My talk today is about the spiritual practice of meditation the Divine Science Way. I will share the what, why’s and the how’s of meditation. The following is a definition for meditation: “Meditation is the continuous and contemplative thought to dwell on mentally on anything; realizing the reality of the absolute; a steady effort of the mind to know God.”
Meditation can have all kinds of benefits for your spiritual, mental, and physical health. Meditation opens the mind to an expanded awareness, creativity and receiving vast knowledge. It may also awaken our inner senses such as intuition and psychic abilities. It is proven to lower blood pressure and stress, and rejuvenation of the body.
Malinda Cramer, the founder of Divine Science had been practicing silent meditation a long time as she was raised a Quaker. Therefore, meditation became a cornerstone practice of Divine Science. Meditation is also known as practicing the silence or prayer of silence.
The purpose of meditation the Divine Science way is to develop a personal relationship with the Divine Presence or God, the Christ consciousness within us, to know our self. The Christ is the individualized expression of God within us. It is that God self that we are awakening too.
Meditation must always have God, or whatever name you use for this Divine All Presence, as its subject and as its object because subject and object are one. Unless we have a clear objective, our mind wanders dredging up from our subconscious all sorts of distractions. We have our method to help quiet the mind chatter.
In Divine Science meditation is about seeking God first. In Matt 6:31-33 Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry or say, what will we eat, or what will we drink, or with what will we be clothed? For worldly people seek after all these things. Your Father in heaven knows that all of these things are also necessary for you. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Jesus then said in Matt. 7:7-8, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For whoever asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door is opened.”
Meditation is a way to open the door of higher consciousness and receive the things of spirit as truth, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, peace and love. While opening our mind to receiving, being in a receptive listening state, we can ask or affirm that which we desire to know more about God and to know more of who we are in Truth. Meditation is a method to knowing Truth.
Many people think of meditation as a mental process. It may begin that way, but its purpose is to go beyond the mental to the spirit. In fact, we put the mental aspect of us aside in order to move deeper into the silence. One of the goals in meditation is to go deep into the silence, beyond words, and beyond the worldly senses.
Meditation will lead one to the silencing of the mind. Much as Prayer will lead to silence. This is where the two come together. Many people use these terms interchangeably for they both are focused on truth and realization. Although, meditation is the practice of reflecting on truth for a deeper understanding, such as, “What does it mean to be one with God?”
Meditation the Divine Science way teaches a 6-step method towards higher consciousness. They are the following: Step 1) Recognition of God; 2) Identification with God; 3) Affirmation about God; 4) Contemplation on God; 5) Silence, a listening state of mind. 6. Gratitude for our communion.
To begin a meditative practice we first make a commitment by selecting a time each day for meditation; to make it our daily appointment with God. The practice of meditation is a daily process, it is the manna that Moses and his people gathered each day for their food, it is when Jesus said, “I live not by bread alone, but by the very word of God.” Each day we must gather our manna, our bread of life, our spiritual strength. It is best to give the first few minutes of the day, even before rising out of bed, to bring our thoughts to God. When we arise to take 20 minutes to meditating on truth, and for beginners this may be 10 minutes. This sets the tone and the atmosphere of our day.
We advise to have a designated place for our meditative practice. A quiet and relaxing place where there is little disturbance. A comfortable sitting position is recommended, although any position will do. We want the body comfortable so it doesn’t distract us. The important thing is to be comfortable and remain awake.
In preparation, we may read a few paragraphs on something spiritual or take a Bible verse such as, in Eph 4:6, “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
Then when ready we close our eyes, and turn our consciousness inward to our holy temple. Mentally we leave all problems and concerns outside our door of consciousness. Our holy temple is a sacred place. Then we begin with some slow deep full breathing. We do this several times fully oxygenating our body. This raises our vibration, quiets the mind chatter and makes it easier to settle ourselves into meditation.
We then bring your consciousness to the presence of God by setting our inner atmosphere to peace. Now we are the temple of God ready for our inner work by taking into thought that which we desire a greater understanding of truth, for example “God is everywhere.” It can be on any aspect or Principle of God.
We then move into our first step of meditation, beginning with Recognition. We always begin with our thoughts on God, such as the Omnipresence of God. Meaning God is all presence, everywhere both invisible and visible.
We follow with Identification. We identify ourselves with this ever present God, such as, I am one with this All Loving Presence.
Next we repeat an affirmation. We take a statement of truth on an aspect of God and repeat it until there are no other thoughts. Such as, I am alive in Spirit and Spirit is Alive in me.
We are now ready for contemplation: We expand our mental awareness as much as we can of what we know of God as being everywhere. The following is from Divine Science Its Principle and Practice page 162: “Practice daily the transferring of thought from creature to Creator, and think that which represents the Creator. Think life, love, intelligence, knowledge, power, and presence of All Good. Practice thinking what it would be like to be present everywhere at the same time sustaining, embracing, and pervading all that live. Think what it means to be one with all power, all substance, all law and all love; today, and forever the same.
Just in proportion as you succeed will you comprehend the all-pervading Spirit and be rewarded with divine knowledge. Extend your thought beyond limitation, transcend forms, enter the Source of all form, traverse all time, become eternity in thought, live in the present. Lift the thought above all heights, descend below all depths, that you may conceive of and know the omnipresent Spirit and the true relationship existing between the creator and creation; and that what is perceived is contained within the perceiver. To thus perceive and think is freedom.”
5. Once we have emptied our thoughts on an aspect of God, this leads us naturally to a quiet receptive listening state of mind we call “The Silence,” a surrender of the lesser for the greater which takes us to a deeper understanding than our mind ever knew.
Gradually we go deeper and deeper until we find ourselves centered in God – embraced, engulfed, infused in the spirit of God. Our mind, body and soul are made new each time we touch the hem of the garment – this is the Christ Consciousness, our individualized expression of God.
This practice eventually results in a bridging of the left and right hemispheres of the brain, merging of the feminine and masculine energies, and the connection of the mind to the heart. All this is also known in the Bible as the mystical marriage.
6. Next is Gratitude: When we come out of the silence there is a natural sense of gratitude for those moments in communion, and for all that has transpired. We can say, Thank you, God!
Then throughout the day give moments in silence here and there to acknowledging the presence of God. Our life then becomes an endless prayer – but not hidden in a cave somewhere – but in the activity of our daily life. Bringing the blessings of our light to whatever we are doing for It is “I” – the Christ within, and the Christ that goes before us to make the crooked roads straight.
Meditation on God’s handiwork is one way of bringing the soul faculties into active expression, and of understanding the higher wisdom. We must learn to look not only at the sunsets, gardens, or any beautiful appearance but to look beyond them and catch a glimpse of that which brought them into expression. Then we shall always have forms of beauty and permanent forms of harmony, because we shall have that perfect divine essence which is ever forming Itself anew.
The object of our meditation is to elevate ourselves to that divine apprehension where we see God appearing in all of God’s glory. We are lifted into a state of divine illumination in which we behold God’s world already perfect and complete – God manifesting Itself in all Its glory, “The heavens declare the glory of God,” and the earth shows forth God’s handiwork.
Let us be as Paul said, “I live, yet not I, Christ lives in me.” It is the Christ doing the work – what ever we are doing – are daily tasks, going to work, tending to the household chores, raising of children – it is the “I” that is now doing. The holy temple we have built within, the new consciousness, is now being expressed in the world we live.
So it is!
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