Thomas Merton sometimes wrote about how we are caught in a kind of collective hypnosis. Because mostly we look at life through the eyes of others. It is how we learn as children. But at some point in life we are invited to look at life through the eyes of God. Looking through the eyes of other humans what we see is given value by them. Looking through the eyes of God gives us a different view. One way to do this is to pray with the New Testament. Another way is by Christian Meditation.
When we take up the practice of meditation or centering prayer, we are letting God lead us in ways we know not, but we go in trust.
What gifts are entrusted to God for the space of 20 or 30 minutes?
our ability to think
our capacity to love each other
our creative talent
Our imagination
What difficulties are we entrusting to God during this time?
all our worries and concerns
our fears about ourselves and our families and our world
All our physical miseries
What do we let go of?
the illusion that my own mind, so gifted, can figure
everything out
the illusion that my own good will by itself can cure
anything
the illusion that I am the master of my fate
the illusion that humans can bring about peace and justice on their own
the illusion that humans will always have the right views for me
Taking the attention off ourselves for 30 minutes in this way of praying "may not be exciting, but it is rewarding. It may not be dramatic but it does take courage. It may not challenge our mind but it challenges our fascination with ourselves." (source unknown)
Why meditate? So to entrust our lives to God that we let God have a free hand in our inmost being where God, in His wondrous love, works to transform us into love.
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