Flying solo

The Eurythmics’s lyrics could not fit better to the current weather. Or maybe I should start with “rain, rain, go away, (don’t) come again another day”? This time of year I start restlessly waiting for spring: I start planning the flowers and plants I will grow on my balcony, I find a nice pair of summer shoes I want to start wearing, and then I just wait for the rain to go away. A lot of rain in February is understandable, it’s a winter month, but then we get into March and I’m done waiting. I want to feel the sun on my face, no more sleet and rain. It seems like Mother Nature isn’t listening…

Lake in rain1

The past few weeks I have been occupied with a terrible cold that really knocked me out and business travel. This has given me the opportunity to try out meditation in different scenarios. My TM teacher, Guénaël said that when sick and in bed you can meditate more than twice daily. During the really bad days with a fever over 39° I tried to meditate, but usually woke up several hours later. As Guénaël said, listen to your body and if it says sleep, then do that. I slept a lot. 🙂

Taking the early flight means waking up before six am and that makes morning meditation tricky, at least for me. So, I’ve been trying meditation on the road. I can now say that meditation on a train does not work with the constant announcements and trains are actually quite noisy places, even if it’s 6 am. Planes are better, after take-off is a good moment to get in your 20 minutes which you missed in the morning. With the amount I travel for work, maybe I should look into those noise reducing headphones – that would help out with meditation on trains as well, and I do like gadgets. 😉

I had my first follow-up with Guénaël, which really helped me. I enjoy meditation, it is calming and a nice personal moment but I was getting stressed with what I thought meditation should be and what I was actually experiencing with the constant thoughts popping up. I’m also someone that wants instant results, but Guénaël reminded me that meditation is a process, not a state of mind, and that development doesn

This time, I think the biggest help came from Helen, Guénaël’s wife. When I was commenting on my busy mind she told me that she still feels the same way as well sometimes and she’s been practising for many years, so I’m not alone. Actually, I think I need to ask Guénaël if he still has them too, or if they actually go away after practicing for 35 years. 🙂 So, I’m assuming I just have to take this as “normal” and how my mind works. We did our group meditation session and I let the thoughts come but did not stress about it or focus on them, just went with the flow and I think with that I felt that I’m on the right path.

Now, if just Mother Nature would find the right path as well…

puddle1