Wednesday, June 28, 2006

meditation (or not...)

I've read a few books over the last few months which have had meditation exercises at the end of each chapter with some really interesting stuff to them but I've yet to manage to do any of the meditations 'properly' - ie following the instructions. Instead I just read through it all, have a wee think about it, maybe jot down something if that is what it suggests then head on to the next chapter.

You see every time I do the full relaxation thing and try to meditate, be it on my own or as part of a guided meditation I drift off into a hypnogogic state (how chuffed was I to find there was a proper word for it!!) or even to sleep and go to the land where the Wild Things things live, where the bong trees grow, off the top of the Faraway Tree ladder through the hole in the clouds... and by the time I come down the slippery-slip to reality there isn't a hope of me having been where or done any of the things I should have which somewhat stuffs up the point of the exercise.

I do try honest, but it's been like this now for over 20 years and I never seem to be able to focus and relax, it's always one or the other. I can pat my head and rub my tummy, I can even just about get my arms and feet co-ordinated (as long as I don't think about it too hard!) at salsa, but meditate? It appears not. Ho hum...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Heehee, that'll be this one!

Anonymous said...

Do keep trying, though. The very best experience of meditation I have had was from The Invitation, when the meditation involved standing in one place, and moving towards another. I could have imagined how it would have felt all evening, but once I actually got out of my chair and did it, I got in touch will all sorts of things I hadn't imagined. (Although I guess it's easier to stay awake while actually standing and walking...)