SadhanaOriental Meditation and Christian Prayer
Contemplation in action
ーLandscape in my heartー
[6] Relate by keeping distance
When you pray well and wish to be a good servant of God, you develop a special way of looking at reality. You also develop a special attitude in relating to reality.
Reality itself is not God. However precious a thing or matter is, it is not God. In the reality of this world, the essential part of sacrament is the only thing that we should relate wholeheartedly, recognizing it as God Himself (or something that is directly connected with Him). Anything other than that is not God Himself.
You should not give your entire self to something that is not God Himself.
In other words, you have some space in your heart to avoid that your entire self gets involved in something that is not God. Your mind keeps some distance (space) from a matter in front of you, and keeps you slightly away from it.
At the same time, you want to face God. You should be faithful to God’s wish. You do your best to be God’s beloved child and aim to be happy with God.
Therefore, you are faithful to all the people and matters you relate with.
At the center of your heart, you have a wish to face God (underlying orientation), which has been developed through prayers and service. You need to be careful not to make that wish (orientation) disappear because of sensory stimulation and interpersonal considerations (thoughtfulness).
We are strongly attracted to many things that exist in this real world. We keep being enchanted and fascinated by so many things such as golfing, watching cartoons and movies, playing music, managing financial assets, traveling, and so on. You try to keep distance from all these things.
The attitude of not being obsessed by these things means that you try to find an imperishable meaning, value, and role in the relationship with such matters and people. Instead of being obsessed with momentary and temporary meaning, value, and role in front of you, you relate with it from a more permanent standpoint.
As already discussed, this does not mean that you take a cold attitude. This just means that it is centered on recognizing a meaning, value, and role from a permanent standpoint.
This attitude creates space in your heart where God can visit at any time. You have sensitivity and space in your heart to welcome God’s visit. Your heart is peaceful, recognizes things keenly, is open to other personalities, and has a broad, unrestricted perspective. You always stay like that. When you have such attitude, you can always welcome God’s visit with pleasure. It is also similar to the way (method) how Jesus relates to things and people as depicted in the Gospel. Enjoying Jesus’ characteristic word and deed, you live your daily life.