Joe Belton, Lompoc Record: With wars, terrorism, and the sluggish economy constantly in the news, people seem to be feeling less certain about the future, and more certain about the need to find a greater sense of well-being in their lives. Accordingly, there has been a renewed interest in meditation all across this country, and many studies have shown that there certainly are physical and mental benefits of meditation in reducing stress and stress related illnesses. The physical and mental benefits, however, while obviously desirable to increase our sense of well-being, have traditionally been treated as merely secondary to the real purpose of meditation: to increase our ability to be able to pray deeply and actually realize the Presence of God.
Most, if not all, of the mystical traditions of the world/s religions have always included meditation (deep prayer) as an essential tool in practicing God/s presence and experiencing the reality of that presence. Among the psalms in the Bible, for example, we find one attributed to King David of old wherein he wrote, ” Be still and know that I am God.” In another, he wrote, “Be still upon your bed and commune in your heart.” This is the essence of meditation: learning to be still enough to perceive the presence of God within us, and learning to express the love in our hearts in communion with God…
Christ Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is within us. We can learn to become aware of it through the use of a proper tool of meditation. Imagine how it could change your life if you could actually know your Creator as a loving being of light. Many people who have had near-death experiences have returned to tell us that this is in fact what occurred for them. They passed through what appeared to be a tunnel of light and found a being of light waiting for them at the other end, a being that they immediately recognized as a manifestation of God’s light. Amazingly, over 6 million cases of near-death experiences have now been documented in this country alone.
What if it were possible to meet this being of light without having to go through the trauma of a near-death experience? What a wonderful thing it would be to be able to know where you came from before this life, where you will going when you leave this life, and be able to really communicate with your loving Creator while you were here. Is an experience like this only possible for certain people, like Moses and Jesus? Jesus himself said, “These things that I do, ye can do also, and greater things.”
So, meditation is not just some esoteric art practiced by yogis in the Himalayas. It has now moved into the main stream of western life. People are attracted to it for varying reasons, but its traditional purpose is one that is as applicable today as it was two or three thousand years ago. When you actually know, not just believe, that God is alive and loves you very much, it brings a sense of well-being and peace of mind like nothing else can.
For people that desire such a sense of well being and peace of mind, and the possibility of realizing God/s Presence, an ancient meditation technique, which has been called Kriya Yoga by some, has recently become available in the Lompoc area with the formation of a meditation group that will be meeting on Tuesday evenings. Interested people can contact the Solar Logos Church of Self-Realization for information (736-6528). The meditation technique is a non-denominational tool that can be used by anyone, regardless of religious affiliation, and can be a great aid in finding our way in a troubled and changing world.
