The Gift of Contemplation

There is an amazing thing that happens when we take time and/or give our lives over to contemplation. Contemplation is any spiritual practice that places us in a posture of receptivity. Through contemplation, we allow ourselves to be open to receiving, from our Divine Source, that which is in our highest good at that particular place in our journey. Contemplation allows us to take time out of our busy lives to simply rest in God. Contemplation is a mystery in which God reveals God's self as the very center of our own inmost self.
While we are invited to approach the practice of contemplation with no attachment to outcome, there are amazing things that can happen when we make this a priority in our lives. Thomas Merton describes a few of these benefits:

The perfection of love and inner knowledge
Allows us to transcend concepts and come to an understanding of the Divine (God) not as a separate object but as the Reality within our reality, the Being within our being, the life of our life
Facilitates self realization, through release of the false self/ego

To put this in layperson's terms, contemplation increases our capacity for joy, contentment and compassion. Through diligent practice, we find ourselves healed and released from our inner spiritual wounds and more able to live as the freely loving and generous persons God created us to be. We find ourselves more closely connected with the source of inner knowledge, insight and creative inspiration. We connect with our own unique giftedness and find ways to cultivate, nurture and share these gifts in the world. We enjoy meaningful, life-giving and supportive intimate relationships. We grow in our capacity to know love. Diligent attention to the practice of contemplation simply put makes life easier.

So, if the benefits of contemplation are so great, why are we not taking time for this practice each and every day of our lives? Aside from all of our lame excuses (I don't have time, I'm too busy, I don't have a quiet space for contemplation, etc.) the greatest hurdle to contemplation is finding the practice that works for you. For some reason, silence has been set up as the model of contemplation we are to strive for. We envision the monk sitting in lotus pose, silent to the activities of the world. Unfortunately, silence does not work for all of us - me included! For those of us who struggle with silence, engaging the active, monkey mind helps us to find that place of inner silence where contemplation can take place. Meditative reading, mantra prayers, music, sacred chant, tactile prayer (ie prayer beads), body prayer (yoga, tai chi, dance, etc), sports activities, creative endeavors and journaling are all examples of creative practices that engage our monkey mind and help it to find the inner silence where contemplation can begin. You know you have reached the place of contemplation when peace begins to enter the inner spaces where chaos used to dwell.

During this time of holiday preparation, I invite you to give yourself the most valuable gift of all. I invite you to give yourself the gift of contemplation. I promise you, if you take 10-15 minutes a day to simply rest in God, you will find the remainder of your day gracefully unfolding before you. You will suddenly find that you have more time to accomplish that "to-do" list. You will find yourself enjoying, rather than dreading holiday preparations. You will discover inspiration for that "hard-to-buy" person in your life. You will become more aware of the reasons to be grateful. 10-15 minutes of contemplation a day, I promise, will forever alter the landscape of your life. Why not start today!?

Seek ye first the presence of God
And God's loving compassion
And all these things will be added unto you.
Alleluia!