Inside Tracks Meditation Group
Meditation Experiences
Taize Meditation
Taize worship originated in Taize, France where there is an ecumenical community of Brothers composed of Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. Each year over 100,000 people make pilgrimages to Taize for prayer, Bible study, sharing and communal work.
Taize is an ecumenical sung and silent participatory service designed to achieve a contemplative state through music, song and silence. This worship typically includes candlelight, prayers, readings, silence and soft music with repetitive words. The service is very meditative and offers a wonderful opportunity to be silent and center on the Lord.
Quoting from the Brothers, “Short chants, repeated again and again, give Taize its meditative character. Using just a few words, the chants express a basic reality of faith, quickly grasped by the mind. As the words are sung over many times, this reality gradually penetrates the whole being”.
The Sefirot is an integral part of the Kabbalah tradition which originated hundreds of years ago as a part of Jewish tradition. The Tree of Life is a ladder or map of existence. It shows the laws, structure, functions and dynamic flows of the universe. It also reflects the evolution of human consciousness.
Kabbalah as part of the Jewish tradition focuses on the hidden teachings of the Torah, or first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is the mystical interpretation of the Torah. Kabbalists view the stories of the Torah as metaphors for different levels of consciousness. From this perspective it is a complex system involving the theoretical, meditative and practical approaches.
Today Kabbalah has evolved and extends to practice by Christian groups as well. Among these groups, it is based more on the personal connection with the Divine through prayer and meditation.
Kabbalah literally means “to receive”. Our meditation will be mindful of the gifts we receive and our transformation as we in turn participate in creation by giving. The Tree of Life encompasses this as it universally represents the Divine story as it exists both within each of us, and all pervasively throughout.
Kirtan: Hindu chanting
The Hindu religion is possibly the oldest of all religions. Hindu scriptures predate Hebrew Scriptures by millennia.
Kirtan involves the communal call and response chanting and singing. It is repetitive as the practice is to become one with the Hindu gods and goddesses. Through Kirtan an offering is made of spirit and feeling. It is a meditative prayer of devotion set to music.
The group that assembles to do this is referred to as a “Satsang”. It is a gathering of people who come together to remember by going within in order to find their own inner path to Oneness. While all individuals must follow their own path, in reality we are all traveling together. Kirtan is to assist each other to find the path that is right for each of us.
Specifically we will concentrate on a selection of Psalms that align with the season of Lent. A metaphysical interpretation will be included as part of each reading so that we may find deeper meaning within the passages.
Baja'i Meditation
Baha’i beliefs center around three core principles.
- The unity of God
- The unity of humankind
- The unity of religion.
They believe that, “The purpose of this life on earth is for each individual to develop the spiritual and moral qualities that lie at the core of his or her nature.” They refer to each human being as a “mine rich in gems of inestimable value,” and believe that the gems are minded only when a person turns to God.
The Baha’i have a favorite expression, “Blessed is the spot”. The meditation will focus on the “spot” and how the spot connects with our hearts.
Loving Kindness Meditation
Buddhist Metta Bhavana meditation – a Loving- Kindness Meditation. The word Metta means love or loving-kindness. Bhavana means cultivation. This is a meditation practice that invites us into “loving acceptance.”
It can be regarded as a healing meditation as its practice helps to free our mind from its pain and confusion. This can be experienced as an immediate benefit as we replace negative feelings of anger, resentment and pain with more positive aspects. It can help bring our relationships with others into better harmony.
The Loving-Kindness is part of a meditation process that produces four qualities of love:
1. Friendliness
2. Compassion
3. Joy
4. Equanimity
As you practice this meditation process you develop the capacity to “remain kindly disposed and caring toward everybody with an equal spread of loving feelings and acceptance in all situations and relationships.”
Facilitators
Mike Korpan
Diane Venzera