Christian Meditation Groups: Know the essential teaching

A PEARL OF GREAT PRICE
Laurence Freeman, OSB

Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for
fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and
sells everything he owns and buys it. (Matthew 13:45)

NOW THE ESSENTIAL TEACHING

While the regular teaching component of the weekly meeting is critical, in the

end the group teaches what can only truly be learned from experience, in

silence. But just as it is important to begin each session with a teaching, it is also

important for the group leader to feel comfortable in articulating the essential

teaching in his or her own words and style. There are of course many ways to

convey the same truth, as long as the essential simplicity of meditation is

emphasized.

Meditation is as natural to the spirit as breathing is to the body. Deeply rooted

in the Christian tradition, it is an ancient spiritual discipline, a simple way into

union with the Spirit of Christ. The tradition does not say that meditation is the

only or even the best way to pray. It simply conveys the wisdom, at once

practical and holy, of daily silent prayer. It transmits the essential teaching of

contemplative prayer, first articulated in the early church through the teachings

of the Desert Fathers and passed on with special clarity and depth in our time by

John Main. This tradition advises the following simple practice:

Choose a quiet place.

Sit down comfortably, with your back straight.

Close your eyes lightly.

Sit as still as possible.

Breathe deeply, staying both relaxed and alert.

Slowly and interiorly, begin to say your mantra.

Continue repeating it gently and faithfully for the whole time of the

meditation.

Return to it as soon as you realize you have stopped saying it.

Stay with the same word during the meditation and from day to day.

And remember that the root of all distractions is self-consciousness. In

meditation we are, in a real and ongoing way, ‘leaving self behind’. The mantra

we recommend is maranatha, an ancient Christian prayer from the language Jesus

spoke, Aramaic, meaning ‘Come Lord’. Repeat the word in four equal syllables,

ma-ra-na-tha. Listen to the word as you say it and give it your full attention, but

don’t think about its meaning. Distractions will come but don’t try to repress or

fight them. Simply let them pass. When you do find that one has hooked your

attention, simply return in faith to saying the mantra. This is the ‘work of the

word’. Meditate twice a day, ideally in the early morning and early evening. The

optimal length of time for meditation is thirty minutes, but might begin with

twenty and gradually increase to twenty-five or the full half hour.

Once you have begun this simple daily practice, there are a few guidelines

concerning your attitude to the experience that will help you and others go

deeper. First, don’t assess your progress. The feeling of failure – or success – may

be the biggest distraction of all. Do not expect or look for ‘experiences’ in

meditation. You don’t have to feel either that anything should be happening.

This may seem odd at first, because the experience of silence is so unfamiliar to

most of us personally and so alien to our culture. And we are not used to being

simple. The silence, stillness, and simplicity, however, do have a purpose. In one

of the parables of the Kingdom, Jesus compares the Kingdom to a seed that

someone plants in the ground. The person then goes off to live an ordinary life

while the seed grows silently in the earth, ‘how he does not know’. The same

thing happens to us, as the word is rooted evermore deeply in our hearts. And,

as in the parable, there will in time be signs of growth. You will not always find

them in your meditation itself, but in your life. You will begin to harvest the

fruits of the spirit; you will find that you are growing in love. And if you ever

stop the practice of meditation, whether for a day or a month or a year, simply

return to it again with confidence in the infinite generosity of the Spirit that

dwells in and among us all.

O ther Forms of Prayer

A PEARL OF GREAT PRICE

SHARING THE GIFT OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION BY STARTING A GROUP

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