An Exercise
The other night I was watching my bargain-basement meditation video. It reminded me that meditation is a great way to calm the mind, body and spirit even if I am not contemplating anything in particular. The Australian/Buddhist monk stated that with lots of practice a person meditating might be able to count up to 7 (on 7 slow, full breaths) without being interrupted by "monkey mind", that state where your thoughts bounce around just like monkeys on tree branches.
" 7?...Only '7'? ", I laughed! "Gee....anyone can get to '7'"..."cheap video", I muttered, and then set myself down to prove that I was right. Crossing my giraffe-like legs, I took a deep breath and exhaled -
1...
2... a vision appeared in my mind's-eye of my hand holding up two fingers. "Good!" I thought "A visual aid!"...ooops! Monkey-mind. Start again-
1...
2...
3...(The hand appeared again, I fought to stay focused)
3..."Hmmm. '3' on my fingers looks like a 'W' in sign language."... Darn it!
1...
2...
3...(my lip trembled)
4..."You know", I considered, "this would make a good exercise for a workshop!"... Rats!
{Sigh}
1...
2...(A monkey jumped from my cerebellum to my temporal lobe)
..."Is my notebook up here?"
{D-e-e-p breath}
1...
2...
3...
4...
5...(The hand waved at me)
5..."What the heck was '6' in sign language?"
...
...
1...
2...
3...(Alaina began practicing her piano)..."Hey! I know that song!"
Gosh-dang-%#*$^!!!
1...
1...
1...
... "FORGET IT!" Where's my notebook?!?
And so it went. I can really appreciate how having the ability to calm your mind would be beneficial to keeping focused during the course of your day or relaxing before bed at night. I am curious to hear how others do with this exercise. Sit quietly and take a deep breath - counting and focusing your mind on just that number. ANY other thoughts that creep in send you back to "1". Keep a journal handy and jot down what sneaks in; I'd LOVE to hear from you!
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