MEDITATION
By Max Cade:
A Meditation on Meditation
A Meditation on Meditation
The following poem, an original work penned by C. Maxwell Cade in the mystical style of Kahlil Gibran, was a handout in Max's 1970s classes on Awakened Mind meditation and psychotechnics at a London growth center. (See the adjacent article for an exercise in psychotechnics.) Max, the inventor of the Mind Mirror, was a biophysicist, clinical psychologist, and Zen meditation master. Here, he clarifies what meditation is and what it is not.
“
A Student went to the Wise One and said: 'Speak to us of Meditation.' And the Wise One answered, saying:
'You live in a world which is hypnotized by the illusion of time. A world in which the so-called present moment is seen as nothing but an Infinitesimal hairline dividing an all-powerful causative Past from a fascinatingly important and alluring Future. But you have no Present. Your consciousness is fully preoccupied with Memories on the one hand and Expectations on the other.
'You do not comprehend that there never was, is, nor ever will be any other Experience than Present Experience.
'You are therefore out of touch with reality and live in a world of illusion. You meditate when you attend, without attachment, to the Here and the Now. When your unfocused mind is aware, without comment, of whatever IS…
'You meditate when, without ceasing to be conscious of your body and your mind, and of the clamouring voices of your environment, you become increasingly attuned to the Voice of the Silence, to the Wisdom of your Higher Self.
'You meditate when, in the quietness of the Woods and Fields, or in the peace of some old Church, you turn inwards for a while to share the Stillness of God. Yet you meditate more worthily when in the thick of Life's battlefield, in the heat and dust and strife of the daily round, you carry with you that same Stillness, so that your heart becomes the Temple of your Spirit.
'You meditate when you live neither wholly in this world nor in that, when you steep your mind in the waters of divine creativity and intelligence, and your every act is redeemed by being taken up into something greater than itself.
'You meditate when, in the agony of indecision, you say Not my Will, God, but thy Will be done.
'But you meditate most of all when you listen – with the ear of your body and the ear of your mind and the ear of your soul – to that soundless voice that speaks from the eternal cosmos and bids you to be One with all Life.'"
'You live in a world which is hypnotized by the illusion of time. A world in which the so-called present moment is seen as nothing but an Infinitesimal hairline dividing an all-powerful causative Past from a fascinatingly important and alluring Future. But you have no Present. Your consciousness is fully preoccupied with Memories on the one hand and Expectations on the other.
'You do not comprehend that there never was, is, nor ever will be any other Experience than Present Experience.
'You are therefore out of touch with reality and live in a world of illusion. You meditate when you attend, without attachment, to the Here and the Now. When your unfocused mind is aware, without comment, of whatever IS…
'You meditate when, without ceasing to be conscious of your body and your mind, and of the clamouring voices of your environment, you become increasingly attuned to the Voice of the Silence, to the Wisdom of your Higher Self.
'You meditate when, in the quietness of the Woods and Fields, or in the peace of some old Church, you turn inwards for a while to share the Stillness of God. Yet you meditate more worthily when in the thick of Life's battlefield, in the heat and dust and strife of the daily round, you carry with you that same Stillness, so that your heart becomes the Temple of your Spirit.
'You meditate when you live neither wholly in this world nor in that, when you steep your mind in the waters of divine creativity and intelligence, and your every act is redeemed by being taken up into something greater than itself.
'You meditate when, in the agony of indecision, you say Not my Will, God, but thy Will be done.
'But you meditate most of all when you listen – with the ear of your body and the ear of your mind and the ear of your soul – to that soundless voice that speaks from the eternal cosmos and bids you to be One with all Life.'"
Listen to 13 relaxations, short lectures, and guided meditations recorded by Max Cade on the Scottish isle of Iona
during a holiday there with his wife Isabel and the well-known Scottish healer Bruce MacManaway.
Peter Staples provided these recordings to IAM.
Go to: https://www.institutefortheawakenedmind.com/home/g...
during a holiday there with his wife Isabel and the well-known Scottish healer Bruce MacManaway.
Peter Staples provided these recordings to IAM.
Go to: https://www.institutefortheawakenedmind.com/home/g...
