September 7, 2017
Anam Cara Meditation Foundation
Perennial Wisdom For The Soul's Journey
Dear Dorothy,
As mainstream interest in meditation continues to grow, the foundational practices of mindfulness, breath awareness, yoga asanas, etc. are being integrated into businesses, schools, churches, temples, hospitals, treatments centers, clinical psychology and more.
Scientific research has produced thousands of studies showing the benefits of meditation for health, brain functioning, relationships, pain reduction, and the list goes on and on. Interestingly, from a meditative perspective, these are all side-effects of meditation and not the real focus of such practices. Even while enjoying these beneficial side-effects, we can remain aware of the real goal of meditation practice.
Buddha didn't meditate to lower his cholesterol. Shankaracharya didn't meditate to increase the cortical thickness of certain areas of his brain. Lady Yeshe didn't meditate to enhance her leadership skills. St. Theresa of Avila didn't meditate for peak performance.
The goal of meditation is to know the highest. We may like to give that a name - Yahweh, God, Goddess, Self, bodhichitta, Shiva, Great Spirit, Allah, Kali, and the list of names goes on and on. Carl Jung framed it as the transcendent function that is inherent to our psyche. We project that as the deity to which we are attracted and seek union, which is truly union with our own highest nature. This is the highest goal of meditation. There are beginning goals to the practice of meditation which are succeeded by other goals as the transformative process of meditation deepens, yet we must never lose sight of the ultimate goal of knowing the highest, the infinite, the boundless love and compassion that is the root nature of all Being. Come to rest in that pure Presence and all striving, all seeking, ceases. Encounter the One, the Knower who is never known.
Then the living state of meditation opens and embraces all of your life. Meditative practices are intermittent, while the state of meditation is continuous and subsumes all of our experiences, whether we are awake and active, asleep and dreaming, or lulled by the dark embrace of deep sleep.
Meditation practice can lead to that full knowledge and the state of radical freedom that unfolds as a result. In this way we go beyond the health and wellness models of meditation to the true intent of meditation.
Kali's Bazaar penned by Kalidas
The Knower
Darkness is secondary.
Who is the Knower
Who illumines all darkness?
Light is secondary.
Who is the Knower
Who illumines even the sun?
Mystery is secondary.
Who is the Knower
Who penetrates all mysteries?
Knowledge is secondary.
Who is the Knower
Who is the source of all knowledge?
Wisdom is secondary.
Who is the Knower
The wellspring of wisdom
from whom all scriptures have come?
Pleasure and suffering are secondary.
Who is the Knower
The stainless One untouched by
desire and attachment,
who looks upon all with love and compassion?
Form and emptiness are secondary.
Who is the Knower
In whose clear and boundless
Light of awareness
Form and emptiness embrace?
Birth and death are secondary.
Who is the Knower
The One, unborn
undying, eternally pure?
O my Beloved,
Tat Twam Asi!
Thou art That!
Kalidas p.79
Living Meditation: Deepening & Integrating Practices
Retreat: Oct. 6-8, 2017 Wisdom House, Litchfield, CT
Led by Lawrence Edwards, PhD, poet, author, mentor and teacher.
Living Meditation will take you into the rich meditative practices and teachings found at the most profound levels of the great spiritual traditions, where the ultimate state of non-dual awareness is all that exists. In this retreat you will learn to deepen and integrate meditation into everyday life. Meditation uplifts our work life, our home life, our health and all that we engage in.
Meditation begins as a set of practices and then the transformative power of meditation processes becomes apparent as we shed old conditioned patterns of mind. The transformative processes develop and ripen, opening the boundless domain of the state of Living Meditation, also known as sahaja samadhi, in which every aspect of our life is transformed.
In this retreat you will learn how to deepen your practices, further empower the transformative process of meditation and discover the state of radical freedom, the state of Living Meditation. This is the state of the Living Presence that already exists within you as your true nature. Some call this their Buddha nature, or their Christ nature, or their Divine Self, but whatever we call it, it is beyond words, beyond the mind, yet at the very heart of our Being. Come to know your state of radical freedom, come to know the living presence of the One.
This retreat incorporates the classic forms of Shaktipat diksha and the unique Maha Kali Yantra empowerment. Everyone is welcome to attend. No prior experience is necessary.
Registration is limited to facilitate learning. Please register early to be ensure a space.
Come and enjoy a glorious fall weekend in New England!
Reserve your place now!
Click here for more information and to register.
Open Meditation Program: 7:15pm on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays
The next programs are 9/14/17 and then 9/28.
2 Byram Brook Place, Armonk, NY 10504.
914-219-8600
All are welcome! No registration needed.
Everyone has the heart to be a true friend of the soul, an "Anam Cara." By embodying that ideal we may serve to help others to find love and compassion within themselves and the world.
Our highest nature is always manifest in relationship - to all other beings, to the environment, community, loved ones, and in relation to our own body and mind. Becoming mindful of the quality of our relationships allows us to learn where the light shines and where it needs to shine more. The ideal of Anam Cara is to continuously endeavor to expand the depth and the inclusiveness of the loving kindness we bring into every relationship, every moment, every breath.
If you have any suggestions, comments or sharings, for our newsletter please don't hesitate to e-mail me and I'll do my best to respond.
I thank you all.
May all beings know complete freedom from suffering and may all our actions reflect only wisdom, compassion, patience and love.
email: info@anamcara-ny.org
phone: 914-219-8600
web: http://www.anamcarafoundation.org