Into the Valley   Meditation and Spiritual Direction

Meditation and Spiritual Direction

 

Meditation is an ancient discipline found in all Spiritual Traditions.  Meditation is for those who are not satisfied with a merely objective and conceptual knowledge about life.  It’s about an intimate contact with truth itself.  The process of meditation allows the practitioner to operate in wholeness, body and mind as one, thereby awakening to the authentic parts of self.  The practitioner uncovers what lies hidden deep within their being.  The fruits of meditation are bountiful; feelings of oneness, increased kindness , love and compassion,  self-monitoring, patience, a moment to moment non-judgmental awareness, stress reduction, increased brain power,   decreased anxiety, increases in the gray matter in the brain.  Meditation clears the mind and eases many health issues. It is a direct experience into the sacred aspects of self.

 

 

Spiritual Direction is the process of accompanying another on a spiritual journey. It is a contemplative practice common to all faith traditions.  The spiritual director is concerned with the whole person, for the spiritual life is not just the life of the mind.   The purpose of spiritual direction is to penetrate beneath the surface of one’s life, and to bring out inner spiritual freedom.  A spiritual director is one who helps another to recognize and to follow the inspirations of grace in one’s life, in order to arrive at the end to which the Spirit is leading them.   It’s a discernment process which can be deepened by using a daily practice of meditation. 



 



 

“A valley supports life, feeds the animals who live there and provides fertile earth for agriculture. It can do this only because it is empty. It accepts the flow of the river because it is most low and most humble. It receives the warmth of the sun because it is wide and not filled with anything to block the light. It brings forth life because it supports all who come to it." Tao Te Ching