Journal of Sacred Work

[The following meditation comes to us from Liz Wessel, Mission Services Director for Home Health in the California-based St. Joseph Health System.]

          
On Friday, five of us gathered in the Serenity Room
at work for a “meditation break”  The energy level of our group was high resulting in
spontaneous conversation and laughter that needed release before we could
settle down into stillness.
           The
room was aglow with soft lighting and a candle’s single flame burned white
light centered on a low table; we sat intimately in a close circle. Soft background
music played to diminish the sound of voices and extraneous noise outside our
little oasis.

As a third ring of the chime resounded,  we bowed our heads and repeated in unison, “Be
still and know I am God,…be still and know I am,…be still and know,…be still…
be.” We sat erect with backs straight,
shoes off, feet grounded on the floor, aware of the quiet stillness in the moment.
I began to focus
attention on my breathing as I let go tension on each out breath. I was aware
of sounds outside the room but they did intrude on the calm. The music was
soothing as I listened to a barely audible chant, “soul free,…soul free.” I
sensed great turbulence outside our space. The loud sound of a door frequently
opened and closed by a person, or persons, who seemed in a hurried, turbulent
state. I listened, and I breathed in peace as I let go, listened to the
blissful chant, “soul free.” I experienced a serene sensation as an image of
Sufi dancers whirling around the periphery of this centered calm as the world
outside spun in chaos. I breathed this peace and I let go the chaos with each
out breath
           Once again, the chime rang three times and signaled
us to open our eyes bringing our attention back to the circle. We stood up facing
each other as we breathed in and slowly raised our arms up high. Then we exhaled
as our arms gradually lowered and we repeated these movements three times. Next,
we joined hands, smiled affirmations and broke the silence with sharing. We lingered
together and discovered ourselves anew.
            I felt an openness and warmth of acceptance amidst a
kaleidoscope of world views. Dina spoke of the importance of keeping her family
traditions alive, and we shared beliefs from various faith traditions. I spoke
of my image of Sufi dancers and of a recent interview I heard conducted with
Fatemah Keshavarz. She described the great Sufi poet Rumi as one, who enjoyed:
          "Whirling" around a column as he recited
poetry — a habit that inspired the Whirling Dervishes of the Mevlevi Sufi Order
— as a way to "stay centered while moving." He believed that, as
searching and restlessness propel us to keep learning, plowing the ground
beneath our feet, they are themselves a form of arrival.” *
      Interestingly, one member of our group is of an East Indian background, another member is fourth
generation Mexican-American, another African-American, and the remaining two of
us are of European ancestry. Suddenly, as with a sunburst of light it dawned on
me, our meditation group that has met for the past six months has evolved into
a caring circle! This was not planned or deliberate; it just blossomed naturally
as a joyful and l lovely surprise.

*(Krista’s Journal, Speaking
of Faith, Dec 12,2007
http://www.speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/rumi.)