The hallmark of any healthy system is a free and unimpeded circulation of energy that reaches and nourishes all of its constituent parts. This essential sustenance is known by different names, such as the Life-force, chi, spiritual lifeblood or the ever-flowing presence of a Greater Love.
During 2022, the focus and theme at Meditation Mount has been Regeneration. We firmly believe in our hearts and sense in our bones that Generosity is the generative force that fully engages us in the bountiful circulation of the One Life. Generosity encourages and stimulates the necessary circulation of nutrients and, as we are painfully discovering, greed and self-centered actions automatically stymies this essential flow. When we finally realize that by serving the whole, the whole naturally serves all within its embrace, we can begin to conceive and give birth to a healthier and a more just and joyful society together.
Generosity pours forth from a loving heart and connects us to All That Is. The root of generosity is Love and Love is the vital lifeblood and connective tissue ensuring coherence and well-being of any community of lives: be that a family, a work-group, a nation or the planet as a whole.
Why give? We give because it is the natural urge of the soul to be generous and to share of its gifts. The Soul, like the Sun, gives freely and asks for nothing in return. It does not enter into a transactional relationship with life and demand that it must first receive before being willing to give. When giving and receiving are no longer experienced as separate activities but are joined together like inbreath and outbreath, then we have a state of continuous ‘flow’. Unconditional giving to Life creates an uninterrupted flow of goodness. When the heart isn’t open or moved by generosity, we tend to withhold and hoard our gifts. Remember, “It is in giving that we receive.”
We don’t have to be rich in order to be generous. In fact, whenever you and I are feeling empty, impoverished or disconnected, that is precisely the time to give. By giving, we naturally re-engage with the great circulation of life and can drink again from the spiritual well of limitless resources. There is a potent aphorism that states: “To those that give, more shall be given so they may give again”.
Generosity takes many forms. It can be a heart full of loving kindness offering a warm and welcoming smile to others in the food store, an act of caring and courtesy while driving on the freeway, a gift of money or the quiet internal practice of sending loving and supportive thoughts to those in need. The practice of loving kindness opens up a portal through which the gift and presence of a greater Love may flow into our lives.
It is this unimpeded flow of Love circulating throughout the Universe of Self and the whole living eco-system of Gaia that creates optimal health and the necessary conducive conditions for the full flowering of the deep promise of the Soul. At Meditation Mount, we refer to the Deep Nature of the Soul as the Principle of Essential Divinity.
Meditation Mount operates through a spirit of generosity. We exist to provide a positively-charged physical and psychic space through all of our in-person and online programs so that each person has an opportunity to deepen their relationship with the Essential Self. Inside this field of Generosity, we gather and draw inspiration and encouragement with others to build a more just and joyful future from the inside out. New possibilities are generated and anchored through the focused power of group meditation and by us embodying the principles and qualities of the Soul.
We often talk about a ‘generation gap’ and its common interpretation is that of the distinctions and differences between the various age groups that make up the human population. There is, however, a deeper meaning. What if we see this generation gap as the disconnect between daily life and the innate capacity of the soul to be inspired, to imagine and to generate those gifts which nourish and meet the needs of our times? Acting as the incarnated agent of the Soul we function as artisans of generation and regeneration through all that we think, say and do. There is no generation-gap when soul and personality are aligned and integrated to form a force for good in the world.
Through the generative power of giving, we become causal – causing new possibilities to arise. As we learn to give freely to each other to meet our essential needs, we honor and celebrate the indisputable fact of the one inter-woven human family. It is this spirit of caring and sharing that will create a new commonwealth on Earth. This is the true wealth that comes from being in wholehearted communion with Life together. To build a new and compassionate society, the trajectory of our aspirations and desires has to shift from ego-centric to eco-centric living.
Generosity is the key. It allows us to enter an expanded state of loving kindness and caring which knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that our destiny in life is to be active agents of revelation in the Great Chain of Being. Generosity allows us to function as a living link inside this never-ending nested universe of Blessing.
May this coming year bring each of us wondrous gifts that lift our spirits and fill our heart with hope. May we show up every day as a rich source of blessing to all around.
In the Joy of Giving, Michael Lindfield Meditation Mount Board President