Today I had the meditation group after school. Three turned up in spite of the rain and the wind. It was very calm and peaceful in the little chapel. I began to think about where saying the mantra over and over again leads. It brought up a possible question someone might ask – why concentrate on the mantra to the exclusion of thought? It occurred to me that in the journey to the cave of the heart, when one enters the cave, a holy place, it wouldn’t do to be distracted, to be so busy with ones thoughts that one didn’t know what was going on, that one didn’t notice the beauty and experience the peace. That’s why it is important not to be caught up in thoughts, why one needs to be alert and aware, receptive to everything. In one sense it is a long journey to the cave. One goes through many moods, states of mind, is buffeted by many storms. The thing to do is press on regardless. To disregard all that is going on round about. I was trying not to think of all this, telling myself that I would write it all down later, when all that was bothering me vanished and I felt immersed in peace, quite indescribable. I kept saying, ‘This is now. The eternal is in the now.’ The journey to the cave is the shortest journey. One was there all the time but did not know it.