Anchored

I remember decades ago, raising small children, trying to learn how to promote peace in the ranks. It is not always possible to calm a child who is all worked up about something. I recall this phrase, “The child is over-stimulated.” Calming the environment and simplifying the interaction to create a quiet, neutral atmosphere of peace was always worth a try.

I have decided that our modern culture is frenzied with stimulation. Our possession-filled, information-glutted society has so many gadgets at its fingertips, so many cars and trucks on its roads, that we are often over-stimulated. This long-term condition has its ill effects. It is up to the individual to avoid the pull into such a frenzy because no one has control over the broad trends. There are practices of prayer that can help.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he describes our calling in terms of “humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.” We exercise this calling to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:2-3)

The storms of life throw us this way and that; we could use some anchoring to a gentle, humble, patient, and peaceful calling. Paul envisions the followers of Christ to be gifted to this kind of ministry. He writes that we are set apart, made holy, so God can…

“…equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ…” (Ephesians 4:12-15)

So how about a practice of prayer that can help anchor us in Christ? Many people think that meditation is only found in Hinduism or Buddhism, but it belongs in Christianity too. Perhaps you have heard of the Christian phrase, “the prayer of the heart,” where we let go of all thoughts and words. Meditation is found in the teachings of Jesus about prayer. “Go into your inner room,” he says, “close the door and be there in the presence of God.” The early Christian fathers and mothers taught us to guard the heart from negativity and emotion, and to do this by laying aside all thoughts. Don’t fight them, they taught, or try to blank out the mind, just lay them aside.

I teach Christian Meditation twice a week, every Tuesday at 4 PM and every Thursday at 8 AM. If these are not good times for you, let’s find a time that works. I am available to go into it with you very simply and practically; just call me and make an appointment. A priest and monk in the order of St. Benedict, John Main taught this simple prayer practice for years, and founded the World Community for Christian Meditation out of London. He thought about how the world makes huge demands on us, and how stress and strain take their toll.

John Main spoke of a kind of anchoring and stability basic to the Rule of St. Benedict that helps us to be stable and more sure of ourselves. We all want to be sure and confident so we are not blown away by the first stormy winds that come up. Consider his description:

Meditation is a way to this stability, the stability that is the reality of our own being. Saying the mantra is like dropping the anchor, anchoring yourself in the depths of your own being. Real stability for each of us can only come when we are firmly anchored in God. The extraordinary discovery for us to make is that once we are anchored in our true selves, we are anchored in God… we discover our own extraordinary potential: to be one with the energy of God, with the power to expand our lives, our selves, into generosity, into love, into life, into eternal life, which is to say limitless life. (a section on stability in the lecture: “The Hunger for Depth and Meaning, John Main OSB)

In a world that has innumerable ways to distract us and winds of doctrine to toss us to and fro and blow us about, anchoring to God is healing. Stability within the call of Christ is strengthening. There is no lack of stimulation in life. How about turning to the stable, quiet, presence of God? Being present to this Presence leads to life and love that fits with our being and delivers the authentic joy we seek.