Since the days of the Beatles and the Maharishi in the 1960s, meditation has become a household word, and millions of Westerners have ever since apparently been engaged on a “journey to enlightenment” which previously had no precedent in Europe and the Americas in recorded history.
Of course millions in India have meditated in one form or another for generations, whereas the Western principally Christian and Arabic Muslims worlds appear to have had only “prayers” as their form of communication with “God” or “the Divine” or “the higher dimensions of consciousness.” In particular, in the West, the priest, the bishop, the cardinal and the Pope have been the “intermediaries” between man and God, though as long ago as the fifteenth century, in England, with the support of Cambridge university intellectuals, Henry VIII decided he would appoint himself as the direct contact between the English Christians and God, which title of “Head of the Church of England” the current British Queen, Elizabeth II, still holds even today.
Mr. Fryman, seems not to necessarily understand the roles of Priests and Pastors, and may even be surprised to know, that those who follow the Bible or the Torah or the Qur’an engage sometimes in something called meditative prayer: that process of inward reflection while gazing out.
Outdoorsmen who know something of this process alone in a forest or upon a lake or a sea, while marveling at the creation called Earth, begin to consider themselves and the world and why. Monastic Monks and others at prayer, finding a space away from the hustle and bustle of our hurry-up life purposefully take time to marvel at awe.
Mr. Fryman, seems to be firmly fixed upon Gopi Krishna or J Krishnamurti, I would assert though the process of taking time to think why are we here, what is our purpose, what should we do is a thing we should each find more time for.
A marketer loves to rush and push, it has been said some women, especially feminists are like that, make a decision don’t think about it.
A single DAD in a rush to make dinner, for his children he sees once a week or every other, and as soon as dinner is done, it is out to the pitch for some fun, only to receive a telephone call in the middle of it all, maybe the ex or a marketer, somebody always trying to add to his load: take a deep breath, at least mentally.
Even if alone without the children, perhaps in the middle of the week, the boss is demanding, friends are not about, bills are due and they are too much, your son had a cold and the ex will not answer the phone, so many things what are you to do.
Stop, take a breath, think with a little focus: take yourself out of a downward spiraling hole and view it from the outside. Fathers for instance, have always known that patience, persistence and manly calm are some of their greatest strengths: measure twice cut once.
Christians, Jews, Muslims, Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic may I humbly suggest look past the name Krishna, and see the process. Persons without faith, might consider finding one it is not all about rules: there are consequences to choices, we all know that, it is not a book’s fault, it may well be that by looking outside of ourselves we find where we should be.
read this book here:
04.+How+to+Meditate+(November+2005)
West Michigan DADS 