My Thoughts on How to Meditate

People often ask me how to meditate. I’ve been thinking about it a lot this week, and here is what I’ve come up with. 

As you know, I like to go straight to the Baha’i Writings to see what they say. So for example, I read a quotation from Baha’u’llah like:

Blessed is he who […] seateth himself in silence to listen to the verses of God, the Sovereign, the Mighty, the All-Praised.¹

And this paragraph from the Universal House of Justice:

The regular reading of the Sacred Scriptures, specifically at least each morning and evening, with reverence, attention and thought. Prayerful meditation on the teachings, so that we may understand them more deeply, fulfil them more faithfully, and convey them more accurately to others. ((From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly, September 1, 1983, quoted in Lights of Guidance))

What I took from these, is that we’re asked to meditate on the Writings, in silence, and prayer. Abdu’l-Baha, in a book called Paris Talks, says:

The meditative faculty is akin to the mirror; if you put it before earthly objects it will reflect them. Therefore if the spirit of man is contemplating earthly subjects he will be informed of these. But if you turn the mirror of your spirits heavenwards, the heavenly constellations and the rays of the Sun of Reality will be reflected in your hearts, and the virtues of the Kingdom will be obtained. ((Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks))

What I understood from this passage is that meditation involves focusing my attention on the spiritual world, which, when put together with the quotes above, means to sit in silence and prayer, while meditating on the Writings. Abdu’l-Baha tells us:

It is an axiomatic fact that while you meditate you are speaking with your own spirit. In that state of mind you put certain questions to your spirit and the spirit answers: the light breaks forth and the reality is revealed. ((Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks))

Then in another book by Abdu’l-Baha I read:

So long as the thoughts of an individual are scattered he will achieve no results, but if his thinking be concentrated on a single point wonderful will be the fruits thereof. …once the sun shineth upon a concave mirror, or on a lens that is convex, all its heat will be concentrated on a single point, and that one point will burn the hottest. Thus is it necessary to focus one’s thinking on a single point so that it will become an effective force. ((Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 110-111))

This made me think about the requirement that we recite Allah-u-Abha 95 times a day. I noticed that if I sat in silence, focusing my attention first on the question I want answered, then on the spiritual world as I said this invocation, by the time I sat down to read the Writings, I was in a spiritual state of receptivity, and I almost always discovered oceans of meaning when I read the Writings. Because I was in a state of receptivity, the meditation on the Writings was both powerful and effortless.

Then I read what Shoghi Effendi had to say:

It is not sufficient to pray diligently for guidance, but this prayer must be followed by meditation as to the best methods of action and then action itself.²

So then I understood the importance of listening to the answer I got when meditating and to act on it. In this regard, I particularly love Shoghi Effendi’s five steps from prayer to action. It’s been the way I meditate on small decisions as well as big ones.

Sometimes I lose sight of all this knowledge when I listen to how others tell me I “should” meditate, and then I’m glad I found this quote, again from Shoghi Effendi:

He thinks it would be wiser for the Baha’is to use the meditations given by Baha’u’llah, and not any set form of meditation recommended by someone else; but the believers must be left free in these details and allowed to have personal latitude in finding their own level of communion with God. ((From a letter dated 27 January 1952 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, quoted in the compilation Prayer and Devotional Life))

When I meditated, I’m often disturbed by other thoughts which come into my mind. I used to find it helpful to think of them as watching clouds go by. First they would come into my awareness; then I looked at their size and shape, and then they would break up and move off till my attention got caught on the next cloud. 

But now when I watch a thought go by, I act on it. For example, perhaps it’s a judgmental thought. I see it, I ask God to forgive me for judging someone; I forgive myself for not being perfect; then I ask God to take it, and to transmute it into love. Then I say “thank you” and let it go. And then I smile, because my soul feels shiny and new!

Also, I used to feel bad about myself when my thoughts wandered away so often during prayer or meditation. But then I realized something very profound. Every time my mind wanders and I turn back to God, I’m turning back to God. I love the idea that I’m turning towards God, a hundred times a day! What an incredible bounty! If my mind never wandered, I’d never know the joy of returning to God!

None of us are saints, though. It’s all easier said than done. Here is some reassurance from the Universal House of Justice:

Life in this world is a succes­sion of tests and achievements, of falling short and of making new spiritual advances. Sometimes the course may seem very hard, but one can witness, again and again, that the soul who steadfastly obeys the Law of Baha’u’llah, however hard it may seem, grows spiritually.³

I love the Bahai Writings, especially when I can pull them all together in a way that makes sense, and for that (and many things), I am grateful!

1. Baha’u’llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan [↩]
2. From a letter dated 22 August 1957 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, quoted in the compilation Prayer and Devotional Life [↩]
3. The Universal House of Justice, quotes in Baha’i News, No 505, April 1973 [↩]

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Susan Gammage

Susan Gammage, MES, Certified Life Coach, author, educator and researcher, maintains an active Baha'i-inspired life coaching practice, which focuses on applying Baha'i principles to day-to-day situations. She is the author of "Violence and Abuse: Reasons and Remedies", a compilation of quotes from the Baha'i Writings and is currently working on several other books including a Baha'i Perspective on "Overcoming Anxiety and Depression"; "The Courage to be Chaste in a Sexual World"; the "Baha'i Marriage Manual" and "The Spiritual Roots of Disease". Visit her Bookstore; get your Free E-Books ; sign up for her Newsletter; and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.