Preparing a bridal chamber

Several spiritual traditions compare finding home base in our minds to preparing a bridal chamber. We are all capable of:

• getting inseminated with inspirations and realizations from out of this world
• getting pregnant with those possibilities which grow increasingly complex and realistic
• giving birth to the resulting creations to make our world a better place than the one we manufacture with fear, guilt, greed and vengeance

This birthing cannot happen when we are filled with fears, past history, control issues or other mental clutter. Preparing the bridal chamber involves emptying our minds which then changes what we're feeling. When I get inseminated in this way, it feels like getting filled with serenity and freedom from being bored or agitated. This delightful experience has also been compared to receiving a bridegroom once we've restored our virginity and cultivated enough patient expectancy. We become sufficiently empty to get filled with inspirations, serenity and freedom. We also become sufficiently humble and faithful to accept we cannot come up with these treasures on our own or cling to them exclusively.

I like to visualize a bridal chamber with four walls which can be opened up with a little effort. By taking down the wall or creating a portal in it, my mind has become more accessible and inviting. These openings also clear out the chamber of all the mental clutter which had no where to go. The four walls suggest four different ways to prepare our mental bridal chambers for the arrival of the bridegroom:

1. Gratitude: When we appreciate the goodness and give thanks in all things, an opening is created in our minds. We take down a wall of resentment and resistance. We've become poised to recognize more good when we're already seeing goodness to feel grateful for receiving. 
2. Presence: When we "stop the world" which captivates our five senses, we become pure observant awareness. We realize we are human beings, not tools or human doings. We become still and know we really are being here. We bring a presence to every situation which extends peace rather than fueling agitation. 
3. Forgiveness: When we let go of what happened to us, we free ourselves of lingering grudges and vendettas. We free the others whom we've blamed or booked onto our guilt trips. While we're thinking we we're really wronged, we can set things right by forgiving others "seventy by seven times". We may eventually realize there really is nothing to forgive. 
4. Receptivity: When we experience our own innocence, we're open to receive what we don't see, consider or understand. We embrace the mystery before us and receive clues that further our exploration. We realize we don't know what to do, what will solve our problems or what to contribute to our situation. We then get impregnated with a perfect next step. We know not to know too much. 

Each of these approached tear down barriers in our minds. They prepare the bridal chamber for the bridegroom. They succeed at finding home base in our minds.