Reconciling faith and the work
I’ve been doing the work for a few years. A few things have happened in meditations and I saw some changes in my life but I often slipped and got caught up in the stress of life with young kids. Things have been tough lately- I have not been connected to my heart and I knew I needed a reboot. So I booked myself a weekend away on my own to recharge, do a bunch of meditations and connect with nature. I did about 5 hours of meditation the first day plus listened to the progressive course. I was frustrated as I couldn’t go deep and my mind was so busy.
On the Sunday I slept in, did a short meditation had breakfast and decided to go on a walk. I wasn’t planning of doing a meditation but on my walk the lake was looking so mystical with the low cloud and reflections that I decided to put my headphones in and do the walking meditation 2. I went deep. I had an intention of feeling love and joy. When I got to the part focusing on the sixth centre I was overcome with laughter. 10 minutes straight of laughter and tears for no obvious reason. I felt a real sense of connection and was truly grateful for the experience.
Later that day, driving home I put on one of my regular podcasts. It’s a bible study podcast. At times I’ve struggled to reconcile the teachings of my church and this work - both speak to me deeply. Well as soon as I hit play they started talking about the importance of quieting the mind, of going within. Then they started talking about the need to think from the heart, not the brain. He referred to scientific discoveries about how the heart controls more than we used to think and that it sends signals to the brain. THEN - he talked about the importance of heart and brain coherence! He literally used the word ‘coherence’. I took this as a clear sign that I do not need to worry about any conflicts between the meditation work and my faith. They are ultimately a means to same end. I hope this helps anyone else who’s been grappling with this issue.