the mystical path

In this final episode of Season Three of "Life, Love, & Light" podcasts, we examine the goal of The Mystical Path, which is union with God as sons and daughters of the resurrection. Too often, we are so consumed with our sufferings, our fears, and our worries, that we come into the dark tomb of our hearts in meditation expecting to find a corpse. We don't expect to experience the resurrection. The Lord asks us: "Why are you weeping?" Yet, like Mary Magdalene, we don't recognize him until he calls our name. We don't anticipate being filled with the Presence of God! In our practice of contemplative prayer, we have to become silent and still so as to allow Christ to rise within us -- out of the darkness of our inner tomb, our pain, our sadness. Then we may become ablaze with divine joy, the joy that no one can take away from us.
We consider what happens in Eucharist, when we bring our simple gifts of bread and wine, the offerings and sufferings of our whole life, to be transformed by the living Presence of Christ. We don’t have to realize a state of ecstasy to be in  mystical union with Christ. The kingdom of God is already rising up within us!  And if we could taste it when we celebrate Eucharist, it is the most sublime state of mystical union possible on earth. In fact, the whole contemplative path is about realizing more fully what happens in Eucharistic liturgy.
We ask: "How do we learn to live in Divine Presence, not just in meditation, but in everything we do all day long?" In answer, we reflect on the writings of a seventeenth century monk and mystic, Br. Lawrence, as he describes his own simple and yet sublime practice of the Presence of God. We see again that the whole focus of the mystical path is to become aware of Divine Presence. We discover that the continual practice of the Presence of God in our daily lives,  seamlessly interwoven with our morning and evening contemplative prayer, is the best possible description of The Mystical Path -- of living right now as sons and daughters of the resurrection.
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As we continue our "Life, Love, & Light" podcasts on The Mystical Path, we consider three essential aspects of contemplation that Julian of Norwich and countless other mystics have practiced: Silence, Stillness, and Surrender. We examine what each of these practices means and why each is crucial to a mystical life. We discover that meditation is essentially learning to still the mind in the midst of the constant motion of thoughts, feelings, and memories that threaten to derail silent attention. We question why is it so hard to stay aware and watchful without getting distracted; to maintain a "naked intent" of love-longing towards God; to simply be still and rest in God? We realize that it is because we are of  two minds -- the "Martha mind" and the "Mary mind" in Luke's Gospel story: the active and the contemplative. We need to make peace between our two minds.
The Guided Meditation helps us do this by becoming aware of the subtle layers of bodily sensation, thoughts and images, and the emotional reactions we attach to them. As these thoughts and feelings arise, we simply let them go, gently and without grasping. We surrender our thoughts, emotions, and memories to the work of the Spirit within. Gradually, over time and with consistent practice, we will move further and further into the silence and  stillness of Divine Awareness that is the very ground of our being and that never moves.  And as we surrender more and more, we will experience the Divine Light that illuminates every moment of our own awareness. Then we may become a light for those in need. In this is the essence of The Mystical Path.

PLEASE SHARE this podcast with family and friends who wish to develop a meditation practice in their daily lives, especially during this Lenten time of silence, stillness, and surrender. Blessings to all!

In our third season of "Life, Love, & Light " podcasts, we will explore "The Mystical Path." We will discuss what is involved in following such a path – not only through the practice of contemplative prayer – but in every aspect of our daily lives. I will also be guiding you in forms of meditation that great mystics of the past, both East and West, have promised can inform and radically transform our lives. I hope these meditations will enrich your own daily practice.

In our first episode, we consider "What is Mysticism?" in its scriptural, liturgical, and contemplative dimensions. We define mysticism in psychological and personal terms and question when mystical life begins. In examining the course of our spiritual development, we realize that the deep yearning for a mystical life is the result of a profound "conversion" of heart. We want to experience that Christ is really here, now, with us – within us – on this path. More and more radically, we want to surrender – not out of desperation, but out of love.  We choose to live now not our own lives, but his. Finally, we consider the signs of true mysticism and discover that Christian Mysticism is really not a path at all . . .  but a profound love relationship  with a person: the person of Jesus Christ.

PLEASE SHARE this podcast with family members and friends who may be searching for a spiritual path right now. Especially during this grace-filled season of Lent. Blessings to all!