Its true! I joined a commune and found Jesus!
Of course it was the name of the building I was staying in, but I found him alright. Ok, so I was only in the commune for eleven days, but I lived a lifetime there. Really. I have had the pleasure of stumbling across an Osho meditation center in this sacred land they call Nepal.
12 days ago I would have told you that I had been meditating for years and knew what I was doing. Now, I realize I didn't know shite from shinola and meditation is so much more than I ever thought. And...at times more difficult for hours on end than I ever though possible as well.
When I would hear people say "Meditation is the answer to everything" I honestly didn't really understand what that meant. I certainly don't have it all figured out, but after the first week of vipassana (silent meditation), I began to have a clarity that I have never felt before. I understand how mediation effects EVERY aspect of life...physically, spiritually, emotionally...in every plane and dimension. For me, it has especially helped center and ground...helped me stay in the present moment, come back to the present moment more quickly when I have wandered off, and more frequently.
My creativity has skyrocketed... I wrote so many pages in my journal about new ideas, thoughts, and perspectives...I see the value in keeping my reality spontaneous...less limited by past habits and mundane routines that keep us in that safe (but boring!) comfort zone.
By learning to become awareness itself...being the "watcher", I can see the gaps between thoughts happening more and more. In that stillness is peace...A tranquility that no material object or money could ever equal.
This meditation commune has been the most beautiful gift. Living in a community full of peaceful beings (I mean seriously peaceful beings!) that share the same mission of consciousness and the desire to share that gift with the world has effected me greatly. Days filled with a variety of quiet meditation as well as sessions full of dancing, shaking, humming, jumping, "cathartic noise making" and a variety of other powerful transformational activities...
.....Dancing every night to joyful beautiful music with a room full of people so happy to be there celebrating together...smiling faces as big as the moon...the air filled with incense that takes you instantly back to an ancient civilization...the nightly Osho discourse filling your soul with love and understanding... And of course the yummy SPICY Nepalese vegetarian meals... I shall take this amazing gift everywhere I go and share it with as many souls as I can find.
Thank you Thank you Thank you! I love my life!
Meditation does not have to be the chore as many uninitiated people believe...contorting yourself into the Buddha-in-lotus position ...mentally torturing yourself by fruitlessly attempting to empty your mind.... Ok...there are a few moments of that in a week long vipassana...but I anyway.... At least I was sitting comfortably (my lotus needs a little work) and a couple of sessions I actually used a chair! Of course at first it felt like cheating (but its not!)...it is more important to be RELAXED. That is the key. Relax, be comfortable and just watch. Watch your breath at first. Then watch your body. Is there a pain or an itch? Try just watching it, as Osho would recommend. The itch disappears. The pain releases. (Ok, maybe not the pain from the lotus position..where was I...?) These are all simply distractions. ...Huh?...
Ahem...as I was saying...These are all distractions. See?
Watch your feelings. Watch your emotions. Be "the watcher on the hill" Osho would say. This practice... this discipline some might call it, leads to the ultimate freedom. Peace. When you are at peace, you are free.
Try it. I double dog dare you. It might just change your life as well.
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