Guenther Pohlmann Society: Heidi presented a reading of his writing on meditations entitled:
Meditation and the Christian Faith, An Outline.
Hit Read More below. There is a lot more if you do.
Heidi opened with a quote from Goethe: You can easily judge a man's character by what he does for someone who can do nothing for him.
And now Gunther's writing:
What is meditation?
"Meditation seems to produce a physiologic state of deep relaxation coupled with a wakeful and highly alert mental state, the opposite from the state brought about by anxiety and anger." Lawrence LeShan: Hos to Meditate.
What is the difference between meditation and prayer?
"Prayer is like talking to God, meditation is a way of listening to God." Edgar Cayuce: The Divine Within.
The physical process of meditation: Posture yourself in a receptive state, sitting erect, eyes may be closed, hand flat and open.
Sense your body: The rhythm of breathing, of the heart beat, the felling of flow, the untensioning of your muscles. Travel through your entire body, limb by limb, from torso to head.
Connect and engage with your phsycial self.
Variants of "quiet" meditation: The walking or rhythmically moving meditation: Tai Chi
The spiritual side of meditation: It is not a "religion." Buddha was a teacher, not a prophet.
Historically, meditation arose from the discoveries of the self: Buddha, Lao-Tsu, Confucius, a.o., all antdating Jesus Christ by around 500-600 years. Did Jesus learn from their followers?
The message of divine love originated in Persia with Zarathustra, 600 B.C. Love, compassion and mindfulness became the center of Buddha's teachings.
"The kingdom of heaven is within you": Jesus Christ.
The internalization of God and Christ: thrust your worries upon the Lord, vs. Find God and His kingdom within your selves. Angelus Silesius: If Christ is not born anew in each one of us, He would have been born in Bethlehem in vain.
St. Paul to Timothy: "god has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love, discipline and a sound mind." How do we acquire these three?
Meditation connects the inner realm with the outer, the inward directed "hypnosis" turns outward and we assimilate our selves with nature, with God, with the universe.
The "nothingness" of the initial trance is followed by a focussed connection and engagement.
How doe meditation work? Are there any rational explanations?
The "altruistic gene": by nature we can be loving beings. From the ants on up animals
and humans can be shown to be selfless, collaborative, helpful, caring.
By some inward concentration we may re-awaken this drive or instinct.
Fear,hatred, anger are interrelated and tend to cancel out our altruism. In addition, fear
distorts our perceptions, probably for some good reasons. This natural constellation of our minds is Martin Luther's "old Adam."
Our fearful impulses originate from specific areas of our brains. Mindfulness, our cognitive control system is able to contain them but requires intense "programming" through our faith. This, in essence, creates the "new Adam."
What can we achieve through meditation?
Innerpeace, relaxation, cooling down from stress and conflicts, relief from the bodily ill effects of tension: headaches, blood pressure elevation, heart stress, a.o. benefits.
Spiritually, we can overcome isolation and loneliness, re-focus our purpose in life, restructure our relationships, create a higher awareness of our selves and all with whom and with which we engage.
How do we do it? Training, daily practice, sharing with others, strengthening our communal ties.
Guenther Pohlmann, 12/5/01
One member said "I saw Guenther Pohlman's mind questioning in these writings. He's not pontificating but throwing out these comments as something to think about."
At the end Heidi read a poem to conclude the morning: By Emily Dickinson
Ample make this bed.
Make this bed with awe;
In it wait till judgment break
Excellent and fair.
Be its mattress straight,
Be its pillow round;
Let no sunrise' yellow noise
Interrupt this ground.
Here are two links to the recitation of a poem in Sophie's Choice, one of the more moving moments in the movie and then the instrumental music from the movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGeqdYTaZbs
http://matthewsalomon.wordpress.com/2008/02/17/emily-dickinson-ample-make-this-bed/
As to why they chose an Emily Dickinson poem in Sophie's Choice, there is a
crucial scene in the book (and movie) where Sophie, newly arrived in NYC
from Poland, hears a some of Dickinson's poetry from her English language
teacher. She goes to the big, imposing library, and asks in her
newly-acquired English where are books for the 19th Century American poet
"Emile Dickens." The nasty, superior library clerk tells her there is no
Emile Dickens who is an American poet. Charles Dickens, he tells her, was
a 19th Century British novelist. Unable to make herself understood, and
having been cruelly mocked by this man (as well as undernourished), she
faints on the library floor. This is when Nathan, her lover, first sees
her, takes her home to his house, and takes care of her, feeds her.
As to why this poem was used by the author (Styron), it is particularly
lovely, and expresses the solemn mood at the time; it is a blessing upon
the dead lovers as they lay in their suicide bed. Stingo thinks about how
cruel and tragic both Sophie's and Nathan's lives were, and how much more
they should hope for in death. The metaphor of the bed as grave works
perfectly. And it also segues into Stingo's reaffirmation with life. That
there is no judgment day on earth (we know because of the atrocities by the
Nazi's, including Sophie to make her choice), and the sheer unfairness of
Nathan, a genius, to be saddled by his mental illness. It is a plaintive
and redeeming ending that even after all of this, there could still be a
"Morning, excellent and fair."
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