The way we set out on this pilgrimage is to recite a short phrase, a word that today is commonly called a mantra. The mantra is simply a means of turning our attention beyond ourselves, a method of drawing us away from our thoughts and concerns. The real work of meditation is to attain harmony of body, mind and spirit. This is the aim given us by the psalmist: "Be still and know that I am God". In meditation we turn the search of consciousness off ourselves.

In meditation we are not thinking or imagining about God at all. In meditation we seek to do something immeasurably greater; we seek to be WITH God, to be WITH Jesus, to be WITH his Holy Spirit. In meditation we go beyond thoughts, even holy thoughts. Meditation is concerned not with thinking but with BEING. Our aim in Christian stillness of spirit and a stillness of body. The extraordinary thing is that, in spite of all the distractions of the modern world, this silence is perfectly possible for all of us. To attain this silence and stillness we have to devote time, energy and love. prayer is to allow God's mysterious and silent presence within us to become THE reality which gives meaning, shape and purpose to everything we do, to everything we are. The task of meditation, therefore, is to bring our distracted mind to stillness, silence and concentration.

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