Sitting in the World

Meditation in silent surroundings is very enjoyable. Since meditation is about focus, and most often that focus is directed inward, freedom from external distractions helps to maintain that focus.

When the subject of meditation is Oneness, however, there is a certain contradiction to the attempt to exclude "distractions" - indeed, even in the use of that term. If your intention is to experience unity with All That Is, then to the extent your intention is fulfilled, externalities by definition do not exist. All That Is means just that. The barking dog, the ringing telephone, even the strident television must somehow be incorporated in your experience.

Physical reality may exist only conditionally, but it is the milieu in which we have chosen to pass a portion of our existence. It is said that even a dream, as dream, is real. The world we see may be just the product of Universal Mind reflecting upon itself, but as a part of that Mind it exists in the same way that we do.

Seeking a quiet environment for meditation is useful as part of our training. It is difficult enough to release the ties that bind us to egoic mind when we sit in silence. Yet we must beware also the subtle egotism of restricting our Universe to the narrow confines of our own inner awareness. The consciousness of one individual, however expansive, cannot begin to encompass All That Is.

The awareness of unity can never be complete so long as it is confined to our quiet places or our daily periods of meditation. Oneness cannot be limited in time or extent. Enlightened Masters exist in permanent communion with the Divine Source, and have surrendered the illusion of individuality.

To consider the sounds, sensations, thoughts and feelings that pass through your consciousness in meditation as "distractions" is to impose an artificial limitation on your consciousness, to succumb to the dream of separation. When a bird sings, say to yourself, "I am that." Do the same when an airplane flies overhead or a neighbor starts his lawnmower, or when your mind wanders to thoughts of what's for dinner. Do not dwell or focus on any of these sensations, but do not resent or reject them either. Your experience of Oneness must include your entire experience, or it is also only an illusion.