Advent 2 2015 01 Monday

Art by http://www.josephinewall.co.uk/

I haven't thought about this in years. When I go to meditate or say a rosary, I go in with that intention, so it's in the front of my mind, I'm not going in with a blank slate, I'm going in with an intention. Many of us wake up these days in Total Darkness, not to a sunrise. This meditation from (sort of) Chaya Kaplan-Lester asks us to begin with NO intent, to sit in nothingness and embrace it to find G-d in the darkness and come out the other side together. There's some work!

<Sit quietly for a moment in complete darkness, and let the darkness indeed be complete, with no want for anything, no need for the distractions of sight; simply sense the quiet stillness and complete acceptance of G-d who sits everywhere patiently waiting for us to take notice. Turn off all vision, be quiet and sense the sanctuary that is G-d in our on being. Existing in the cellar of self, like an unlit candle in the darkness, discover a deeper self than light can let in. Dedicate yourself to this inner darkness, to the unknown, to the unspeakable seclusions of the soul. It is the darkness that provokes our path to further reaches, our thoughts to further depths. It is the as-of-yet unillumined, unanswered aspects of an unraveling self, the landscape of dreams and nightmares, tragic truths and fears. Dedicate this moment to every question quested after, to every confusion that has humbled us, to every challenge mastered, to the thrill of secrecy. Reach out to the pilot light of G-d's continued presence in our soul and let it catch on the wick of our Spirit. As the candle of our soul comes alive with the light of G-d, notice that it casts a shadow, our very self in dark outline, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with G-d. Integrate and dedicate the darkness with the light, that which illumines a deeper understanding, and know that you are illuminated from within by the very source of all light.>

ADVENT 3: Wednesday: Let Your Light So Shine

When one is in love with God, one becomes like a person who used to travel the town lighting street lamps at dusk. In olden days, there was a person in every town who would light the street-lamps with a light he carried at the end of a long pole. On the street-corners, the lamps were there in readiness, waiting to be lit; sometimes, however, the lamps were not as easily accessible. There were lamps in forsaken places, in deserts, or at sea. There must be someone to light even those lamps, so that they may fulfill their purpose and light up the paths of others. It is written, "Our soul is the candle of God." It is also written, "A good deed is a candle, and the love of God is light." A follower of God is one who puts personal affairs aside and sets out to light up the souls of all with the light of the love of God and with good deeds. Souls are ready and waiting to be kindled. Sometimes they are close, nearby; sometimes they are in a desert, or at sea. There must be someone who will forgo his or her own comforts and conveniences, and reach out to light those lamps. This is the function of a true lover of God. This is the lesson of the Gospel.

- Adapted from a public talk by the Lubavitcher Rebbe