Just an idea … if you’re having a hard time “allowing” or getting in that quiet place of receptivity that prayer and meditation invites … think of it as a game of hide and seek. Imagine you are hiding. You are quiet, restful, silent and still in your mind and body. But you are also in a quiet alert state. You are open to hearing something else besides the noises you generate by your own thoughts and actions. You are listening, anticipating being “found”.
Now. Imagine that no person is actually trying to “find you”. Let that go but keep the receptive state of alertness and attunement you’ve cultivated. Rest in knowing that no one needs or wants anything from you right now. In this state of easy relationship with your environment, both inner and outer, invite peace to find you.
Invite peace now. Invite peace to surround you like a warm soothing glow.
Maybe peace seeps into your roots as if you were a still, content trees … and you just alllow peace to rise up and around and inside.
Maybe peace covers your shoulders and calms your body with a sense of “it’s OK. I’ve got you,” and your shoulders relax and soften and you feel more at ease.
What does it feel like to invite peace to find you, right now? Who do you need to become in order for peace to find a home in you? Can you commit to trying to be more like him/her every once in a while?
Daily, maybe upon first waking, put yourself in your “hiding place” (away from the world, the duties and stories the ongoing mind chatter…) and let yourself settle into momentary stillness. Let peace find you!
“Keep a secret chamber of silence within yourself, where you will not let moods, trials, battles, or inharmony enter.”
–Yogananda