‘This place of peace within’ - with John Collins
A conversation with John Collins
John Collins is an experienced meditator and member of NZCCM. He lives in…..?
How did you come to meditation originally?
I discovered Christian meditation about 16 years ago. Previously I have been using a form of Eastern meditation. Christian Meditation was a great step forward for me. Looking back now I realise that it was the Spirit leading me. It was actually three years before I first attended a meditation group. I remember that day well as I felt like I had finally come “home”. That first shared meditation was a very freeing and peace-filled experience for me. I have found that while I typically meditate in solitude, there is something deeper when meditating in community.
What have been the gifts of having a personal meditation practice in your life?
Each time I meditate I enter, for a time, a place of silence and stillness where I can be fully present. It is a time of peace and it refocuses me from whatever I was doing. Meditation clears my vision and brings me back again to my true centre. The strains and stresses of the day dissolve and after meditation it is like beginning the day anew. It has become the essential heart from which all parts of my life flow.
How has this practice borne fruit in your life?
My life has become more balanced. I am much more able to put aside unhealthy desires, which I have found are no more than distractions wanting to replace Christ within. I have learned to be patient. Increasingly actions and responses to others and the world around come from a place of silence and strength. Mostly I have a sense of peace with the world and often feel a sense of joy.
I think I am a better listener and less likely to react negatively. There seems to be more time to respond positively and effectively from this place of peace within. I have discovered new meaning in Christian Scripture which I had previously not noticed, or if I did, not really understood. I am more confident in following where my heart leads when it is outside my control and comfort zone.
How important has community been in supporting your meditation practice?
It took me some years after beginning meditation to discover the importance of community. Meditation within a group is different from meditation in solitude. Meditating together in my experience leads later to deep peaceful sharing amongst the group. There is an honesty and caring usually not found in other communities I am part of. I am involved in two meditation groups and they are an important part of my week. Belonging to a meditation group reinforces my meditation practice every time we meet.
