Meditation as medication

There is a beautiful, peaceful meditation garden at my home of worship. Enclaved by a ficus hedge, the garden is a sanctuary of trees, flowering plants, waterfalls and fish ponds. Butterflies flutter, bees buzz to and fro from flower to flower and birds sing, in tune with the windchimes that are hung high up in the trees. It is a sanctuary for all who enter.

When my daughter Victoria was younger, she referred to it as the “medication garden”. Was this the innocent mispronunciation of a word by a child? Or was it the voice of infinite wisdom speaking?

I believe it is the latter. For meditation is truly medication for the soul. Going into a place of quiet and stillness, watching thoughts go by with no judgements, no attachments, no logic – simply watching, brings a peace and calm to the soul. All is well in the world when you meditate. All is well in your life in that place and time of “peace that passeth all understanding”. All is encompassed in the moment of meditation and your soul is at peace.

It is medication for the body as well. I observe that when I meditate, my breathing slows, tension slips from my body and I feel it coming to a state of rest. Every cell in my body is in a place of perfect peace. There is no stress, no tension, simply peace. And this is a place of perfect health – of no disease, pain or illness. It is a place of wholeness.

Oh that the moment of meditation would never end! I sometimes set a timer for a certain amount of minutes for my meditation. Increasingly I find that the time seems to fly too quickly, and I do not feel that I my meditation is complete. I do not want to leave that place. And I muse – why do I have to? For what if I live my life in constant meditation, where very moment is one of peace, presence and calm? Is that possible?

Yes, it is possible to live your life in constant meditation, where every moment is a prayer of gratitude for the moment. Whatever we are doing, we can do it in a state of peace and calm, in a state of letting go, of suspending judgement, of simply observing and being. This is a place of healing, of wholeness, of oneness. It is a place of perfect peace.

The wisdom of a child, to speak words that are pure and true.