The bridge of Meditation

When I begin meditation, I frequently place an image in my mind that creates a sense of peacefulness. The brilliant pink lotus flower is an excellent representation of peace. To me it is a symbol of calmness and helps create a sense of inner-stillness. The effortlessly floating lotus is a metaphor for the practice of meditation. It rests quietly, full of its own beauty, wanting nothing, thinking of nothing, judging nothing.

GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE

A bridge allows easier accessibility to two landings that are otherwise separated by a chasm. In my life I am often aware of the consciousness that is represented by love, and compassion. Often I am reminded by the Holy Voice to remain non-judgmental and see only Love. The frequent reminders makes it none-the-less difficult to, at times, cross over, and just relinquish one form of consciousness for the other. The cross over can be resisted by old thought patterns. It seems like when I’m in a certain frame of cognition I just cannot bring myself to a place in the mind where I want to make the effort to be peaceful, calm and accepting. Rather I want to clutch the anger and judgment. In my mind, I see the other side. I realize the benefits that I will enjoy by crossing over from one reality to the other. But! But I hesitate. And then I ask myself: Why am I reluctant?

The answer I believe is centered in the concept of control. To walk the bridge from one state of reality to the other would mean relinquishing control. On one side of the bridge is the domain that I have controlled for many years. When I set foot to the bridge I realize that I am moving toward another domain, one in which I must surrender both my offensive and defensive weapons. This is a place in which weapons of the psyche have no use. This is Divine turf, a place where I am asked to surrender my ego-based thoughts and instead extend love and offer forgiveness.

Maybe at some point you also experience difficulty in bringing yourself to inner peace and joy. Maybe you, like me, realize that there is a peaceful place that waits, but you are resisting the walk over the bridge. Maybe you want to hold onto those toxic thoughts for a while.

Here are some things I do to help myself. I first place in the center of my mind an image that brings me to a happy state of mind. Then I move my mind to an image that represents calmness. As these images are interrupted by thoughts that encourage me to turn back, I visualize letting those taunting thoughts go.

Like a balloon filled with helium drifts high into the sky, I too encourage these hindering thoughts to drift off. I see myself taking one step at a time, crossing the bridge ever so slowly. As my mind begins to settle down, I focus on my breath, taking notice as each breath arises and falls.

Again ego-based thoughts will try to creep in and disturb this meditative practice. When they do, I mentally perceive myself letting the thought go. Over time, the anxiousness subsides and divine consciousness prevails. Again I become calm, relaxed and one with love. God fills my heart.

A love letter from Don

Men imagine that thought can be kept secret, but it cannot; it rapidly crystallizes into habit, and habit solidifies into circumstance. 
- James Allen

Thoughts, Love and Happiness

Over the stretch of my professional life, I’ve guided numerous individuals in the pursuit of a both satisfying life and career. I have written manuals for high school and college students, along with training tutorials for college employees and managers. I led numerous leadership programs for both mid and top- management level professionals. All of these books, manuals, and seminars were intended to help those who were in pursuit of a higher station. My programs helped participants who were dedicated to reaching, at minimum, the next performance level.

“We are what we think”

A lifetime of helping others reach an advanced level of achievement Ü has gifted me with knowledge of a couple immutable truths. These are: “We are what we think,” and “The world is nothing other than a reflection of our thoughts.”

Everything in this world is given meaning and value according to how we perceive it. Author Anais Nin said: “We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are.”

Many of us hold on to that pain

Many of us humans, see the world through thick smokey-grey layers of stained emotional perceptions. We have formed judgments of our selves and opinions of others based on pain that was doled out to us by those who were in charge of our survival during our earliest years. Many of us hold on to that pain. We first become used to it, and then use it as a reference point for perceiving the world around us. It forms our attitude and our basis for either accepting or rejecting the things and people that are external to our self. From the pain we learn to value our perceptions and infuse reality into our judgments.

The seminars that I once conducted for both students and management employees alike, were centered on realizing the pain caused by what they believed was lacking in their lives, then doing something about it. Participants would learn to identify the dissatisfaction associated with their present reality, and then determine what it was going to take to move their selves to a better and more rewarding station.

Students used the program as a guide to identifying the potential rewards of a new life once they completed their education. Management level employees utilized the program as a means to make a plan for honing their self-disciple and intensifying their focus in order to achieve a goal.

Happiness can only be experienced through love

The skills that I learned as a guide and consultant, serendipitously led me to a place of spiritual self-discovery. And as such I experienced divine enlightenment. At one enlightened moment, I was enabled to view the world as a different place, and I knew myself as being a different person. The impact of that moment was carried forward to this day. I received an insight and began seeing the world for what it is not, and myself for what I really am.

As a result, I no longer see the world as a place to prove my acceptability, as a place to reflect on the level of life that I want to attain. And, I know now that I cannot rely on things, ideas or people to bring me happiness.

We can easily get caught up in the pursuit of happiness

Happiness can only be found in one absolute truth of life. Happiness can only be experienced through love. Choose to love and happiness is right there. Love is at the core of happiness.

I learned that when I see love, I’m happy. When I choose not to see love, happiness is fleeting. Choose to see love and the world will raise a different perception of an experience. Choose to have a loving heart and the world will reciprocate. Ü


The world is nothing other than a reflection of our own individual attitude. Choose to carry around old grudges, and love will be resisted. Happiness vanishes. Inner turmoil spikes. Anger wells within. Resentment takes control.

We can easily get caught up in the pursuit of happiness. We can choose to give value to ideas that don’t really matter, ideas that are absent of divine purpose. We may choose to believe happiness will be discovered by procreating another child, or buying a new house, or car, or room full of furniture, or finding a romantic partner, or job, or client, or friend, or business deal, or celebrating a Sunday afternoon win, or getting a makeover.

We are living according to divine intention

Gratification can be experienced by fulfilling any of these desires, but happiness won’t. Happiness is experienced through love. For those of you who have attended my little Sunday morning inspirational time, you have seen the water glass prop I use. You see that the oil and water take up separate locations when poured into the same glass. I always thought that this was a great analogy for demonstrating the existence of two completely different truths. One is worldly truth, where happiness is discovered in worldly pursuits. The other is where happiness need not be discovered because it is always present. It is ubiquitous.

Lets get back to thoughts. How are thoughts and happiness linked? When we extend loving thoughts to others, then we will linger in the wonders of happiness. We are fulfilling our purpose. We are living according to divine intention. When we project something other then love then we are resisting life and disallowing our cosmic destiny to be fulfilled. We are bucking our purpose in divine order.

With our thoughts we create happiness

Love promotes the evolution of life and allows our genius to bloom. Any thought that resists love unplugs the mind from its divine source. These discordant thoughts spread toxins in our bodies, weaken our hearts and corrode the mind.

A quote of Buddha says: “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.” With our thoughts we create happiness. With our thoughts we express love. With our thoughts we can also vanquish love and happiness, and resort to seeking out temporary little vignettes of self-gratification. Our thoughts create everything that arises in our lives.

Happiness is always the faithful companion of love

So, if you want to experience a more fruitful and loving life-experience, then maybe you will be willing to take a quick inventory of your thoughts. Note how often in a fifteen-minute period you allow your mind to process unloving thoughts. How often do you make judgments? Make yourself aware of just how often, loving thoughts are blocked from your mind. It’s a good starting point to creating a shift in your thinking.

Love and happiness require one thing. That is: in order to experience love and happiness we must extend loving and happy thoughts.

In the moment in which you feel contempt or resentment, in your mind say: I send you my love. Keep sending love and at some point you will become loving. You will experience love. And, what about happiness? Well, happiness is always the faithful companion of love. Where one goes so goes the other. db¤

Take care of the thoughts, and the actions will take care of themselves. 
- R. H. Blyth

Just a short note:
The Sunday get-together will resume. I’ll keep you posted on a date and time. The program format may be altered. I’ll let you know. Your input and suggestions are appreciated. If you have any ideas please email me. Thank you. - Don

Men are not influenced by things, but by their thoughts about things. 
- Epictetus
Psalm 23:7

As a man thinks in his heart so is he. Someone once inquired of a Far Eastern Zen master, who had a great serenity and peace about him no matter what pressures he faced, “How do you maintain that serenity and peace?” He replied, “I never leave my place of meditation.” He meditated early in the morning and for the rest of the day, he carried the peace of those moments with him in his mind and heart.

BE HAPPY!