I have always had my own ideas about meditation. I’ve never practiced in traditional form and I have never voluntarily tried. Meditation knocks on my door when I am not expecting. When she knocks, I open the door and leave with the caller. I really have no choice. The body surrenders. It is a trance-like state in which I am aware of my body but my mind is blank. It is like something is tugging and pulling my mind into a place of density and emptiness, in that emptiness things come to me.
It is in the blankness, or the famous philosophical term “nothingness,” where you go to the place that is called meditation. I have neither sought out nor tried to go there. It is a wave that comes over me. I surrender to it. Sometimes the trip is long and other times brief.
Many years ago I received confirmation by reading enough that you can meditate when you walk or while you are doing something active. Mainstream culture assumes an image of meditation as a monk sitting cross-legged in complete and utter silence. I learned that this is only one way to meditate. It is not so for everyone. Some people have learned meditation as a discipline, while others slide into it without effort. The latter is me.
When this spontaneous meditation happens for me is usually in the morning after I have just made coffee and as I sit down to sip it. It’s what I used to refer to as “space out.” At some point, I realized that I am not spacing out — I am meditating. The younger me did not know that, because I had thought meditation required sitting on a yoga mat or going to a retreat to meditate. Wrong.
Many find enjoyment and fulfillment in personal or group meditation, but that is only one form of practice. My mind slips into meditation best with my morning coffee; my awareness and alertness it is at its prime at this time of day. It always has been for me.
Another time my mind goes blank and I slip into meditation is when I am in stunning natural surroundings. Crystal clear lakes, contrasts of blues and whites and greens and flower fields in nature, and stunning images provided by Mother Nature humble the meditating person to let go and follow where the force is taking them. To me, this is less trance-like and seems to happen faster than light. You are embraced in the glory of beauty in raw nature — and that truly equates to pure and God/Goddess-like love.
Go there for a while — and yes, we do return.
Meditation can be a bit of heaven on Earth. It connects, grounds and solidifies us while we are here, and no doubt it reminds us how much bigger things are than what meets the eye!
So if you can’t afford that trip to study with the masters, enjoy the morning coffee!
I know what you mean.