A return to sanity meditation

DISCUSSION

Every meditation technique is based on some underlying purpose. The purpose of the AA program is a return to sanity, where sanity is defined as making a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God.

A man traveled from New York to Boston on a train, about a four hour journey. At the end of the trip he was asked by a fellow passenger, as he disembarked, how he found the trip. He replied, "HORRIBLY EXHAUSTING because my baggage was so very heavy for this trip". The fellow passenger remarked that, had he put his luggage in the overhead racks and taken a seat, the train would have done all the work for him.

Meditation is the practice of putting down our baggage and letting the train (God) do the work. We exhaust ourselves needlessly, just like the fellow on the train. The key word here is NEEDLESSLY as the train will arrive at its intended destination with or without our effort.

When we let go and let God, we arrive at our destination refreshed without the suffering that comes by carrying so much mental baggage.

"Letting go and letting God" requires practice. We were not raised to behave this way, and our culture abhors the idea. Most of us are so asleep that we don't even even realize why we are so stressed, fearful, and physically unhealthy. We are carrying baggage that can, with practice, be put down. Meditation is the practice of "Letting go and letting God" thereby enjoying our journey.

INSTRUCTION

• Begin by sitting comfortably and taking a few deep breaths and focus on your breath.
  
• Then, as thoughts, feeling, noises, and even body sensations arise, just notice them and say mentally:
  "Right now, I need do nothing - Thy will be done".
  Then return your focus on your next breath, both the inhale and exhale. Feel the breathing!
  
• Reject no thought; cling to no thought; remember no thought
  
• Repeat this process for the whole session [focus on breath, notice thoughts, say: "I need do nothing - Thy will be done"]
  
• Do this for twenty minutes each morning and each evening
  

FINAL THOUGHTS

Daily practice is the key to learning to let go and letting God. Trying to achieve some specific goal or end will ruin a perfectly good session - remember we are learning to "do nothing".

With practice you will realize that you need do nothing to get out of problems you never had in the first place.

May the Lord shower you with His mercy and bless your affairs with His guidance.