The interfaith perspective

Today I found a website called "Contemplative Outreach Ltd." It is basically about meditation from the Christian point of view (using the approach taught by meditation teacher John Main) but has this thoughtful passage about the role of faith and the value of interfaith practice:

What makes meditation Christian is your Christian faith. It isn't the technique that makes it Christian -- or Buddhist or Hindu. It is the faith that you bring to it. That is why it is such a marvelous way for each person, whatever their faith, to fulfill their faith journey and personally verify the truths of their faith while, at the same time, sharing deeply a spiritual experience with people of other faiths. The terrible error is saying, "Well, I believe in my faith, and that means that somebody else's faith must be wrong." Logically, intellectually, that is where we get stuck. But at the level of the spirit, we experience unity, and unity is what meditation leads us to. This becomes quite a perceptible reality as you meditate in a group. You don't communicate through language or through the body when you meditate. But there is a deeper communication at work. You will find, too, that when you have meditated with someone you relate to them quite differently and more easily, from a deeper level of personal unity.

And I found this encouragement about meditating with a group:

It is important to meditate on one’s own and most of the time this is our situation. However, many people find it difficult to keep up regularly on their own, especially when going through difficult times. John Main believed in the importance of the community that meditation creates. The silence in a group can often be deeper than when we are alone. The group gives support and encourages people to keep on practising on their own. People who meditate together find that the experience bonds them to each other at a deep level even when they do not know much about each other. Thus, groups have all these functions. But there are some people who do practice regularly on their own without the support of a group. They also know that whenever they meditate they are never alone, but are united to all other meditators around the world.

Perhaps the coming of the New Year will inspire you to embark on meditation anew if perhaps you have let it slide or to come back to class if that has fallen by the wayside. But remember, we can make a fresh beginning any day of the year and any time of the day!