Meditation Cafe: Silence Is Here

Silence is here. What does this even mean?

The answer cannot be found in the minds questioning, in fact the more we try to think about the Silence, the further away the Silence appears.. And yet, beyond all our thinking, philosophising and analysing, the Silence is still here.

The only way to understand this statement is to experience the statement itself.

I’m always amazed at in-person classes and workshops, at how easily and quickly people can drop into the Silence, recognise it (because it is our Natural state), be in absolute awe of it, and then just as easily and quickly forget it. I don’t exclude myself from this observation, although these days it’s easier for me to recognise when my attention has moved away from it.

And that’s what our attention does.. It moves away from our Natural resting state, gets distracted by all the thoughts, worries and fears, pains and pleasures that this world generates and mistakes them as our identity.

This is the benefit of Meditating consistently on Silence (I’m not talking guided visualisations here), being able to recognise more easily when we are focusing on what is unimportant, futile and often self violent. It’s like the more attention we give the Silence and the more we Appreciate it, the more our awareness of it grows and expands, the more light we can hold and radiate. We take one step back towards it and it takes 1000 steps towards us.

If you don’t nurture a flower, water it, feed it, make sure it gets enough sunlight, it will not reach its full blossoming potential. A healthy plant glows, a well loved and nurtured forest is illuminated, the colours vibrant and the Stillness and Silence tangible. Our own awakening Consciousness is often likened to a lotus flower. You cannot force a bud to open or a tree to grow, as in doing so you destroy its beauty.

One of my teachers, Narain Ishaya, reminded us once that when we look at a rose bud, we don’t say there’s something wrong with it because it’s not a fully blossomed rose yet. It seems when it comes to our own Spiritual blossoming, we don’t see the beauty of our seeding, sprouting, budding stages. Nature does not rush and nor do we need to. It knows that in time, with the right care, the bud cannot help but blossom. Our job is to create the correct environment for our inner Lotus flower of Consciousness to blossom.

Meditation (on Silence), recognising when the mind drifts, becoming aware, choosing to come back to resting if only briefly, using our Mantras to water our flower instead of giving our negative self talk credence, theses natural movements back and forth build our alertness muscle and make our stem strong.

Giving too much attention to our negative thoughts and conditioning and identifying with thoughts that would have us believe we are not good enough or not worthy is like pouring poison onto our lotus bud.

Next week 21st October, there is the opportunity to join us for an in-person Meditation Cafe at The Healing Hub in Market Harborough. You can book your space here. It is my intention to try and offer in-person Meditation Cafe at least every 6 weeks as there is so much beauty in the personal connections and reflections and amplified awareness of the the Silence of a group. I’m aiming for monthly.

I really miss the Mindfulness, Meditation and Tea I used to run at Whitespace Yoga Studio and I’m very much looking forward to running more in-person events. There’s a minimum donation for in-person Meditation Cafe to cover the venue hire buy don’t worry though, you can still zoom in as usual with optional donation if you can’t make it in-person.

You might like to check out this little poem, Wake Up.

Here’s the zoom registration link for tonights Meditation Cafe, Monday 14th October 2024, 7.30pm, to join us as we explore how Self Enquiry and Heart Words Meditation, eyes closed and eyes open practice, can help you grow your awareness of the Silence within you that is here now:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZApc-qsqDsuH9RPksq7l_KIwPZX0Xk6WfBz

To receive these Meditation Cafe blogs with zoom registration links directly to your inbox, please subscribe here:

No previous experience necessary to join us, an open mind and willing Heart is helpful. You can find the weekly registration links, read about any potential contraindications (especially read if you’re struggling with your mental health or experiencing any kind of trauma) and other things you need to be aware of, on the Meditation Cafe page . If you have any concerns, please contact me beforehand to discuss whether this Meditation practice is for you, or how we might adapt the practice to support you.

Meditation Cafe is part of The Silent Revolution and is free by default. If you’d like to support me in this work, you can if you feel called to, “Buy Me A Coffee” in the Cafe, pay for the tuition received (the going rate is between £5 – £8 for similar online classes) or express your Gratitude with a donation here:

http://paypal.me/thebendywitch

There’s no obligation to donate implied AND all donations are Gratefully received 🙏🏼💞

Thank you for liking, sharing blogs and poems you resonate with with friends and for sharing any thoughts provoked, contemplations and your experiences of Meditation in the comments.