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Meditation
Support
The Daily
Meditator: October 2004
Meditation: The Art of Being Centered
Dear Meditator,
Last spring
while I was in New Jersey on a lecture tour, Thomas, my host, told
how his meditation practice had helped him calm a potentially dangerous
situation. Thomas is the superintendent of a small, rural school
district, with three schools and 125 teachers. He had recently suspended
the high school wrestling coach for verbally abusing his players.
The suspension had been bitterly resented by the young coach and
his large, extended family - so much so, that some of them had physically
threatened Thomas.
One Sunday Thomas
was working alone in the district office, when he observed four
cars charging into the parking lot. The cars came to a screeching
halt in front of his building, and out came a furious mob of the
coach's relatives. As they charged into the building, Thomas quickly
called his daughter to notify school security. In the seconds remaining,
Thomas centered his energy, and waited for the approaching storm.
And storm it did; as his "guests" barged into his office,
they began yelling, trying to intimidate him. Thomas sat quietly
and weathered their rage. Seeing they couldn't scare him, they began
vigorously stating the reasons why he was wrong. Calmly, and without
fear, Thomas listened to their ranting, and then quietly shared
why he had done what he did.
During the confrontation,
the relatives didn't want to agree with Thomas. They did, however,
admire his courage and centeredness. They were very physical people,
and they respected strength. Thomas's demonstration of it won them
over, and soon afterwards they not only accepted, but helped resolve,
the situation.
The more centered
we are, the more outer events adjust themselves to our inner control,
because centered energy is stronger than dissipated, reactive energy.
Meditation is the art of learning to live from one's center, because
it dynamically brings our consciousness into the spine. When our
energy is centered there, we are in tune with God and our spiritual
nature.
Albert Einstein
said that the significant problems of today can't be solved at the
same level of thinking that created those problems. When we react
in kind to a negative or even mundane situation, we only perpetuate
its consciousness. We can never control things outwardly. We can,
however, control our own energy. Lahiri Mahasaya's advice for overcoming
any problem was always the same - to meditate more, because meditation
centers and raises our consciousness and strengthens our aura. Through
regular meditation we literally change our destiny.
May you live
in greater clarity and joy!
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In Divine Friendship,
Bharat Cornell
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Ananda Meditation
Ministry
14618 Tyler Foote Road
Nevada City, CA 95959
530-478-7561 ext 7014
meditation@ananda.org
www.learn-meditation.org
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