The ruminating thoughts cascading over my attention pull me from the majestic scene of serenity spanning the horizons surrounding me. My sister and I sit on the free floating dock looking out over the crystal clear turquoise water. A discussion ensues cognitively dissecting each of the streams of consciousness spilling from the tumultuous water churning inside of my head. The logical process of rationalizing my worries back to reality falls short of effective, I remain entranced with the cycle of anxieties the afternoon’s meandering sequence of emergent thoughts has implanted in the forefront of my awareness.
I continue throughout the day entrapped by the dark fog enveloping my comfortable clarity, privileged to be in a setting of peace and unimpeded space open for the taking of joy that I can’t seem to find my way back to immersing myself within. We make our way back inside settling in with our respective books and half-developed pages of notebooks holding accumulating insights culled from the current selection of reading materials that have spoken to us filling some void with new information providing an eagerly adopted gem answering some question we’ve had awaiting a response or even one lingering yet to be asked from the swelling depths within our actively brooding minds. She announces she needs to meditate and I follow her like the unquestioning little puppy this mental distraction leaves me diminished to imitating searching for relief uncontrolling of my streaming thoughts.
She takes care in making sure I am taught the essentials to optimizing my chances of finding a way to make meditation finally work for me. Submersed amidst the 200Hour Yoga Teacher Training and my current endeavor tackling the challenge of the 300Hour Certification, I’ve become a diligent observer bearing witness to a substantial quantity of guided meditations, none of which have imparted the intended wisdom designed in the ancient technology of their makings.
The instructions are simple. Make a seat that places your hips above your knees. Focus your attention on a single point in your body. And breathe naturally without control over the how, the when, or the why, just breathe naturally. Eyes can be open or closed. As thoughts arise, as they naturally and almost certainly will, simply return your focus to your decided area of intention. I rolled my gaze up and into my third eye with my eyelids closed. She set a timer for a minute to give me a taste of this new exploration into mindfulness and we waded into the waters of a shallow meditation.
The soothing jingle of bells resonated from the outstretched phone announcing our interlude. I had no questions. So we began again.
The five minutes passed peacefully, restoring my sense of embodiment resting knowingly within the seat of my mind. The secret to meditation was before me all along in the simplicity of its workings. If you’ve yet to find the power accessible through this eternally sustained practice, I encourage you to refine your focus to the minimum method of execution and sit down with yourself in allowance of simply letting yourself be for a mere minute or two. The worst that happens is you dedicate some moments of your day to finding yourself, the possibility of true discovery awaits in the process.