Am I Open?

I think I am progressing in that area. I have found some of the most profound statements in the oddest of places. When I read anything, it seems as if something will always jump out at me. Something that means something to what I am doing with my life.

Instead of meditating today I read books about meditation with the meditation music. It mentioned Focused Awareness. I like that. We usually have so many things going on in our lives that we miss some stuff, and it may turn out that was some important stuff. We zip around at 100 mph getting up and to work and then through work and then through dinner and then we take time to pause it is usually in front of the TV. Yes we all need mindless entertainment - sometimes. I, for one, will never put down TV.

But this morning when I was taking my shower I focused on taking my shower. Not what I was going to wear and that I need new shoes for work or what will be going on at work. I bought a new body wash and it sure smells good. I took the time and let all other thoughts go out of my mind except how the body wash smelled and that I was washing my arms and washing my feet, etc. I really let myself feel the water of the shower on my body. It was the most relaxing shower I've taken in a long, long time. I was totally present for that experience and instead of jumping out of the shower and charging on to my next task. I calmly got out and dried off and did the same thing with that.

It wasn't easy, though not as hard as meditating where you want to empty your mind usually, but it was refreshing. Of course, at times my mind wandered, but I just brought it back to task. In my mediation reading it said (and I quote Jack Kornfield here) a key to mediation is - get this - the steadiness of our attention. So it doesn't always have to be total stillness and silence, but a steadiness of our attention. That is also a way for us to receive our messages. Or, just as important, to calm ourselves and to relax and to notice the here and now.

I'll end today with something funny I read in my meditation book - Breath Sweeps Mind - a student came up to a Zen Master and told him that counting ones breathes for meditating is boring. The Zen Master then took his head and held it underwater until the student was struggling. When the Zen Master let him up again, He asked, now do you feel that breathing is boring?