Inner Peace Meditation ~ Spiritual Practices for Chaotic Times

During this past week, I’ve been thinking about what could be the most effective means for responding to all the anger, fear, and divisiveness in our World.  We know the “craziness” is not limited to the United States, but the chaos here seems to be escalating.

I decided that I would do more “short” meditations during the day, maybe 3 or 4 that were 10 to 15 minutes.  I also decided to use “heart-focused” meditations which are simple and easy to do.  With “heart-focused” meditations all I need to do is to focus my breath on my heart, breathing in and out slowly and gently.   My intention is to allow my heart to open naturally with my breath, allowing more Love to flow into my life and spread out into the world.  This is a practice that we often use in meditation class to establish grounding and flow.

I knew this particular practice would be helpful because so many “scientific studies” have been done on its effectiveness.  And, I know specific groups who are using similar practices for their meditations on the internet.  Then, later in the week, I saw a post on FB that I had posted 9 years ago!  It was a letter Albert Einstein had written to his daughter Leiserl in the mid-1900s.  

 

Here is that letter …

In the late 1980s, Lieserl, the daughter of the famous genius, donated 1,400 letters, written by Einstein, to the Hebrew University, with orders not to publish their contents until two decades after his death. This is one of them, for Lieserl Einstein.

…”When I proposed the theory of relativity, very few understood me, and what I will reveal now to transmit to mankind will also collide with the misunderstanding and prejudice in the world.

I ask you to guard the letters as long as necessary, years, or decades, until society is advanced enough to accept what I will explain below.

There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified by us.

This universal force is LOVE.

When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force.

Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it.

Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others.

Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals.

For love we live and die.

Love is God and God is Love.

This force explains everything and gives meaning to life. This is the variable that we have ignored for too long, maybe because we are afraid of love because it is the only energy in the universe that man has not learned to drive at will.

To give visibility to love, I made a simple substitution in my most famous equation.

If instead of E = mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits.

After the failure of humanity in the use and control of the other forces of the universe that have turned against us, it is urgent that we nourish ourselves with another kind of energy…

If we want our species to survive, if we are to find meaning in life, if we want to save the world and every sentient being that inhabits it, love is the one and only answer.

Perhaps we are not yet ready to make a bomb of love, a device powerful enough to entirely destroy the hate, selfishness, and greed that devastate the planet.

However, each individual carries within them a small but powerful generator of love whose energy is waiting to be released.

When we learn to give and receive this universal energy, dear Lieserl, we will have affirmed that love conquers all, is able to transcend everything and anything, because love is the quintessence of life.

I deeply regret not having been able to express what is in my heart, which has quietly beaten for you all my life. Maybe it’s too late to apologize, but as time is relative, I need to tell you that I love you and thanks to you I have reached the ultimate answer! “.

Your father Albert Einstein

To me, this seems to be an excellent explanation for the “power of Love”, as well as a reminder that we can allow more Love to move through our Hearts at any moment!  We can be a Blessing, anytime, anywhere, even if we are not in the best mood or the best frame of mind.  We can be a Blessing!  We can walk anywhere in the world with an open Heart.

In the Gospels, Jesus says, “the Kingdom of Heaven is within.”  When he was asked “what is the greatest commandment … “, his answer was very clear.  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind".  And the second is this … “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  That simplifies everything!

However, Jesus only had 3 short years for his public teaching.  Both Jesus and Buddha were spiritual teachers.  After reaching enlightenment at the age of 35, the Buddha spent the rest of his life, until his death at 80, spreading his teachings throughout India.  Big difference there … !  Buddha was able to teach people “how to develop spiritually”.  He was able to help people learn “how to go within … “.  He was able to help many people with their struggles and their meditation practice.  All this practical knowledge about spiritual development became part of the Buddhist tradition.  What we do know is that “Love” is at the core of both Buddhist and Christian teachings.  And, we can build on that.

During this week, whenever you find yourself feeling frustrated, or upset, or worried, take a few minutes to go within.  Relax as much as you can and take a few minutes using the Heart Breath.  Let your whole system rest just a bit, and allow your Heart to relax so more Love can move into your life.

For the quiet part of our meditation, I have used “rain sounds” recorded from YouTube.  Nature sounds often help us relax and feel more coherent and at ease with ourselves.  Let me know if the “rain” is helpful.  Have a blessed week and take good care of yourself … for sure.