IV.
Averted
Vision
There is a
practice common among astronomers who, when they wish to see a celestial object
more clearly, avert their eyes from looking directly at the object. As an example of this, the separation between the two stars of the double star Albireo, at the foot of the Northern Cross, is best seen by this method. Physics of
the human eye teaches that there is on the retina a small area (fovea)
upon which focuses the light from objects looked directly at (stared at). If we
look to the right or left of the object, the light from the object focuses on a
less used and a more sensitive part of the retina.
It is like that
with prayer. When we wish to turn our attention to God, in what direction do we
turn? So frequently we tend to believe that to "talk to" God we have
to think about (have
a concept of) God to which we turn. So often when we do not focus on
"God" in this way, our mind wanders every which way and we find our
minds racked with distractions.
Christian
spirituality teaches that we do have an "adequate" concept to hold on
to, namely, the human Jesus. When we focus on the human Jesus, his words or one
of his deeds, we are focusing on God's human conception of Himself, Jesus.
Since we as humans cannot conceive directly of God the Creator of space and
time, hence of all things, we meditate by focusing upon one of the mysteries of
his life on earth.
Of course, if the Incarnation is not an item
of faith for one, as is the case with Zen-Buddhists, then the focus of
meditation becomes that which is within, which can be perceived as “no-thing”. Zazen,
seated meditation, is an exercise in which, according to Suzuki :
That experience is not what we ordinarily
term,"satisfying"; it is a desert experience, too much of which can
lead to insanity it has been said. It is a battle, a war which Saint Athanasius
referred to as battling demons in his Life of Anthony.
The evangelists wrote of Jesus' testing by
Satan, the "adversary"(Mk.1:12-13; Mt.4:1-11; Lk.4:1-13 ).This testing
is apparently much like that experienced by Job when Satan, at that time a
member of the court of the "so called" sons of God, asks God for
permission to test Job's love of God with trials instead of all the
blessings which had been his birthright.
(Jb 1:6ff,2:1ff)
In Jesus' life, it is the holy spirit that leads him
out into the desert to be "tested".(Mk.1:12-13) When Jesus prays, he
seeks solitude, emptiness and the desert.
-----------------------
Emptiness…is
where the Real is.
Don’t run
from the emptiness,
Don’t
solid-fill it;
Steer by
it, as with the North Star,
Make it
your bone, your skeleton, your Rock.
For He
said, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is within you,’
Where the
emptiness is;
Punch
through the empty center
And make
it your axis.
“Very
early in the morning, long before daybreak
He left
the house, went out to a lonely place,
an empty
place… Where He prayed”. (Mk.1:35)
May I
come with you?
CMc
-----------------------
One of the most poignant self-descriptions of Jesus
in the gospels occurs in both Matthew and in Luke:
"Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of of Man has nowhere to lay his head." [Mt.
8:28; Lk. 9:58 ]
In saying this, Jesus indicates that his home
is nowhere, not a three dimensional, this worldly place. His home is with the
Father. He faces in that "direction" when he prays; and so should we.
Recently, I was struck by a song sung by Allison
Krauss on the occasion of a concert "Down From The Mountain Tour" at
the Bayside Pavillion in Boston.
I didn't catch the name of it, and I could not locate it on any album or CD of
hers, until recently.The song is entitled "A Living Prayer" and it is
on the CD entitled Lonely Runs Both Ways. It sums up what I've tried to
explain:
Words and music by Ron Block
Moonlight Canyon Publishing (BMI), Admin. by Bug Music
In this world I walk alone
With no place to call my home
But there’s One who holds my hand
The rugged road through barren lands
The way is dark, the road is steep
But He’s become my eyes to see
The strength to climb, my griefs to bear
This Savior lives inside me there
In Your love I find release
A haven from my unbelief
Take my life and let me be
A living prayer my God to thee
In these trials of life I find
Another Voice inside my mind
He comforts me and bids me live
Inside the love the Father gives
In your love I find release
A haven from my unbelief
Take my life and let me be
A living prayer my God to thee
Take my life and let me be
A living prayer my God to thee
Astronomers fix their eyes on outer space,
to see what reality is, when maybe we
should avert our eyes from that to interior space to see reality.
Charlie Mc
Charlie Mc
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