Third Week of Advent, Saturday: A Fitting Place

In the Heart of Winter: A Meditator’s Guide to Advent

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. –Luke 2:16

The gospel of Luke identifies the birthplace of Jesus as a lowly stable, where a manger becomes his cradle. This imagery provides us with profound lessons to consider concerning our spiritual journey of Self- and God-realization or awakening to the Christ within. The simple humility of the stable is a stark contrast to palaces, the usual birthplace for one who is called a prince, or a king. Not a gilded bed but a manger, a simple feeding trough, is the place that receives this child. What inspiration can we draw from this?

Inwardly, the manger represents that place in us that receives the Christ revelation. This is our mind and consciousness. In order to be receptive to the revelation of divine Truth, the “cradle of our consciousness” must be purified—cleansed of pride, self-will, and worldly attachments. Thus the manger is a fitting symbol. It is lowly, open, and a place of nourishment. Ordinarily it contains food or water, that which sustains life. Here, we understand nourishment to be the presence of God that sustains and supports all life.

Spiritual teachings in the tradition of yoga point out that we cannot create a spiritual condition. We cannot make ourselves more spiritual, cause the inner Christ to awaken in us, or make Self-realization occur. This is because our essential nature is already spiritual, already a perfect expression of God. The Christ of God is already awake within us. Our spiritual nature is unconditional; it is without cause. Nothing we do can change it. Rightly understood, our spiritual practice is not to create “a spiritual self”, but to arrange conditions (both inwardly and outwardly) that allow our essential nature to be realized. We purify the mind through devotion, pranayama, prayer, mantra and meditation so that it becomes a fit receptacle to receive the Christ within.

Practice:

Alternate nostril breathing is an effective tool for purifying the mental field and enhancing the flow of vital force that enlivens the body and mind. By using this simple tool to regulate the breath, this process balances the subtle energy in our system. This results in relaxation, mental clarity, emotional calmness and enhanced intuition. Follow these simple steps:

• Sit in an upright, relaxed meditation posture.
• Use the fingers on your right hand to alternately close your right and left nostrils in the following way:

1. First, breathe in and out completely through both nostrils.
2. Then, gently hold the right nostril closed while you breathe in through the left. Pause for a moment after inhalation.
3. Close the left nostril and exhale through the right.
4. With the left still closed, immediately breathe in through the right, and then gently hold.
5. Close the right nostril and breathe out through the left.
6. Begin again as in step two

• This is one complete round. Practice six to ten rounds, gently. Notice any changes in the mental field.

Contemplate:
I will prepare for the coming of the Omnipresent baby Christ by cleaning the cradle of my consciousness, now rusty with selfishness, indifference, and sense attachments; and by polishing it with deep, daily divine meditation, introspection, and discrimination.
–Paramahansa Yogananda
 

Reflect:

Am I trying to become more spiritual? Am I willing to accept my divine identity, knowing that I am already made in the image of God?