The Miracle of Meditation 30 Day [2021] Ask Jeff

Listening to the recording of Day 9 - it always seems amazing to me that when I listen again, it is as though it is for the first time. Letting the practice stay easy and relaxed: if there is no time, and the only moment is ever NOW, then of course it would feel like the first time. This moment never happened before. No past, no future - nowhere to go - just here and now. I never "fell into …

Dear Bruce, Before this page closes, just a quick thank you for the insights and love I received through our brief communications here. I recall William Blake's words: "We are here on earth a short time to learn to bear the beams of love" ....and an other wise person who imprinted words in me: "We walk each other home". So, thank you for being on this road, walk gently! Peace, hope, love.

Dear Jeff. This is a contuation of the dialogue with my cousin I shared with you earlier. I would love for you to read it Also, this feels like it will be my final entry into "Ask Jeff." Some time ago I began a Word document titled, My Miracles of Meditation Journal. I have copied all of our dialogues including Maria's from last week, into it and some other things. I am ready to release my need and desire for …

Hi Jeff, I’d like to share with you a short dialogue between me and one of my cousins. The context is, I had shared with her about my recent health prognosis. She expressed her love toward me and ask me to 'not to go anywhere soon’ . . . isn’t it wonderful? I ain’t goin’ nowhere but here. I will always be here. Where else could I be? If I were to go someplace else, then there would be here …

Today while walking I recognized in myself thinking which at length was interrupting my being. My question about this is as follows: Is shifting out of this interruption possible within a moment's consciousness as is my recognition today, or is that hocus locus? Michelle Babian

Plus, after I have shared the news of my approaching transition, I have been getting buried by well-wishers comments and then trying to reassure them I'm ok, which means more writing and more thinking. By some of their comments I can tell they simply don't believe me that I am actually and really OK. It's developed into an exhausting exercise. I've become worn out, agitated, and almost regretful I mentioned it at all. I'm beginning to envy the sick animal …

Oh dearest Maria, Reading what you wrote brought me to spontaneous sobbing tears. It truly did. But during and through it all, I also felt something stunningly exquisite. I'll bet you know exactly what I mean. As my life unfolds and continues to open and become and become . . . I have gained an entirely new and more vast knowing of "the agony and the ecstasy." My experiences have blended into a perfect marriage of both. Ecstasy alone, ultimately …

I overheard a fellow talking about all things spiritual. He was explaining it all. He changed his focus from one model to another, one concept to another, then one teacher to another, noticing things he liked about them and things he thought were wrong or lacking in how they shared their message. He droned on and on, saying some things that I found to be gratuitously harsh. There were others listening. I watched them and how their eyes seemed too …

Early this morning I was meditating with day 23 audio.....and then later I went to "ask Jeff" and read these precious notes of Bruce Meyer to you, Jeff. Honestly, as I am writing these words I feel a bit like eavesdropping or crashing a 'cosmic party'. I sat a very long time in silence, just letting the words of the two of you flow over me......and there was this embracing clarity and radical amazement ....much deeper than what I can …

I'm on Day 13. In your remarks at the beginning you use the word "difficult" many, many times. I'm wondering how do we know it is difficult? After all, we're just sitting there doing nothing. It seems your language might be injecting 'difficulty' into the field where there was none before. I"ve been taught that a miracle is a miracle is a miracle, and there are no large ones or small ones, only miracles and they come effortlessly and routinely. …

A relationship I had been in for over 20 years ended a few years ago. We are not together anymore and barely in touch at all. I have been troubled about how and when to tell her (Helen) about my health prognosis or even if I should tell her at all. I discussed it with a trusted friend, Amy. The only place to take it was into prayer and meditation. So that's what I did. Just after, I was in …

Thank you Jeff. That is exactly what I told some friends I was sharing about this with on zoom today. "I feel so profoundly free!" Some were crying, some were praying for my healing . . . and some were saying stupid things because they were uncomfortable I'm sure, and didn't know what to say. I was sitting there with I'm sure must have been a puzzled look on my face, thinking, '"Please, dry you tears, this is WONderful! To …

Hi Jeff. I was in the shower this morning, a place where I experience some of my most powerful insights. I was reveling in how deliciously good I’ve been feeling lately and how I am simply oozing with gratitude. And then I chuckled to myself and thought, “I know what’s going to happen. I’m going to put together the life I have always dreamed of; one of acceptance and love and gratitude and where I am having more fun with …

Touche" my friend . . .

Student to teacher: "Oh teacher, is it permissable to smoke while praying?" Teacher: "Oh no, no, no, not permissable at all!' Student: Oh teacher, is it permissable to pray while smoking?"

Thank you Jeff. Your feedback and support is so valuable to me. What I am experiencing feels so 'yummy' I am tempted to grasp onto it. I feel a subtle fear that I will lose it. My practice tells me, the way to keep it is to let it go or better yet, give it away. I am sponsoring a fellow in AA and I have introduced a short meditation before each time we talk. It sets the field. I …

Jeff - the setting was remarkable - the breeze embracing the plants outdoors - and the ferns indoors - that greenery matching the green of the snake on your shirt - inviting, welcoming - and then day 30 meditation - truth revealed - beyond the meantime of the mind into the realization of what is. Thank you once again for this offering. It is received with both astonishment and knowing.

Dear Jeff and beautiful community- thank you all for a most amazing month of really profound practice, which is deepening all the time. Even last night, I woke up to realize that I had been encountering, feeling and releasing past fears in a very spontaneous way, not with the involvement of the mind but with some kind of deep knowing. Absolutely amazing what has been going on. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And so much love to you all.

Hi Jeff, Thank you immensely, this retreat has been an answer to my prayers…? So much so that I’m taking these last 7 days to be in full retreat.. Is there a group of individuals from our retreat who want to continue meditating daily at the same time? I love to meditate. But, honestly, my resistance is too high to be this consistent doing it alone, even with the recordings; even though I have high discipline and focus in most …

Thank you Daniel for your question about 'the order of the day'..I thought I must have missed something too ("am I right?..or am I wrong?"). Your answer Jeff, was truly a delightful surprise ..filling me with an expanded trust, delight and a sense of freedom..Thank you Daniel...Thank you Jeff..with love and deep gratitude.

Hi Jeff. I have been so grateful to be participating live each morning from the West Coast of Canada. Each day has varied of course, but I’m experiencing a gradual sinking into a place I haven’t visited before. A sense of depth & being settled, but not many qualities attached…untethered, if anything. Rather than that creating discomfort or anxiety, I’m finding this a natural place to rest. Like a strand of kelp carried with the current…no mind directing it. Of …

Thank you Jeff for inviting us to share our experience and your ongoing Love and masterful guidance. The experience of the retreat has been amazing, surreal, beautiful and challenging. I ‘ve been setting my alarm, every day of the retreat for 1.25am (Australian Time) then logging into Zoom and listening to the call live while in bed. Sometimes I stay awake, sometimes I drift off and then usually listen again that day. It has thrown my concept of time up …

Hi, Jeff-- Two questions: 1) Will we have access to the meditations after the retreat is over? I was thinking it would be really great to cycle through them again on my own. 2) You've been talking about no-self, and I'm not sure if I've ever lost "me" in meditation. Is this forgetting of me the same as being in the flow while painting or exercising or wholly engaged in nature? Even when I try dropping into my heart or …

Over the last week and until the end of this week I have not been able to be on a lot of the live meditations with you because of another 5-day intensive retreat with a mentor of mine, and so have committed to listening to your replays on the very next day, which meant that most days I had about 3 hours meditation, plus 3 hours of spiritual instruction. That has made it so much easier and faster to descend …

I'm sending my love and gratitude for our collective connection and the sense of acceptance I'm feeling for how life is manifesting in me, around me, and beyond whatever sense of "me" I may be maintaining! Part of the miracle for me is the teaching and performing of music I've been asked to participate in with many others, for the rest of the week. I don't know if I can participate in our zoom calls until Sat and Sun morning, …

Hi Jeff. I am continuously amazed at how radically my experience of reality can shift from day to day, and even from instant to instant. Had I written this message yesterday I would have written about despair, self-doubt, fear and pain. Today I am luxuriataing in the warm glow of gratitude and abundance and love. Maintaining consistency in my attendance and willingness to surrender to the daily meditations has been difficult and a challenge for me. I am just now …

There's that saying - the truth shall set you free - and then along came day 22 - with truth revealed -“Having no identity does not mean not knowing who you are. It means not being there to know anything.” and then the questions - with welcomed repetition - The question here is not a question of are you ready to go on without an identity? The question is are you ready to let the universe go on without you? …

Feeling sacred confusion, divine disorientation, mystery - who am I if the universe can go on without me? For a moment, it felt like a great relief that then I can stop holding the universe on my shoulders! 🙂 The oneness of reality - the web of inter-being - then where am I in all that if I have disappeared?? - mystery upon mystery that can't be known - just trying to be with it all.

I just want to thank you Jeff for your unfiltered guidance of your recent meditations, I get to experience the process as it is occurring. I appreciated your analogy of reading "Billboards" on the highway that slows us down, in the same way when we pause at our thoughts, it slows us down. Not paying attention to my thoughts, I definitely felt a tremendous acceleration in my awareness, that eventually burst into flash of white Light and before I knew …

Dear Jeff... Today I wondered and contemplated the relationship of the sub-conscious mind to the universal mind or the divine. What came to me was that nothing is separate and that sub- conscious thoughts are in service of the divine in us. How and where they emanate from motivates our behavior. Can you write a little about your thoughts on this?

Jeff - in today's meditation - words - the "arms" of the divine - that appears to be an assumption - a need for an endearment of sorts - and also the words - "invisible stranger" - invisible with the eye sense - as for stranger - that word creates an image, a being - again a link to the human form - perhaps not necessary for acceptance of the unknown

"Throw yourself over the threshold Trust will tenderly catch you" These are a couple of lines in the poem that came through me and landed in the first issue of The Artist of Possibility magazine. In day 19 of this retreat you spoke of trust and jumping over the edge - free fall. Immediately the lines of the poem came in. Another line from a more recent poem, "Realized knowing of the known forgotten" a paradox came through, when you …

? Hi Jeff, what's my next step to grow more if I love and practice daily living in and trusting the unknown? I have a burning desire and hunger to live this 24/7. I was thrilled yesterday when you talked about trusting and jumping off the edge of the cliff because that’s my favorite thing in the world… My daily prayer is ‘Universe, take all of me.’… It’s my greatest joy to intentionally practice doing my work and life more …

Relationship between the absolute and the relative: I can connect with the river of meditation, especially during sessions together in the morning. But I feel disempowered in my daily life. Any ideas?

On the 19th meditation. Only Silence is left I was at my desk. I felt like I was falling asleep. I suddenly heard and felt a loud rumbling sound. I saw in my mind's eye a water-boiling tank that was about to explode. It did not explode. If it had exploded there would have been nothing left. The only thing that would have been left would have been silence. Swami Bodhi Chuck (Charles Dennis) Miracles Can Happen A miracle can …

In terms of influences of the retreat on my daily life: thanks for your encouragement not to second-guess myself. I have now been noticing the undercurrents of what feels like almost constant second-guessing of myself for what I am doing. For example, if I pick up my knitting to enjoy it for a few minutes, the critical voice in my head about what I "should" be doing instead has become increasingly noticeable. So, noticing it, I have the choice now …

Hello, Jeff and everyone – the most significant impact of this retreat on me is the all-encompassing image of the river. It has graduated from “useful metaphor” to “guiding principle for everything.” I’m feeling the river all the time. I’d almost turn the quote for Day 17 around – “Like meditation that always flows beyond the mind, the river is always there.” A few weeks ago, before this retreat began, I was reading a book called “Holding Back the River: …

Subtle but profound impact of retreat on life outside of the meditation hour. Increased sense of well-being, ease, connection, and integrity. Integrity = completion of tasks with more thoroughness and creativity; well-being = no worries or second-guessing; ease = more certainty and comfort in speaking and writing. Connection = clients remarking on the safety, comfort, and peace they feel in my presence which enhances the leadership effectiveness they are able to provide their employees in support of my mission to …

Hello Jeff, First I want to say how deeply grateful I am to you for not taking any questions, but just saying the few words that keep me in the internal space of letting everything be as it is. Since my first question to you, I committed to not letting in any doubts as to whether I am doing the right thing or not, and it has been so much easier to drift off into nothingness, come out of it …

Yes, for me been on retreat has a subtle but very profound influence in my daily life. It deepens my connection with the divine in all aspects of my life. New horizons open up and perceptions widen related to the clarity and creative solutions of the issues that were not flowing. Been in the flow of the river makes me appreciate more the nuisances of life with fresh eyes and perspectives that widens the range of joy of the mystery …

Dear Jeff, The morning zoom meditations have been a wonderful way for me to connect with a deeper experience of being, beyond the busy doings of the day. I've loved connecting with the other zoom participants as well. Now, I've agreed to teach young cellists and play in concert, in summer camp for the next two weeks. Although this is a good thing, it requires leaving early every day before our zoom meditation time even begins. I have negotiated to …

The last few days have been very rough for me; both in and out of our meditation time together. I'll try to bypass the stories and stick with the experiences. When you read today's topic, "are you willing to be perfectly content . . . ." I screamed, "FUCK NO!" As you were sharing with us about your experiedence with 'progress vs. perfection,' I also shouted, "this is bullshit!,' then left the meeting. I also left early yesterday. I' have …

just sharing, since I am participating with replay, how much I appreciate the profound container of this community, which is allowing me to go to terrain which feels quite heavy, thick, dense, even sludgy but also feels good to be with, as it frequently transforms into something lighter after some sitting.

Not a question, but a poem to share that points me to the miracles of this retreat, and may resonate with others: Pilgrim, seek not some lasting feeling of the presence of God. If it comes it will be mysterious and deep, but brief, like the flight of the great blue heron, opening his six-foot angelic wingspan with the sound of fire, the color of mystery, fluid and generous, like a priest blessing us-- and then gone. It's not the …

Thank you for suggesting the experiment to try out for the rest of this retreat, and I can, and will do that just to see what happens. It's worth a try! However, I am not sure that my experience qualifies as "bliss", which to me means extreme happiness. What I experience is better described as "beingness" without any feelings at all, or "being complete". Your reply allowed me to see that indeed, I do forget I am me during those …

From this finely tuned state of awareness I am in, I cranked up the volume on my speakers and listened to Pavarotti sing Nessun Dorma. I have no words . . . it was like stars raining down from heaven . . . God singing in God's own voice. Pure Joy, I cried in ecstacy. When I get lost in my troubles I forget, this place is always available to me.

I have found it very easy to let things be as they are, my mind seems to be naturally quiet, so when I sit to meditate, thoughts don't even arise much, but I'm just aware of my space and body, gradually losing those sensations, but also then losing awareness - falling into nothingness, no awareness of anything. That lasts however long it does, until you speak or I hear some noise, and I become aware of the fact that I …

Thank you Jeff. This morning was very beautiful. You are not only teaching, you are being.

You've done too good a job, Jeff. I have no questions or comments (I guess this is a comment). I realize any question or comment would be a reference to something not of this moment, so would take me out of this moment (or would it? I can never be out of this moment.). Sometimes it feels as if I"m 'chasing my tail.' So, then I observe 'chasing my tail,' and then observe 'me observing me chasing my tail,' and …

Jeff - indeed - what is, is - profound - thank you