I meditate twice a day for half an hour. In meditation, I can let go of everything. I’m not Hugh Jackman. I’m not a dad. I’m not a husband. I’m just dipping into that powerful source that creates everything. I take a little bath in it.
~ Hugh Jackman
I rather like the idea of taking a little bath in the powerful source that creates everything because I know I can take one at any time, for any length of time, and I don’t even need to get naked.
I may have to dry off if I’m moved to tears, but I’m willing to take my chances.
March 4th marked a reintroduction of meditation to my daily practice. I started from the beginning, as if I’d never done meditation before. Some might call this beginner’s mind, but I’m just applying what I’ve learned from physical therapy to my … errr … mental therapy practice, and getting back to a spiritual practice.
In July of last year I gave myself a stress fracture in my left foot from over-training in my running practice. In October I ran the Long Beach Half-Marathon and found myself with a stress fracture in my right foot. In December I tried to come back too quickly again, and both feet basically told me to fuck off.
Three months later I’ve learned my lesson and am now slowly reintroducing my body to running and reconditioning my feet and legs for the motion, the impact, the recovery. I find that I don’t need that exact prescription for bringing meditation back into my life, but the slow re-entry feels like a must.
At one time I’d worked my way up to a routine of one 40- to 60-minute meditation daily. I think I might have gone batshit crazy if I’d started back with that. Short and manageable meditations would do just fine.
One minute meditation on Monday. Two minutes on Tuesday. Three on Wednesday. And then back to one on Thursday, to lather, rinse, repeat for another round. At first I noticed everything around me and I was grateful for stillness in one- and two- and three-minute increments, respectively. During the second round I noticed that one minute seemed like no time at all, two minutes seemed like a breeze, and three left me longing for the days when sixty minutes would just fly right by.
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What I’ve noticed in just over a week of reacquainting myself with meditation—a total of less than sixty minutes—is that I’m also reacquainting myself with that powerful source that creates everything. You know: God, Source, the Universe—whatever you choose to call it. Meditation is like a direct connection the Universe for me, and this (re)connection has me tapping into a belief in myself I’d all but forgotten about when I stopped running back in July.
When I began running a couple years ago, this became my spiritual connection to the Universe, where I could go out and lose myself in it for thirty, sixty, ninety minutes at a time and think nothing of it. Maybe that was the problem: thinking nothing of it.
And then it occurred to me: maybe the Universe wants more from us than just our time. Maybe the Universe gets pissed off when we show up for dinner but don’t stay to talk. Maybe the Universe needs the connection to us just as much as we need that connection to something greater than ourselves.
The truth is, I have no idea what the Universe needs, I only know that taking my time connecting via these meditations is important for me. For my mind, my body, and my soul.
What’s your take on meditation? How do you use it and what/who do you connect to in your practice?
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