Saturday, July 22, 2006

Why meditation is important

If we - you and I - are to further the evolution of mankind, and not just reap the benefit of past humanity's struggles, if we are to contribute to evolution and not merely siphon it off, if we are to help the overcoming of our self-alienation from Spirit and not merely perpetuate it, then meditation - or a similar and truly contemplative practice - becomes an absolute ethical imperative, a new categorical imperative... Meditation is simply what an individual at this present stage of average-mode consciousness has to do in order to go beyond that stage in his or her own case.

-- Ken Wilber

The question Wilber is posing is this: Do we want to grow or or do we want to stay stuck? Personally, I want to keep growing so choosing not to meditate is just not an option I want to consider.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:53 AM

    I once heard the voice of God. There were words he said that I did not understand. There were some that I did. How do I hear them again? How do I get to know what else he said?

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  2. Danta, all the great saints and teachers of prayer tell us that we are not to seek to repeat mystical experiences. Maybe you weren't meant to understand the message as such. Maybe the real message was the assurance of God's presence.

    God is speaking all the time. The way to "hear" that is something called discernment. We can dispose ourselves to hear God's voice more clearly through prayer and meditation. I recommend that you get a good spiritual director to help you cultivate the skills in discernment you need.

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