As a young man, I spent a number of days with my spiritual mentor, Richard Rohr. For a number of weeks afterward, I experienced a steady sense of palpable peace. Then, it vanished. I did not understand why until a meditation teacher explained, “You have a weak mind.” I protested, citing my academic credentials. He answered, “I did not say you were not smart; you just have a weak mind, a mind that wanders here and there. Learn to focus your attention inwardly, on the current of grace that flows through your heart center. Then the peace will return.”
His advice was true and simple, but not always easy. My mind tends to be very infatuated with the world and its ever-present drama. At times, it takes great effort and the use of a prayerful mantra to bring it back to an internal, grace-centered focus. Whenever I make the effort, however, I find that God and Guru extend a loving hand in my direction, lifting me out of the muck and mire of my monkey mind. I have come to the conclusion that there is no justifiable reason not to have some part of my mind on the Divine Presence percolating within me at all times. This is what Yogananda meant when he said, “Read a little, meditate more, think of God always.”
Divine Mother,
It can be so simple:
Read a little,
Meditate more,
And think of you always.
