Hello everyone!Today I want to ask you two important questions.Two questions about our own daily relationship with God.How can we listen God?How can we understand what God wants to tell us?
—Mattia, italy
Ciao Mattia,
Two beautiful and useful questions!
How can we listen to God? That ability is exactly what we are trying to develop in meditation. Meditation is listening, and more specifically: listening to God. That listening is possible only in silence: the more emotions, the less we can we hear Him; the more thoughts, the less our divine perceptions; the more physical movements, the less it is possible to listen to Him.
Therefore we need to daily train our “silence muscle.” Yogananda spoke about the “awakened silence,” meaning that in meditation you have to be intensely awake in that silence: it’s silence combined with high inner energy. “Silence is the altar of Spirit,” especially if our silence if filled with deep love for God. God answers to that love, Yogananda taught.
In daily life the same principle of silence holds true: loud music, tensed living, waves of emotions, rushing about restlessly… all these will make it impossible to feel God Who communicates in silence – with a whisper, not with a shout. Silent centered living is the key, paired with high energy and devotion. A good combination to work on!
How can we understand what God wants to tell us? We can never be sure, but can only do our best to intuit it. It’s often difficult because we easily hear what we like to hear. The immature devotee may confidently say, “God is telling me to….,” while in truth all he is hearing is the voice of his own desire. So if you want to understand what God is trying to tell you in any situation, you need to be completely open, without any preconceived idea: if He says “to the right,” fine, if He says “to the left,” equally fine.
For some devotees the following prayer seems to work for understanding what God wants to tell them: “Lord, send me a sign which I can understand!” Then watch out for whatever outer sign might come. Even better, take your question into meditation. One feels God’s guidance, most of all. Again, intuitive feeling is based on silence, on calmness. Focus at the spiritual eye, and ask, “Is this what You want?” Then place your attention in the heart and feel.
If you feel an answer, take a first outer step in that direction, and then again listen, feel. Step by step you (and I) will hopefully understand ever more clearly what God is telling us.
God bless you,
In divine friendship,
Jayadev
“Silence is what the whole world needs when on the path of meditative progress toward greater spirituality. Any attempt at silence is better than ineffective prayer, as it is commonly understood, because in such prayers, while the many movements of the body may be stilled, the thoughts go on with their dance of restlessness.”
-Yogananda
