Meditation As a Spiritual Growth Enhancer

The meditative process requires you to go into the silence of your inner self and be still and present without the interference of continuous thought. This inner silence connects you with source energy and allows the free flow of well being that emanates from the source to envelope you.

The silence doesn't give you giant revelations or tell you to buy IBM stock but it does connect you to the absolute where all knowledge exists. This knowingness is not verbalized to you because the communication of the cosmos is not verbal. Words and verbal expression are primitive ways to express your self because words are so unreliable in communicating the truth. They are limited in their meaning and can be manipulated to distort the truth. We see this every day in the physical world we live in.

When you go into the silence you use the silence to open yourself up to all of the knowledge that you already possess. Knowledge that you know but don't necessarily know that you know. The silence allows you to know it again. When you are done with the silence and the meditation is over you have re-membered (become a member once again) yourself to this knowledge. You still may not know consciously that you re-membered this knowledge but it sits in your unconscious, ready for you to use.

One of the finest things you can do when you are awake and aware is to tap into the knowledge that sits in your unconscious, pull it out, and reveal it to the world as something you already know. The thing is that you didn't know you knew it until you reached within you, extracted the knowledge and then used it. Of course you need to be conscious and aware to know when you have done this.

Meditation is one of the methods of tapping into your source but it is not the only way. Whenever you walk in nature and silently observe the abundance of life that surrounds you, you are tapping into the source. As you watch birds fly overhead, or look at a newly formed flower in the spring, or observe the colors of the leaves changing in the fall, or the last glimpse of the sun as it leaves the horizon, or hear the sound of rushing water over rocks or ocean waves or when you see the squirrel in your backyard gather nuts or any aspect of nature that catches your attention at any time, you connect yourself to the wonder and abundance that surrounds us.

As you observe the sights, sounds and smells of the natural world, you can feel the inter-connectedness of it all. You begin to understand how we are all in this together, and you see the connection between plants, animals, earth, sky, water and humans.

The more you observe the more you appreciate the paradise that was created for us to live in and to use as the stage for the performance of our lives. As Shakespeare said "All the world is a stage and we are but players on the stage of life."

We have this unbelievable setting in which to conduct the events and experiences of our lives. The more we are able to see the beauty and perfection of this gift, the more we give thanks for it. This appreciation and gratitude for acknowledging the abundance in which we live is another way for us to connect to our source.

Whenever you give thanks for the gifts you are presented in this life, you connect to your source. You can do this at any time. You can stop now and give a silent "thank you" for whatever you feel at the moment and you will connect with your source. Ten seconds or ten minutes, it doesn't matter. If you are stopped at a stoplight and feel the urge to give thanks, then do it and feel the joy in the appreciation of the beauty and magnificence of the life that you lead.

As you conduct the day-to-day activities of your life, stop yourself for a few minutes and take the time to observe what is going on around you. Step back and see how everything connects and flows together in a wonderful symmetry. See the relationships that exist between you and the events and circumstances that pass before you as you travel your path. As you do this exercise become "aware" that you are doing it. Become "aware" that you are observing yourself. That you are watching your body move around doing life functions.

Be "aware" that the observer is not the body or the mind. This silent observer is the timeless presence that is with you always and is there to observe and guide you if you but let him (or her). It's your choice if you wish to accept his guidance, as it has always been and always will be. When you are observing the observer, you are connecting yourself with your source.

Whether you sit silently in a room, walk your dog (which is God spelled backwards) or sit quietly at the traffic light giving a prayer of gratitude, you are connecting to your God source and tapping into the authentic power that you possess.

You are never without this source of power, but unless you are "aware" of it you may not be able to access it. Most people look outside of themselves for their power through such vehicles as money, status, sex, physical strength, cars, or a variety of symbols that they perceive will give them power.

All of these external sources are temporary and temporal. Only by going inside yourself do you find your "authentic power." The power that observes but does not judge. The power that manifests no physical strength but can move mountains. The power with no bank account but is rich beyond measure. The power with no worldly title but is the emperor of its domain. The power that is not temporary but infinite and the power that is not temporal but is all encompassing in its scope.