Meditate | Letting Go of the Outcome: Reality is Better

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"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Philippians 2: 3-4 (NIV)

"This is what Jehovah has said: 'Render judgment in the morning and snatch spoil from the hand of the oppressor, so that my fury does not go forth like fire and burn (and no one to quench it) because of the wickedness of their deeds.' (Jeremiah 21:12)

Rendering judgment is saying what is true. Snatching spoil from the hand of the oppressor is doing good deeds that embody love for others. The fire stands for the hellish punishment experienced by people who do not act that way—that is, who live by the lies that hatred spawns. In the literal meaning, this kind of fiery fury is attributed to Jehovah, but in the inner sense it is exactly the opposite." Secrets of Heaven 1861

The quote from Jeremiah caught my eye in my reading; maybe because it seems thoroughly slathered in appearances. Sure, God is talking about his own fury burning us on account of our misdeeds, that appearance is all over the place, but telling us to steal? It begs further contemplation. The meaning Swedenborg relays is entirely simple: say truth (in the morning) and do good deeds that embody love for others. But why put it in terms of stealing?

I had this passage still floating in my mind later in the day when I heard a statement by Tara Brach, a western teacher of Buddhist (mindfulness) meditation.

“When we’re suffering, if we start investigating, we’ll find out we’re suffering because we’re telling stories in our mind and we’re believing them.” Podcast episode, “When We are Lost,” Feb 23, 2011.

Meditating on the two passages together, the oppressor became clear: my own thoughts! And in my experience, especially thoughts that pull me away from the present moment into the stories I compulsively tell myself. A red flag that I’m getting lost in another unhelpful story is that it inevitably draws me into either the future or the past with an obsessive quality. These stories also are reliably ego-centric, concerned nearly exclusively with my own well-being (although ironically bring anything but happiness to my present moment); to live by them would be to “live by the lies that hatred spawns.” It may not look like hatred in my mind, simply benign self-concern, and yet this “self-love,” as Swedenborg puts it (different from healthy self-care), is at its root entirely opposed to love for others.

So what is the truth? Repeating a line from sacred scripture during meditation in the morning certainly helps, but I think it can be even simpler than that: the truth is reality! I can “say the truth” simply by focusing my attention on the sensation of the present moment. My thoughts about reality are at least one step removed, and often many, many more. Snatching spoil from the oppressor (such dramatic language!) is to recognize my personal narrative for what it is—a story—and go ahead and act in a way that embodies love for others anyway. I can "get away with" having a good life (snatch some spoil) even while the peanut gallery of my mind continues to assert indubitable calamity. The dominant thoughts in my mind may not be computing much love for others, but my body can house it nevertheless.

Reality is always better; the question is, can I give myself permission to believe it?

Chelsea Rose Odhner

Chelsea lives with her husband and three children in Willow Grove, PA. She enjoys making music, doing yoga, talking and writing about spiritual topics, and living life overall.