and anointing them with soothing oil and ointment.
Now imagine that your sister, who was preparing a meal for Jesus, becomes bitter and resentful towards you simply because you did not choose to serve in the same way that she did. Martha became distracted and projected her distraction upon Mary by throwing her under the bus to Jesus saying, "My Lord, do you not care that my sister Mary has left me to serve alone? Please, then, tell her to get up and help me." Instead of Martha seeing the beauty in the balance of their servitude and the honor of providing food and physical sustenance, she found fault in how Mary chose to serve Jesus, distracting her from her spiritual work with her Lord.
But the Prophet Jesus checked Martha's incessant whining by informing her that she "is worried and troubled about many things," and this was the cause of her distraction.
Sound familiar?
We have all portrayed the actions of both Mary and Martha at different times in our lives; either being distracted by another person's issues, or distracting others with our own issues.
I neither want to be distracted nor do I desire to be a distraction to others, and this has been the crux of my meditations most recently. My mind took me back to one of my favorite meditative anecdotes, the Tao Te Ching. The passage that spoke to me this month posed several questions whose answers took me on a deeply introspective journey into self:
Can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become supple as a newborn childs?
Can you cleanse your inner vision until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things?
Meditate on these personal inquiries.
"Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue"
- Change into loose,comfy clothing so that your sitting is not restricted in any way
- Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed
- Sit comfy on the ground, with your legs outstretched or crossed
- Close your eyes and concentrate on relaxing each part of your body
- Begin at the tips of your toes and envision the blood flowing throughout your body to the top of your head, the Crown Chakra (Sanskrit) or your Ori (Yoruba).
- Once you are focused on your blood flow, tune in to your breathing pattern.
- Breathe in through your nose (if possible) and out through your mouth, making an "Ohhh"or "Ahhh"sound as you exhale.
- Once your breathing is regulated, channel your attention towards your thoughts and feelings. Let them roam free for a while in your mind, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Next, capture your thoughts and move them to the outer space of your mind. This is called "Clear Your Canvas" meditation.
- Expeditiously push all thoughts that race for the center of your mind to the outer edges, far left/far right,etc.
- Try to focus on your clear canvas, that is, the pure space in the center of your mind, entertaining no thoughts that try to invade that space.
- Keeping calm and still, continue this exercise for 2 to 5 minutes.
- Once you reach your calm space, choose one of the questions from the aforementioned Tao Passage and place it in the center of your mind. For example, "Can you cleanse your inner vision until you see nothing but the light?"
- Think on the question and understand it. "What is the light?" for example. Define the question in your own mind. If you find that the answer is Yes, then you are already in a perpetual state of peace and love. Congrats and keep rising...answer another question.
- If the answer is "No", then meditate on how to make the answer "Yes." What does "cleansing" mean for you? What internal work needs to be done? What does it mean to see the light? Relax and let your mind navigate to truth, peace and oneness. Enjoy the journey.
Live Long and Prosper
