we move through positions of mind and heart
adjusting ourselves so that we may hear better.
Contemplation lets us hear meaning,
Meditation lets us hear the space that permeates,
Reflection lets us hear the movement of events,
Supplication lets us hear the echo of ourselves.
So often we pray, and in praying, perfom supplication. But supplication is like singing in a closet. The song cannot reach outside, and without the other practices, we do not even know where there is an outside. Our prayers are rarely answered because we do not know to whom they are directed.
Meditation is stilling the mind until there is a vast expanse, 'til there is an open horizon in the heart and mind. It is like the expanse of desert sand dunes and the azure of the sky. A gentle sirrocco arises to remind you of the dynamic nature of the universe, but still there is an expanse, and your cares for your individual identity dissolve intothe vast desert.
Meditation is not just stilling the mind without regard to a path, we move through the stages one by one, through the effort of non-effort. As we still the mind we seek to settle the mind, inwardly, continuously, intactly, intensely; to tame the mind; to pacify the mind completely; to make the mind one-pointed; to settle the mind inequanimity. This is the path.
Contemplation is the dance, where we move down the paths of possibility, where we pose the questions of "what would it be like..." If we dwell in the possibilities, wear them like a cloak, we are able to practice the meaning of the divine as it dwells in us and moves our actions along like a stream.
Reflection lets us move the mind and the essence throughout the body We wear two garments, the veil of concepts and a cloak of ignorance. Tranquility from meditation rends the veil of conception, Contemplation turns the cloak of ignorance into a prayer shawl.
