|
A Tibetan story tells of a meditation student who, while meditating, believed he saw a spider descending in front of him. Each day the menacing creature returned, growing larger each time. So frightened was the student that he went to the Teacher to report his dilemma. He said he planned to put a knife in his lap during meditation. So, when the spider appeared, he would kill it. The Teacher advised against the plan. He suggested, "Take a piece of chalk, and when the spider appears, mark the letter X on its belly. Then report back. The student returned to meditation. When the spider again appeared, he followed the suggestion of the Teacher. He reported back to the Teacher. The Teacher spoke, "Lift up your shirt and look at your stomach." The young man did: there was the letter X.
In Prayerful Silence we meet ourselves. We find that much of what we fear from others is a projection of passions in ourselves. These things may be outside us, but they are often in us.
We should not forget that the opposite is true. Often the good we see outside, good we have denied in ourselves--often due partly to negative religious teaching--, is the good we discover, through Communion with the Divine, to be within ourselves.
Reflections
Reflect prayerfully on the Tibetan story. Pray about its meaning for your life? Your relationship with other persons? Your relationship with yourself? Your relationship with God?
*OneLife writings are offered by Brian K. Wilcox, a United Methodist pastor serving in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. Brian lives a vowed contemplative life with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis, in North Florida. OneLife writings are for anyone seeking to live and share love, joy, and peace in the world and in devotion to God as she or he best understands God.
**To be on a daily reading list to receive notifications of when a new OneLife writing is up, its title, and an excerpt, write briankwilcox@comcast.net .
|
