I had a reading earlier this week with a spiritual medium. I've done this kind of thing before; I figure if there's someone out there who can help me figure out the swampy journey that is my life, I'm going to pay up front and sit my butt in the chair.
Since I am trying to figure out whether to pursue further education in ministry just as my first book is due to be published and at the same time I'm worried about my husband's health... my friend Barry recommended I start meditating in order to deal with my stress and confusion.
"Twenty minutes of meditation every day," he told me. "Five minutes isn't enough. Are you kidding? You're barely comfortable at five minutes."
Having maintained a half-assed yoga practice for nearly 15 years, I'm not afraid of a little -- or a lot of -- meditation. I know that twenty minutes isn't that long; I normally end my yoga practice with prayers and intentions and there are some days when I could sit there till noon trying to express everything I need and everything I'm thankful for.
Still -- that's not meditation. It's good to push the pause button on thinking, on needing and hoping and thanking. It's good to be utterly still in body and in mind.
So Tuesday morning, 6:10 a.m., with my mug of chai tea steaming on the coffee table and the beeswax candle glowing with the light of hope and healing, I placed my Zazu meditation pillow onto the floor and turned to set my timer for twenty minutes.
When I turned back, Leonard had taken possession of the meditation pillow in that typical Zen-like fashion cats have. He makes it look so easy. After thirty minutes of meditation (honestly, 20 minutes goes by so quickly), my hips are paining and my lower legs are asleep. The answer is not in the meditation; it's in that picture: the trick to a comfortable meditation pose is a larger meditation pillow.
Go within every day and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out.
~ Katherine Dunham
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