Be Still & Know: 4 Stages in Realizing the Divine Presence
Meditation is not a practice of getting things but one of getting rid of things. What kind of things?
All the patterns of conditioning including:
- The thoughts that cloud our vision
- The beliefs that weigh down our soul
- The critical or fearful voices that obscure our capacity to hear the Call of the Wisdom Heart.
In this letting go of images, expectations, beliefs, and assumptions we come into the presence of life-as-it is and recognize that presence breathing itself aware in us, through us, and as us.
How to Practice Letting Go
There are thousands of meditation practices. This one — which I learned from Christian mystic and teacher Cynthia Bourgeault — uses a potent phrase from Psalm 46 to take you step by step into the ever-present mystery.
The practice unfolds in four stages.
Stage 1: Be still and know that I am God.
In this meditation you become aware of your inner image of God. Whether you believe in God or not — look closely. An image of God is there. It is as heavily influenced by your cultural conditioning as by your spiritual practice. And it obscures your experience of life-as-it-is. It’s an image. Let it go.
Stage 2: Be still and know.
As you let go of images, you become aware of a level of awareness called witness consciousness. Witness consciousness observes thought, emotion, and experience. There is a tremendous sense of freedom that comes as consciousness shifts from being enmeshed in images to witnessing. But as liberating as this revelation is, there is still a subtle clinging and self-preservation impulse at work. Even the witness must be let go.
Stage 3: Be still.
Now you enter what in yoga is termed vritti-nirodha — the cessation of the patternings of the mind. Even the subtle pattern of being the witness dissolves. And there is only life: the dynamic stillness that is breathing all.
You experience pulsation of this dynamic stillness as the rhythm of breath in the body and the revolution of planets around the sun. All separation dissolves as the waves of bliss rise and fall through the universe. And yet the practice is not over.
Stage 4: Be.
In this meditation you return to your everyday life. To your personality. Your work and relationships. In the ordinary activities of life, the revelation continues. Every encounter is an opportunity to offer the blessing and to be blessed.
Listen to a recording of this meditation here.
