June 20, 2007

  • Sacred Eavesdropping

    I liked this idea, so I'm inflicting on the rest of Xanga. It came in my email this morning with my Free Will Horoscope, written by Rob Brezny. Contrary to what ol' Robbo says, this is one of my favorite empathic pasttimes. So I'm sharing it.

    "I've tried a wide variety of meditative practices from many traditions. I've calmed myself through rhythmic breathing; watched with amusement as the nonstop procession of images paraded across my mind; visualized images of deities; cultivated unconditional love; chanted mantras; and taken rigorous inventories to determine whether the integrity of my actions matches my high ideals.

    But in my years of study, I've never heard of a form of meditation that would ask me to go to a public place, to observe other people with compassionate objectivity. That's why I was forced to invent it. Hereafter known as Sacred Eavesdropping, this meditation builds one's ability to pray in the manner described by poet W. H. Auden: "The definition of prayer is paying careful and concentrated attention to something other than your own constructions."