Why Contemplation?
Plato taught that through contemplation the soul may ascend to knowledge of the divine. In Eastern Christianity, contemplation literally means to see God or to have the Vision of God. In Western Christianity, contemplation is associated with mysticism, the pursuit of communion or identity with ultimate reality through direct experience. Hindus use contemplation to realize That which scriptures point to. In short, contemplation has long been recognized as a path of wisdom leading to spiritual awakening.
Masters from many traditions recommend practicing contemplation at least twice per day, once in the morning soon after rising and once in the evening before retiring for the day.
How do I contemplate?
Here are some quotes that may help you realize how to contemplate:
Contemplation is not thinking or trying to understand. Contemplation is silent diving into the restful, devotional, open heart of the words, and there being; just being in the state of contemplation without seeking to understand or get answers.
~ Regina Dawn Akers
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Abandon the words but remain established in the experience of the truth they indicate. That supreme state is beyond all concepts.
~ Yoga Vasistha
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Contemplation is the art of holding a word or a phrase patiently in the silence and stillness of awareness until it begins to disclose deeper and deeper meanings and understandings. Contemplation has the power to transcend beyond the limits of analytical thought and logic, and open consciousness up to an order of wisdom and Truth that can only be described as revelation.
~ Adyashanti
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The words are no more than signposts. That to which they point is not to be found within the realm of thought, but a dimension within yourself that is deeper and infinitely vaster than thought. A vibrantly alive peace is one of the characteristics of that dimension, so whenever you feel inner peace arising as you read, the [written word] is doing its work fulfilling its function as your teacher; it is reminding you of who you are and pointing the way back home. … Allow [it] to do its work, to awaken you from the old grooves of your repetitive and conditioned thinking.
~ Eckhart Tolle
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Your contemplation has to be a naked contemplation that does not rely on any luggage from the past, a contemplation that does not rely on learned beliefs and past feelings.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
To bring the attention to a single point and to dwell on that single point for a very long time is the way to awaken insight. Insight is not thinking and insight is not belief. Insight is a permanent new perspective.
~ Michael Langford
