Meditation Offers Spiritual Balance Peace - Lia Fitzpatrick

Article printed in THE EDMONTON JOURNAL
on Saturday, July 31, 2004
in the Religion column, “Offerings” column, page B9:

Most North Americans have been raised in materialistic, superficial, technological, decadent times and have moved away from what is natural, real; that which has any lasting meaning. Many of us have lost our way, lost our connection, become internally disintegrated. In disappointment and hopelessness, many have taken to self-destructive behaviours. Others have forgotten their roots and have lost their sense of dignity, self-esteem, faith and positive outlook.
Without a real sense of meaning in life and feeling spiritually out of balance, we try to compensate for what is lacking – even if we don’t consciously realize it. This can include developing ourselves intellectually or physically, striving for better positions and more money, repeatedly buying things when we don’t need them, pouring ourselves into creative pursuits – often in the extreme. These compensations combined with the increasing pace of life have taken a toll within ourselves - most especially in our children. We can see our sense of inadequacy and unwholesomeness manifesting as anger, discontent, addictions and substance abuse, violence, criminal behaviour or health and mental problems.
The good news is that a shift of consciousness is underway. We can see, most visibly since perestroika and the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, that global society has been experiencing a wave of transformation. We have entered a time when, en masse, people everywhere are awakening to the call of the Creator to throw off internal and external imbalance, re-establish our roots and transform ourselves into wholesome, healthy, balanced, collective human beings, cleansed and healed of our past, and walking quietly but confidently on the true path. By all indications, we have entered the prophesied age of Truth.
The essence of many, if not all, spiritual beliefs share a common thread - “Know Yourself.” We cannot organize Truth or force it, although people have tried. We cannot package and sell Truth, although people have tried. We can only become one with it, and through that living process we improve, deepen, and are able to feel our connection with each other and with the Creator. In this way, we grow and mature in a meaningful way and understand ourselves, our families, our communities, our world, without the baggage of the past or the fears that ordinarily govern our behaviour.
To grow and improve ourselves we must clear the mental chatter to become silent and listen to the small voice within, the Spirit (Collective Being, Father of Creation, inborn guide, teacher and protector). By journeying into the center of one's being it is possible for a person to experience directly our connection with Spirit, each other and the rest of the world, but especially between our soul and the Creator.
Some call this prayer, others call it meditation.
Ancient eastern and western civilizations looked to the Tree of Life. By awakening the mothering, nurturing energy within, we become healed, and love, compassion, spiritual strength, wisdom and security are restored. If our roots are strong and healthy, our lives will be the same. This Tree of Life exists inside us in the form of a subtle energy system that is placed invisibly within our central nervous system. The Divine Creator has built within us electromagnetic energy centres that send subtle messages and signals which we may already feel on our hands, in our bodies, on our head or in our awareness - but do we know what those signals mean? Are we even aware of them? There is an easy way to learn through a living process known as self-realization through Sahaja Yoga. Establishing our self-realization through true meditation is the key - it’s personal, it’s real and it works for everyone no matter what our traditional beliefs are.
As masters of our own well-being, the tools available through the Sahaja Yoga technique enable us to become what we were intended to be. If we are living in reality, then we don’t react, we just see - this is peace. As a peaceful person, we are untroubled by people or events, seeing only the truth in a detached, impartial, but knowing way. We feel serene, clean, compassionate, totally connected to the all-pervading power of creation. Peace is the full and complete establishment of Spirit within us when we are no longer ruled by our mental activity and conditionings, fears or insecurities, the past or future.
Peace means we are completely within the Divine rhythm of Spirit and Truth. We can't achieve peace at a local or global level until we have first established peace within ourselves. When we have peace inside, it will automatically flow outward.

Lia Fitzpatrick has been practising Sahaja Yoga Meditation for 22 years and is a student of comparative religion and indigenous culture.