Focusing the Mind on God
Focusing my mind on God is one of the most important things I have ever decided to do with my life. It is a continuous practice for me and one that has become a foundation for so many benevolent manifestations in my reality - specially my inner reality, since that does not depend as much on outer circumstances.
I decided to write this post as a simple way to share that and motivate you to do the same. And this is because I know that if you do it, you will cultivate a tremendous beneficial force in your being which in turn will flow into every area of your life making it better and better.
Just a quick note: I am writing this at the level of principle. I am not telling you how you should view God or pulling you toward my way of practice. All I am saying is this: if you believe in a Good and All-powerful God that Loves you (what you believe about God is obviously important), focus ALL your attention on Him/Her/It. Ok... moving on.
Why is it important to focus the mind on God? Because whatever the mind
focuses on, that is what is energized and brought forth within oneself.
When the mind focuses enough attention on something, bringing compatible thoughts and feelings together, that something becomes alive and manifested in one's life experience. The energetic nature of that thing starts to enter one's own energy field. And if the object in question has a field of consciousness than that consciousness comes into contact with the consciousness that is focusing on it.
A relationship with a person or object is already taking place the moment you put your mind on them; even if initially this is very subtle. A small contact then, can become a mighty communion by consistent focus. And the same principle applies in the opposite direction, as the removal of attention is the removal of energy and the gradual ending of a relationship.
Really, this principle is so basic and yet so powerful when you realize all you are ever experiencing is taking place in your field of consciousness.
There is a Zen koan that goes like this: "A tree falls in a forest, but no one is there to witness it. Does it make a sound?" We won't go into a deep philosophy about that, but the obvious fact is that you are not experiencing what you are unconscious of - regardless of whether it is real or not. And yet on the other hand, the mere fact that you read about the falling tree, you thought about it (possibly visually) and therefore you experienced it. And so I ask: did it make a sound in the screen of your consciousness?
A spiritually conscious person knows that there is no other object of attention better than the Divine Source of one's life to focus on.
While God is infinite and has infinite forms and names and may (according to certain faiths) transcend all manifestation in the primordial aspect of Spirit, it is extremely helpful to focus the mind on a specific and personal form of God. A relationship is more powerful if both sides are personally involved with each other. But I'll just leave it at that here, so as to not enter the realm of theology.
Focusing on a specific form of God is the best way for the form-loving mind to get hooked. And once it is hooked, you will feel and experience the most of God in your body, mind and soul; eventually transcending all form.
You can also focus on a noble, sacred feeling and have your meditation be more heart-centered, more about how God feels. And you can also bring both visualization and feeling together, thus making for a more powerful meditation.
Hopefully, what I said thus far has stimulated your desire to start meditating on God, or to deepen your existing practice. I will finish now with just a brief comment on meditation.
Meditation takes practice. The first step in meditation is concentration. Then, as you strengthen your ability to concentrate through time and practice, you enter true meditation which is an unbroken flow of attention to a single object (in this case God - sacred meditation). And once you are consistently reaping the benefits of meditation and living your day-to-day in its "afterglow" (deep feelings of peace, clarity, gratitude, security, etc.), then you enter communion - you are at one with the One you meditate on.
