Dear Divine Ma,
What Do You Want Me to Learn Today?
The very best of my visit to Assisi town this time around was a destination that was new to me. A side altar in the Cathedral of San Francesco—called the Immaculata—is where a 600-year-old ceramic statue of Divine Mother/the mother of Jesus still exists. It was in front of this statue, for 14 years, that St. Joseph of Cupertino would go every night to pray. And to levitate. My forehead, spine and chest were drawn up unexpectedly into an extreme stillness of body, mind, and soul. The whole chapel, though only an out-of-the-way side alcove of a much grander edifice, was architected to induce an upliftment of consciousness high toward the narrow, soaring ceiling spaces far above us. It was a magnificent experience of uplifted stillness.
Inspired. Thank u for sharing
Dear Ol’ Friend from the past, Isn’t it true that we are all seeking those moments in our sadhanas when we are finally “drawn up unexpectedly into an extreme stillness of body, mind, and soul.” For me, it’s as if all the years of sadhana focuses us toward such as this. I am tempted to say, for me, such experiences have become the essence of the spiritual path. I know of course that service, satsang, support and Self-study are other important means on our path, but am I wrong in suggesting that this kind of experience is at least a crucial stepping stone toward the Goal to which the Guru has been enticing us? And that it IS achievable, by God’s grace, to each and every dedicated disciple. In a nutshell, THAT is the whole reason I wrote my first book, and why I finally agreed to share this weekly blog from my sadhana journals. To remind ALL of us what is possible if only, as our dear Nayaswami Devi wrote in her forward to the next book, “we are open to the unexpected.”