The focus of our longings

"That prayer has great power which a person makes with all his might. It makes a sour heart sweet, a sad heart merry, a poor heart rich, a foolish heart wise, a timid heart brave, a sick heart well, a blind heart full of sight, a cold heart ardent. It draws down the great God into the little heart; it drives the hungry soul up into the fullness of God; it brings together two lovers, God and the soul, in a wondrous place where they speak much of love."


-Mechthild of Magdeburg
There is nothing on earth like meditation, or the cultivation of stillness, as Prather puts it. Each day it has the potential to be new and fresh. Why doesn't everyone "take to it"? Millions dedicate their lives to art, music, literature, or science, which reveal just one facet of the priceless jewel hidden in the world. A life based on meditation penetrates far beyond the multiplicity of existence into the indivisible realm of reality, where dwells infinite truth, joy, and beauty.
In the cultivation of stillness before Christ, the Master and Lord [or in other words, meditation] we can prioritize for ourselves a clear, changeless goal far above the fever and fret of the day. This inner vision is truly Christ Consciousness. In my experience, only He, through His Holy Spirit, has the power to fill me with unshakable security, to inspire me with wisdom in my soul, [or heart]--beyond the reach of the intellect.
He has the direct power to release within my heart and soul the capacity to act calmly and compassionately.
He provides true security--in life's storms.
-excerpted from Eknath Eswaran

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