In Yoke

As I have perused many treatises regarding the Christ, it is obvious to me that Jesus teaching was centered on three core principles. As I have digested His message, I come back to the three pillars of Jesus' teaching. They are: Kenosis - (letting go, non-clinging) Abundance - ( “I have come that they might have life abundant”) Singleness - (oneness of heart) From Mark 12:28-31: “One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: "Which is most important of all the commandments?" Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these." Love the Lord your God with all your passion & prayer, inte...

I have heard stories of men and women who were imprisoned in solitary confinement, without anything but their own hearts and their own memories to examine. These same folks tell of how whole passages of scripture, complete stories of Jesus and of the Apostles, of prophets, of Psalms, have come clear to them, untrammeled, descriptive, like medicine to their lonely, tortured soul. These “balms of Gilead” are also available to us-like myself, who have been instructed in the ways of the Lord throughout our lives…even when being spared imprisonment. I know His word has come to me many times in my lowest moments, and in my humdrum day to day existence, to enlighten, to encourage, to clarify, to inspire, to energize. Paul the apostle states- Christ dwells in our hearts through faith(Ephesians 3:17), and all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden and can be found in Christ. It stands to reason then, that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge of God can be found—in the hear...

Have thy heart in heaven and thy hands upon the earth. Ascend in piety and descend in charity. For this is the Nature of Light and the way of the children of it. -Thomas Vaughan When our hands are busy with a worthwhile task, and our mind is busy with the mantram, we won’t have much chance to brood on our problems. Cravings will not have a chance to grow. Self-centered desires need a lot of attention to thrive. They are like delicate houseplants, not very hardy. Unless their needs are met precisely, they cannot last long. If we do not water and fertilize them regularly – think about them, dream about them, plan and wish – they will wither and die. To get plants to thrive, it is considered helpful to talk to them in soothing, friendly tones. Destructive desires thrive on talk too; the more we talk about them, the stronger they get. So whenever you feel driven by a compulsive, destructive urge, don’t analyze it; don’t talk about it; don’t dwell on it. Turn your attention away...

The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.  -Brother Lawrence The mind has a tremendous natural capacity to dwell on things, and in repeating the mantram we are channeling this capacity to train the mind. It is the same capacity, only we are giving it a different focus. There is a story in the Hasidic tradition of Judaism in which a man asks his zaddik or spiritual teacher, "Do you mean we should remember the Lord even in the give-and-take of business?" "Yes, of course," the rabbi replies. "If we can remember business matters in the hour of prayer, shouldn't we be able to remember God in the transactions of our business?" ~Easwaran That's fair. I incessantly pray for God to bless our business.  It remains for me to pr...

"Keep your attention within yourself (not in your head but in your heart).  Keep your mind there (in the heart), trying by every possible means to  find the place where the heart is, in order that, having found it, your mind  should constantly abide there. Wrestling thus, the mind will find the place of the heart.  This happens when grace produces sweetness and warmth in prayer...with God's help,  you will learn...from your own experience, by keeping your mind attentive  and in your heart holding Jesus, that is, His prayer -"Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me!"  One of the holy fathers says: 'Sit in your cell and this prayer will teach you everything.' " - St. Simeon the New Theologian , Three Methods of Attention and Prayer This is so wonderful! Since 1999, my mantram has been the Jesus prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me!"...it is mysterious to me how this little repetitive prayer when practiced faithfully, can correct wayward s...

"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 cu...