Day 178, Morning
Today’s morning meditation is available below in audio and script formats. The audio version is also available for free download on the player.
Reading
“My mind withdrew its thoughts from experience, extracting itself from the contradictory throng of sensuous images, that it might find out what that light was wherein it was bathed. And thus, with the flash of one hurried glance, it attained to the vision of That Which Is.”
—Saint Augustine
Stillness
As your day begins, spend a few moments in silence and stillness.
Commentary
Even when we are not speaking or acting, most of us find that our mind still goes on working – thinking, daydreaming, planning, worrying, eating up precious energy that should be going to the body to maintain health. In a sense, our mind is in overdrive all the time. But in meditation we can learn to shift the mind out of overdrive and down into fourth gear, then to third, to second, and eventually to first. We may even learn how to put our mind into neutral and park it for a while by the side of the road.
When we can do that, a much higher faculty – which the Hindus and Buddhists call prajna, “wisdom,” – comes into play. Then we will find that we see deep into the heart of life, with fathomless patience at our disposal. When we have learned to park the mind even for a short period, so much vitality is conserved that every major system in the body gets a fresh lease on life. (WLB)
Prayer
• for a deeper understanding of the love of God
• for the full experience of our place as children of God
• for vibrant lives of prayer and meditation
Abbreviations
BC The Belgic Confession
CAC The Center For Action & Contemplation
CD The Canons of Dort
CIB Church In Bethesda Prayers
HC The Heidelberg Catechism
NT The New Testament
OT The Old Testament
RP - Ryan Phipps
WC The Westminster Confession
WLB Words To Live By
WLC The Westminster Larger Catechism
WSC The Westminster Shorter Catechism