The most insidious form of materialism is seeking spiritual
experiences for their sensory or emotional impact.
It is the most insidious because it claims to have treasures
in heaven as its aim but is really about treasures on earth.
Per the Twelve and Twelve, one should be sincerely trying to
grow in the image and likeness of one’s own Creator.
This is the heavenly treasure, which is of value in itself,
regardless of what it brings me, and regardless of how I experience it.
The purpose of AA’s meditation (pages 86 to 88) is:
- To maintain an awareness of how I am still operating on
ego
- To establish a set of corrective measures, a set of ideals
to work towards
- To come up with a list of work to do today, for God.
If I’m meditating properly, I should be chastened and,
frankly, a little daunted in the face of the work of the day, both work to
eliminate defects and cultivate virtues and the actual practical challenges of
the day.
If I am not daunted, I’m lacking in ambition: God’s will is
always more than I can handle. If I can handle it on my own, I do not need God.
To need God necessarily means having a to-do list that is more than I can
handle.
God want my cooperation, not my autonomy.
I used to do mindlessness meditation: trying to get into the
body and away from the thoughts, discounting thoughts, ignoring them, letting
them pass by.
This actually ran counter to the meditation that AA
suggests, which, in the mornings, starts with:
- THINK about the twenty-four hours ahead
- CONSIDER plans for the day.
Think and considering. I’m supposed to actively engage my
thinking, actively consider all of the aspects of the last 24 hours and the
next 24 hours, Janus-headed, short-term, laser-like focus.
To do this, as the Book itself says, I must relax and take
it easy, and not struggle. So relaxation is a prerequisite, not an outcome. The
outcome is a set of breathtaking challenges for the day, the fruits of which
may not be visible in my life or in my lifetime. The measure of the success of
meditation is not whether or not I achieve peace or enlightenment but whether
or not I act well and fruitfully today, and even that can be judged ultimately
only by God.
This is what laying up treasures in heaven looks like for me.