Dear friends,
Welcome to this meditation where we seek to find inner peace in the midst of external noise.
We may have the idea that it would be great to meditate at a quiet lakeside,
But in an increasingly urban world that would rule out the possibility of meditation for very many people.
That type of quiet is not easily found.
And even apart from noise in the outside world,
Can't you notice the clutter and chatter going on within?
Probably even more distracting.
At least that is a little more under our own control.
So let's see if we can come to a period of quiet reflection just here where we are.
It helps of course if you can settle yourself into a familiar chair,
A familiar room for regular practice.
But even if you can't arrange that,
Let's have a go and see what we can do right here,
Right now,
Today.
Take a few seconds to come into an awareness of the present moment.
Maybe just pay attention to your breath.
Notice the rising and falling of your chest.
And see if you can manage to relax any physical or mental tension that you might feel just now.
Breathing in and breathing out,
Realizing that all is well in this present moment.
In an unsettled world we seek for a few moments to turn away from the noise and the confusion of our lives.
We seek to enter into a stillness that resides in the depths of each of us.
A stillness that is at the center of all that exists.
Let's pause.
So we seek quiet.
Not the quiet that is the absence of noise,
Since there is always noise,
But the stillness of a listening friend.
The noontime silence of sunlight on a lake.
The silence of a new idea.
The quiet of a growing plant.
The quiet breathing of a sleeping child.
The silence that brings rest.
Silence that brings renewal.
Silence from which hope and love can emerge.
Let's rest for a few moments to listen for the stillness that rests beneath the confusion and the complexities of our lives.
It is there.
We just have to listen for its quietness.
We seek in these quiet moments to allow the tumult and the noise of life to be hushed.
Time to allow us to hear the promptings of our souls.
Quiet moments of inspiration when we catch glimpses of the loveliness,
The beauty and the kindness that life might be.
Quiet times when we are touched to wonder and awe and inspiration.
Time to notice the wonder that is the world around us.
Let's take another break.
Silence from which hope and love can emerge.
May we walk day by day in the light and by the power of these hours of special insight.
May some remembrance of these quiet hours come upon us from time to time and renew our love,
Our goodness and our faithfulness.
Sometimes the day allows little opportunity for a pause.
So let's pause now while we have the chance.
And during this pause let's see if we can anticipate the day ahead.
Remember the people and the events which sometimes knock us off track and resolve now to face them all with courage and patient understanding.
We are not out to harm anyone so let's not anticipate that anyone is setting out with the intention of harming us.
A final prayer or aspiration.
Slow me down.
Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me amidst the confusion of my day the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves with the soothing music of the sighing streams that live in my memory.
Help me to know the magical restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of slowing down.
To look at a flower,
To chat with an old friend or to make a new one,
To pat a dog,
To watch a spider build a web,
To smile at a child or to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day that the race is not always won by the swift and that there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upwards into the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life's enduring values that I may grow towards the stars of my greater destiny.
Please please slow me down.
Namaste.
You you
