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THE DYNAMICS OF MEDITATION
was more light under the streetlamp, she was looking for it in that spot. Then the man said, “You cannot expect to find the ring here just because there is light. You must go to the spot where you dropped the ring and bring light there if it is too dark"
The same thing is true for us in our meditation. Each of us is at a different point from everyone else; not better or worse, just different. It may seem that your spot is rather dark at first, but you cannot find what you are looking for anywhere else. You must bring the light of your increasing awareness where you are in order to begin your quest. There is no comparison in this journey. You simply start from where you are.
The first step is to become calm and observe your feelings. See yourself in your relation with the universe. Are you alone in the world? Do you feel alienation? Why? Do you feel that you do not have any friends? Or is it that you do not have anyone who satisfies your desires? We can view life in two ways: in the large context of the whole universe, or from our little self and its connection with endless desires. Seeing the world the second way, though many people smile and say “hello” to you, if your desires are not exactly fulfilled nothing will be right for you.
Now, take some time to examine your needs. Consider the people who have no food, no clothes, no shelter; or the aged who sit in corners all alone, their hands trembling, with no one to bring them water. Consider the young who are innocent of any crime except to be born in a certain country at a certain time, and are forced into a battlefield against their will. If they refuse to go, they are branded as traitors. If they ask, “Why should we fight?" or
