Loneliness: Bede Griffiths on Meditation, Ground, Cosmic Solidarity

In yesterday’s DM, both the essay and the video, we addressed some of the ways that spirituality heals loneliness. Among them are the art of friendship, connecting to the greater-than-human world, and ritual, which, when authentic, always connects psyche to cosmos.

We underscored how meditation teaches us the difference between aloneness/solitude and loneliness. Father Bede Griffith, an authentic mystic and monk of our time, wrote powerfully about meditation. I reproduce here some of his teachings from my book, Christian Mystics, and offer a modest commentary along the way.

How can I get to know myself? Not by thinking, for thinking only reflects my conscious being, but by meditating. Meditation goes beyond the conscious mind into the unconscious. In meditation, I can become aware of the ground of my being in matter, in life, in human consciousness.*

The word “ground” is such a rich one for it invites us down, out of our heads and into our lower chakras and to the depths and soil and darkness and unconscious as Bede tells us. So much is going on in our depths, darkness, silence and ground–but in a mysterious and unknown way.

I can experience my solidarity with the universe, with the remotest star in outer space, and with the minutest particle in the atom. How wonderful that for Father Bede, a contemplative and activist monk, we share a “solidarity with the universe” and a connection to the “remotest star” and the smallest part of an atom. They help lift us beyond self-occupation to make “solidarity” with the whole, with creation itself, with the milieu of existence that makes our life possible and has done so for 13.8 billion years. The “We” is so much bigger than the “I” we are usually self-occupied with, and the “self” is invited to become a “Self” that connects to the whole.

When physicist David Bohm says, “I am a post-modern physicist who begins with the whole,” he is inviting all of us in these post-modern times to begin with the whole. Another word for “whole” is “creation,” all that is, what Eckhart calls “isness” and calls “God.” Today’s science and new creation story of cosmogenesis and daily news of the cosmos from the Webb Telescope, etc. renders it easier for us to begin with the whole.

Maybe this is why so many today are saying, “I’m spiritual but not religious.” Because spirituality is a far bigger word than religion, spirituality invites all to connect to the ALL and to the ground and depth, including the unknown, apophatic, divinity—to what is unseen as well as what is seen. Spirituality talks of the “Godhead” and not just “God.” Sadly, the latter is so readily coopted by power trips of persons and empires eager to employ it to their own selfish interests.

I can experience my solidarity with every living thing, with the earth, with these flowers and coconut trees, with the birds and squirrels, with every human being. Again, “solidarity.” An important aspect that denotes strength derived from community and allies, friends, and others with whom we share our common journey and adventure. Group courage is involved in the term “solidarity.” Courage in the face of evil and powerful forces seeking to render us alone, lonely, and vulnerable.

I can get beyond all these outer forms of things in time and space and discover the Ground from which they all spring.

I can know the Father, the Origin, the Source, beyond being and non-being, the One ‘without a second.’

Clearly, meditation enriches our sense of belonging in many ways. 

To be continued.

* Bede Griffiths, Return to the Center: The Discovery of India, pp. 35f.

To see more books by Bede Griffiths and other mystics, see Matthew Fox’s Creation Spirituality bookstore HERE.

Banner Image: “Calling on the Spirit of Mother Earth.” Photo by Darla Hues on Flickr.

Queries for Contemplation

Do you find that Bede Griffiths’ teachings on meditation stretch your sense of belonging and pierce your sense of loneliness?

Related Readings by Matthew Fox

Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations, p. 261

The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance

“Creation” and “Meditation and Mindfulness” in Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths, pp.26-49 and 189-217.

Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality

Meditations with Meister Eckhart: A Centering Book

The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times

Sheer Joy: Conversations with Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality

Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality

Stations of the Cosmic Christ