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Monday Meditation

September 27, 2021

“I just can’t stay focused!” This confession or frustration is often expressed when someone is invited to “just try” the Contemplative Prayer/Meditation group at church. Perhaps this person would discover a valuable “practice” by just dropping in some Monday evening at OUR NEW TIME 7 P.M. There is no pressure here, little talking, and lots of silence.

If circumstances were different (no Covid-19) we might well be meeting in the France Room on Monday
evenings. Since this is not the case, the Contemplative Prayer Group has been sitting regularly for Zoom Meditation. Dr. Josh Semiatin facilitates the weekly 40-minute practice. On average, a half-dozen individuals participate each Monday. Recently a new participant remarked that after several sessions she was beginning to experience a difference in focus. She was less distracted. She was able to keep her mind on “the present” while gently sweeping other thoughts like planning, complaining, evaluating off to the background. “This is it”—to encounter the present—your body, your emotion, the environment—without criticism. This is the essence of the practice.

Catholic Sister Elaine MacInnes, also a meditation teacher, stated in a 2017 article that after a person has been involved in meditation for a while “the inner garbage just melts [away ] . . . It’s been helpful to many, many people . . . It’s not an easy practice . . . but people stick to it because it works for them.”

Curious? For more information or to secure the Zoom link for the Church’s Contemplative Prayer/Meditation practice on Monday evenings at OUR NEW TIME 7 P.M. , contact Brenda Logue at naylogue@aol.com.