Monday Meditation: Peace in the Pew

I went to church yesterday with my mom. It's the church that I attended growing up. It's a nice church. Nice people, pretty building, talented ministers. I did find the services boring at certain points in my life, most likely because I was being forced to attend against my will. One can imagine that a teenager would much rather be in bed at 9AM on a Sunday morning than sitting on a hard pew listening to parables and announcements usually regarding things furthest from said teenager's mind. But yesterday was different. As was the time I attended this same church a few weeks earlier on my own. And here is why (other than that I haven't been a teenager in 10 years!):

I spent 7 months waking up at 5:30AM to sit for half and hour in silence to meditate. I filled two journals in that time with insights and wisdom that would surely only come to me in those dark and quiet moments. And while I have not been able to maintain a self-discipline to sit myself down for half an hour each morning since I have departed the community and structure that an ashram brings, I am discovering a few tricks. And one is church.

Because I would never describe myself as religious, I do believe this would work in almost any center for spiritual communion, not necessarily only in a Presbyterian church. But what happens during the service is simply this-you can't get up and leave. I mean you could if you really wanted or needed to but in essence you are committed to being somewhat still and present for about an hour. And within that hour there is some standing, some singing, some messages from the Bible, as well as some moments for prayer-both led and silent. Aside from the standing aspect, this is not too different from Satsang at the ashram! Sit still, quiet the mind, empty your 'self' and your 'Self'/God just may swoop in with some answers. Of course I believe those 'answers' are always there, we just can't really hear them through all of our over-analytical, frenzied thinking. And on this particular Sunday, having spent the previous afternoon at a bookstore reading many of the political and social journals and magazines, my mind took me here in the midst of the silence:

NOTE: This is verbatim, written on a small orange notepad my mom was miraculously carrying around with her. I now know to bring my journal to church. Also note that the minister's message for the morning was about the prophet Jeremiah, who was incredibly unpopular for the prophecies he would bring to the people-so much so he was eventaully thrown in jail. I suppose we have a long history of those who cry for change being belittled and hated, even when what they bring is TRUTH. (Especially then). This is my truth and I share:

I am choosing in this first statement to focus only on idealism and optimism when looking at our nation: We have done wondrous things in a mere 300 years. We have created infrastructure like no other in size, breadth and effectiveness. Our achievements are many and they are grand.

Now, I add the realist tilt, the view that is gaining popularity but still will never be a delivery of 'good news' in conventional circles. Was this great building of cities and infrastructure done with mindfulness? No. Was is done with greed, with the mind on the fiscal progress of the few and the feeble benefit or poeverty of many? Yes.

I do happen to believe that everyone does their best. Meaning that in a given situation, humans will, with their frame of reference in that moment, make the best decision they can at that time. And so I don't shed blame. It is clear that the best that could be done with our collective frames of reference was done. And now? Now we see the error of our way. We do need to feel a sense of pride in our progress in the sense of technology and discovery, but also an even greater sense of calling to repair the wounds that have resulted in our haste.

The prescriptions of consumerism and capitalism to heal the wounded American/Human spirit, have proven to have disastrous side-effects. And rather than to continue on this unsustainable 'pharm-cycle' of a pill-for-an-ill, the time has come to address the cause of the disease rather than simply treating the symptoms. We are killing our environment and its inhabitants with the weapon of human greed. How do we heal this? What is the right prescription? (Grassroots, grow-your-own...the people need to WANT to stop buying crap...)

Om tat sat.