For many of us, this new year has been a time of much needed self-reflection and re-assessment: an opportunity to take stock of where we are and to examine just what is driving our life. One of the questions that I find uppermost in my mind and in the minds of a number of my friends, colleagues and business clients sounds something like this:
“What does it truly mean to be successful? Is the achievement of personal career goals at the expense of others what it is really all about or, has it more to do with living a life of ‘significance’ based on what I, together with others, can give as an act of service in response to the needs of a world suffering from a deep spiritual hunger?” I sincerely believe that we each wish to know that our lives count for something – that we are contributing to and serving a greater purpose – and that we are part of a larger community of kindred spirits united in a common quest to make this Earth a better place for all. It is said that ‘meaning’ and ‘belonging’ are two basic human needs that have to be met for us to feel a sense of worth and psychological wellbeing.
This vision of living a life of significance is what many of us earnestly aspire to. However, in reality we often find ourselves in a very different place – a place of occasional darkness, confusion and doubt that offers only fleeting glimpses of a positive tomorrow and some small measure of hope for a brighter future during those welcome breaks in the cloud cover. Our inner skies can easily be filled with these self-created clouds that will temporarily obscure the radiance of that central spiritual sun which we know as the Soul. So how do you and I successfully navigate during these particular times of uncertainty and plot a course through this turbulence and gloom so that we can operate at full capacity?
I believe that we are being asked to live a more soul-centered life and move from a focus on survival to a life of creative service that can make a difference. Amid the difficulty and seeming complexity of these times, the answers to our questions may be disarmingly simple. I believe that each of us has access to a source of internal Light and Power that can illumine our Path and help light the way for others if we could only connect this inner reality with the outer daily life. For me, meditation is that bridge. Meditation is that timeless practice which opens up a pathway to the Soul. Meditation is that which connects heaven and earth on a micro-cosmic level and allows us to participate from a very different place: namely, one of co-creation with Life and co-authorship with the Living Plan of the Creator. Meditation allows us to navigate through life by the Light of the Soul.
At Meditation Mount our primary focus is not so much on meditation as a path of individual attainment but more on a group practice of service to the world through the ritual of alignment and invocation in which we receive, circulate and distribute the appropriate spiritual energies to help create the right ‘inner conditions’ out of which the needed physical changes can flow. We believe that as we serve the greater good, personal growth will occur naturally as an outcome rather than a prime focus of the work. In our personal search for the truth it is all too easy to forget the wise words of one Teacher who proclaimed that, “In order to find oneself, one first has to lose oneself in service to others.”
Our purpose and calling at the Mount is to establish a united world group given to unanimous and simultaneous meditation upon the spiritual Laws and Principles (Right Human Relations, Goodwill, Group Endeavor, Unanimity, Spiritual Approach and Essential Divinity) as a way of preparing the world for the reappearance of a great light: namely, the Light of the Christ. This is the self-same inner light of Spirit that burns deep in the hearts of each one of us. I believe that the pain and hardship that we may occasionally experience as we strive to respond to the inner call to live a soul-centered life is all part of the birthing of the Christ-within. In one respect we could say that each of us is participating in a vast act of liberation – the act of freeing the inner light locked within the heart of humanity so that it might shine in the world and reveal the way ahead.
As we learn to live more soul-centered lives that are in resonance with and express the Spiritual Laws and Principles, we begin to function collectively as the Light of the World through our concerted efforts. Through the invocative power of focused group meditation we are able to call forth the required energies – such as the will-to-good – to assist in creating the “new heaven and the new earth.” Even though this task of serving a higher purpose requires our wholehearted individual commitment and resolve, it is, nevertheless, a group project. Thus a critical key to success in this worldwide work is the building of a group consciousness that is sensitive to higher impressions and is able to translate these divine seed-thoughts into magnetic ideas that inspire action.
We know from our gardening experiences that seeds only germinate and develop once they have been planted in the good earth and so, in a similar fashion, these inspirational ideas received in meditation have to be brought into form through our loving, purposeful and focused intent. Creative group meditation is a powerful vehicle that we can employ to bring the ‘Life Abundant’ of the inner world into physical incarnation. Group meditation is a sacred and joyful act of profound practicality that will help make a real difference and “lead us from darkness into Light.” We invite you to join with us in harnessing the power of the Soul through the rhythm of daily group meditation as an act of blessing to our world.