Meditation Minutes

When I lived with Mindy on the Gold Coast in Australia, I belonged to the Meditiation Centre. I took yoga, participated in chanting, practiced pranyama breathing, and even went on a retreat. I remember one Friday night when Mindy and I went out on the town. We met some people who wanted to hang out later, but we wanted to get home because the following morning we were going to the centre. Our intoxicated friends begged us to stay out, but we declined saying that we were going to meditation in the morning. At the age of 21, that may have sounded like a weird activity to be participating in, especially when it means that you can't party late into the night! Our friends bid us adieu and in their confusion, told us to have fun "levitating."

I've practiced meditation on and off for a while, but I have yet to get to the point of levitation! Meditation to me is quiet time to calm the mind. It is not the absence of thoughts, but rather not having any particular reaction to the thoughts passing through my mind. Some days my mind runs wild with thoughts during meditation, other days I can still my mind and just be. The key is not to get frustrated when my mind does not cooperate. The key is not to have expectations of what my session will be like. The key is not to give up when I just can't stop the chatter. The key is to recognize and accept.

This week, the goal is to meditate for 20 minutes in the morning and again in the evening. I use my trusty cell phone to keep track of my minutes, and in my haste to begin, I have found that 2 times I have erroneously set the alarm. Some greater power wants me to meditate far longer- the first time I set the minutes right, but an hour later than I should have; the second time I had both the minutes and the hour correct, just set it to PM rather than AM! Miraculously, both times, I sensed my session over at 21 minutes and checked the clock. Was levitation at 22 minutes? Guess I'll never know. In the meantime, I am content with the time to observe and be still.