By Judith Pennington (about the author) Page 1 of 1 page(s)
awakeningpath.com
For Awakening Path: Judith Pennington - Writer
It was a few thousand years ago that the prophet Elijah heard "the still, small voice" which comforts and guides us today. Chased by Jezebel's armies, Elijah took refuge in a cave and prayed for an end to his life, as he felt that he had failed God.
First the wind rent the mountains, then an earthquake and fire, but for the first time in Hebrew history, the voice of God was found not in these forces of nature but came afterward in a "voice of gentle stillness" heard from within, in the silence of loving contemplation. (I Kings 19:11-13)
Elijah's experience marked a radical shift in human perception and we are still understanding it today. First, we won't "burn up" if we see the face of God, since the substance of God is light-filled healing and growth and this energy composes every single thing in our universe and us, too.
Secondly, while it might be nice to have a booming voice tell us how to live, we grow through experience, by listening to the quiet voice within, and with its help develop the awareness and discernment needed to make positive choices based on love and service. Thus do our hearts and minds blossom into all that we can be.
It's not an easy job, but the still, small voice waits and wants to give us all the help we need. It becomes our pleasure, our greatest joy, to sit in the silence of meditation as Elijah did and listen for this gentle, kind and infinitely wise voice that is our finest teacher and most loving parent and friend.
If you want to try this, just find a quiet place, focus on your breathing for awhile to relax, and reach into the mind of your heart for what you want more of in your life: a word like peace, healing, wholeness, oneness, or a phrase describing what you want to build into your body and mind. When your thoughts wander, bring your mind back to the word or words of this ideal.
You will soon find a quiet calm and intervals of no-thinking, or samadhi, opening to a core state of oneness with the voice of God and your soul, the divine spark of who you really are. You may hear a voice, see images, experience a sense of knowing, or simply feel rested and receive your soul wisdom later on. Be receptive to whatever comes and be patient, knowing that meditation alone will improve every aspect of your life, from physical health and emotional well-being to a sense of unity with your deeper self and the goodness in all of life.
I doubt that Elijah had candles or incense on hand, but rituals like washing with water, lighting candles, observing the breath and wrapping your heart around opening prayers create a loving energy that trains the mind to be silent. This is the key to meditation, since most of our consciousness (memories, emotions, creativity, insights, intuition, spiritual connection and psychic gifts) exists in the subconscious and unconscious levels of mind. Only here can we truly know ourselves, others and the Divine.
Many people claim that there just aren't enough hours in the day to spend 20 minutes in meditation. Yet meditators report, without exception, that the mental clarity and higher consciousness acquired through meditation pay back that 20 minutes many times over and bless one's existence with a beauty and peace that becomes a sought-after way of life.
Only through experience can we learn to hear and trust the still, small voice within. It is no longer a booming voice of authority, but will be heard as your own voice in its crystalline purity.
About the author: Judith Pennington, a writer and meditation teacher, is the author of "The Voice of the Soul: A Journey into Wisdom and the Physics of God." Her new meditation CD, "The Illuminated Door: Journeys into Your Soul," is available through her website at http://www.eaglelife.com.
www.eaglelife.com
Judith Pennington is one of many visionary thinkers stepping forth to help bring about the flowering of peace on Earth. The author of a groundbreaking book about inspired writing and the science of spirituality, she teaches what she knows best: how (
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