Getting in the Gap

"For the raindrop, joy is in entering the river..." ~Mirza Ghalib

Have you ever wished you could escape to a place of peace? "The Gap" is a place between your thoughts. It is the place where you can be still and release yourself from the 60,000 thoughts hurtling through your mind during the course of a day.

Meditation can encourage physical healing, reduce stress, eliminate fatigue, make you feel younger, brighten your eyes and complexion, keep you focused on your spiritual connection, alleviate depression, and improve your memory. Meditation also allows you to find some of the secrets of peace. When you are thinking about God, how can you think of problems? How can your heart be anxious when it is freed from pain and sorrow and is resting in an ocean of love.

Once you have experienced this "place of peace/the gap," you can go there again. I first experienced this "space between my thoughts" during the end of a yoga workout. I had no idea you could escape the pain of life in this manner. I felt good for two days after doing the meditation section of the workout.

In this book, there is a CD that allows you to quickly enter the silence without the yoga workout, although I still like putting a fluffy down comforter on the floor as I do when I do yoga workouts. I was encouraged to learn that there is no "correct posture" or place for meditating. I actually meditate better when lying flat on my back. You could be sitting in your chair at work with your eyes closed during a 10-minute break, you could be at home, on a plane, or you could be out in nature.

The book has six chapters explaining Japa Meditation and shows how this form of meditation can affect your life in a positive way. The meditation CD is in a little envelope at the back of the book. There are two meditations on the 40-minute CD. The first 10 minutes explains the CD. You can listen to this each time or forward to one of the meditation sections.

The second section on the CD is a 10-minute meditation. The third section is a 20-minute meditation. In the first guided meditation, you say the name of God twice each time between the words you are visualizing on the screen of your mind. Then, in the longer 20-minute meditation you say the name of God four times between the visualization. It is very calming.

You visualize a word and then a second word. Then you "slip back to the space" between the words and I noticed that I was taking a deep breath each time. It was as if I was giving myself permission to relax. The further you go into the CD, the more relaxed you become.

The first time I tried this CD, I was in total emotional conflict. I was crying when I started listening and in 20 minutes, my mind had totally become refocused and I felt like I could again enter the world. I was amazed at how quickly my focus changed from feeling very emotional to feeling very strong, loving and peaceful. It was as if I'd slept 8 hours and awoken without the past nights conflicts haunting me. I was amazed at how rested I felt.

The feeling this CD evokes is similar to floating on an ocean of subtle vibrations that penetrate every part of your entire body making you become one with the ocean. It is like being unconditionally loved. If you have never said: "Ahhhhhh" along with a spiritual teacher, I highly recommend it. The beauty of this meditation is that you don't have to belong to any specific religion. Japa meditation is the Yoga of the Mind. It is actually practiced by all of the religions of the world but under different names.

While this book has examples of how meditating even brought financial wealth, the greatest wealth is in the peace you will experience while meditating on the name of God.

"Wisdom of the Ages" was my first introduction to Wayne Dyer. I love the quotes he finds, the passages he presents and how he weaves the past and present together to encourage a more peaceful future. His words have always captured my attention and had a profound effect on my life. I highly recommend this book and CD as an introduction to meditation. You can journey from stress to peace in as little as 10 minutes. "Getting in the Gap" is a true soul escape!