Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighborhood monk in docks.
Welcome back to another installment in our series,
The Calm Beneath the Storms.
So over the past several days,
You've been learning to descend beneath the surface,
To notice the waves,
To rest in the deeper water,
To trust the quiet,
And to recognize the presence of Christ within.
And today,
We're going to gently acknowledge something important.
And that is this,
That the storm does not disappear.
As we begin,
Though,
Let's,
As always,
Allow ourselves to fully settle and be present right here in this moment together.
Allowing our bodies,
Our minds,
And our hearts to come into this space all at the same time,
Finding rest,
And stillness,
And calm.
Take a slow breath in,
And out.
And we begin with the words of Jesus in John's Gospel,
Where he says,
In this world you will have trouble.
Now these are very honest words,
There's no pretending here.
Life can be difficult,
It's uncertain,
And definitely,
At times,
More than we'd like,
Life can be incredibly overwhelming.
So in this meditation,
We're not going to be trying to remove the storm.
Rather,
We're going to learn how to rest within it.
So imagine yourself once again in the ocean,
But this time,
Notice two layers.
Above you,
Near the surface,
The storm continues.
The waves are rising and falling,
The water's moving,
There's noise,
And there's motion.
But now imagine yourself gently descending beneath the surface,
Just like we have the last couple of meditations.
You don't have to go far,
Just enough to enter the deeper water.
And it's here that things begin to change.
The movement softens,
The noise fades,
There's space,
There's stillness,
And there's quiet.
But it's important to recognize that you are still in the same ocean.
The storm hasn't gone away,
It's just that you're no longer only at the surface.
Now I invite you just to bring your attention to your breathing.
Breathing in,
And out.
Letting your breath anchor you here in the deeper water.
And if worries or plans or concerns rise,
Just imagine them as part of the storm above.
Don't try and push them away or erase them,
Just allow them to remain at the surface.
But you stay here in the deeper place.
And you might gently imagine a line or an anchor extending downward from you,
Holding you steady.
It's not a rigid line,
But it keeps you grounded.
And within this deeper presence,
Gently bring to mind the presence of Christ.
Not a Christ who's far away,
But a Christ who is right here with you,
Holding you steady beneath the waves.
And you might quietly pray,
Christ within.
And as you pray that prayer,
Let the words just settle into your heart.
Time with your breath.
Just remain here for a few moments,
The storm above,
The stillness below,
And you resting in the deeper presence of God.
And notice how both can exist at the same time.
Movement above,
Stillness below.
And what you're learning when you practice this is you're learning where to find rest.
So slowly bring your attention back to the present moment.
Feel the body again,
The surface beneath you.
Take a slightly deeper breath.
And when you're ready,
Allow your eyes to open and your awareness to be fully here.
And as you rise from our time together and go into your day,
Take this with you that while the storm may still be there,
You don't have to live at the surface the whole time.
You can return again and again to the deeper place within.
And from there,
You can meet whatever might come your way.
All the time anchored to the presence of Christ,
Holding you in that stillness and calmness beneath the waves.
The storm.
And may grace,
Peace,
And love be with you and go with you today and every day.
Up until tomorrow.
May God's peace hold you and be with you.
