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We do not have faithful thought by repressing or denying thoughts. Deeper Silence is for full acceptance of all thoughts. There we experience their Source, their common life.
We can befriend even potentially harmful thoughts. Within them we may hear wisdom. We may learn important lessons about ourselves, others. We are not, still, to indulge in unfaithful thoughts. Befriending and indulging are not the same. Positive thoughts – of loving, enjoying, sharing peace - of trusting Grace are needed immersement, even when we do not feel positive.
Thoughts issue from conditioning. In the above story, the man was not ready to accept the blessings of the tree. For distrust in the possibility of what was happening, in modern terms we can say he sabotaged the Grace of the tree, the Abundant Life the tree offered him. He could not welcome the unfamiliar, once it dawned on him how unfamiliar and unconventional was this giving of the tree.
We, too, can turn from Grace. We, possibly, each do often. Likely, we align with Love, then we dis-align. We turn to, we turn from, … Our thought can be, when we receive good beyond the bounds of our conditioning, “Oh! This cannot be.” But, if for one moment we would move mentally and heartfully outside that boundary, what might be possible?
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Anxiety about the Gifts the Spirit offers us, and these most often come through someone else, can become as a sprinkling of doubt. We, then, if not diligent and mindful, transforming the thought prayerfully, find ourselves bombarded by a deluge of distrust.
This is a reason Silence, Prayer, and other spiritual practices of stilling the heart-mind are important. In Silence, within prayerfulness, we find a return to Calm. With the waters turbulent, it is difficult to see the depths. With a calm surface, matters become clearer. Through consistent meditation we see more clearly, and feel more wisely.
One way of doing a meditation to soak into your self positive thoughts and feelings, is an active meditation. I recommend you begin this not immediately into meditation, but after calming down and going a little deeper than usual awareness.
I offer a suggested practice, and utilize three of the Fruit of the Spirit that Paul refers to in the Christian Bible, in Galatians. These I call qualities, and are love, joy, and peace.
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