contemplation
Contemplation
“What we plant in the soil of contemplation, we shall reap in the harvest of action.” Meister Eckhart
Whenever I hear the word contemplation; I think of the Monty Python skit where philosophers are playing soccer. As soon as the whistle blows; instead of playing they all put their hands to their chin and begin contemplating. Finally, one of them gets an idea and kicks the ball and scores. While this is a comedy skit, it accurately portrays the practice of contemplation. Rather than ‘reacting’ to a situation in your life, you think about it instead. Contemplation is the choice to take the time to ‘hold’ a situation or an idea in your mind before you take action. This not only prevents you from doing something stupid but can also provide you with an answer or a solution totally different than what you expected. It is really a process of slowing down and taking stock rather than acting rashly or from an emotional space. How many times have you done something out of fear, worry or stress; rather than out of a peaceful state of the heart? How many times have you gone to bed and awoke in the morning realizing that you would have done something totally different than you did the night before?
I’d like to use a pie analogy to further explain contemplation. If you make a pie and serve it before it’s cooked…it is just not going to be good. You put a pie in the oven, and it bakes. The oven ‘holds’ it for an hour or so. It keeps it in a safe space where it takes everything that you put together and solidifies it. When you take it out, it has been fully cooked. You then set the pie on a rack and let it cool. Again, another resting period. Finally, it is time to cut into it and serve it. Contemplation represents that baking period. You begin with an idea or a situation; a question or an issue that needs resolution. You take it and ‘hold’ it. Just like the oven holds the pie. The issue will sit in your consciousness for an hour, a day or even a week or month depending on what it is. There is no need to think about it all the time or even to write about it all the time. Just by choosing to ‘hold’ it, you are doing just that. You may have dreams about it. You may journal about it. You may wake up one morning and know the answer. The idea behind it is that when it is ‘cooked’ you will become totally clear on what to do. Once you know what to do there is again a ‘cooling’ or resting period. You write down what it is that you are to do and leave it yet again. You allow it to manifest in the right time with right action. Then you act on the information you received. Let’s say you have a fight with a friend. Our natural reaction is to try and fix it right away. Can you imagine waiting and instead contemplating your next step? Once you know what that is can you imagine waiting just a bit longer before acting on it? You will not react the way you would have in the moment and you will not solve it the way you originally intended. By waiting you also eliminated much of the drama that may have occurred had you continued to push the situation.
When you are completing self-inquiry exercises you will want to use contemplation to gather information. You ask yourself a question and then you think about it. Our first reaction to a question asked of oneself is usually reactionary and from the egoic mind. Allowing the question to simmer in your consciousness for a period of time can benefit you because you will push past your own ego and Truth will rise up revealing what is really behind these tough questions. Journaling your thoughts through the contemplative process is an important action because you will want to note all your thoughts so you can begin to identify the patterns of your egoic mind and begin to separate those from your inherent Truth.
Contemplative practice: Contemplate your current state of health and overall happiness. What conclusions do you draw from this exercise? How do you think you want things to change? What arises as you think about your happiness?
