Meditation and Transcendence
Ever try to meditate with four kids in the house?
It's not for amateurs. They tell you to "observe" your mind--and as thoughts come, acknowledge them and then let them float away. This is more like my thoughts . . . .
Breathe in, exhale slowly. Breathe in--What the h*ll was that crash upstairs?--listen . . . no screaming . . . no one must need stitches or an ambulance--breathe in--but I wonder what WAS that crash?--exhale . . . or was it breathe in?--peace . . . exhale . . .--MOM!--Interrupt peaceful thoughts to scream--WHAT?--"The baby took off his diaper and is peeing on the floor!"--one minute--breathe, exhale, breathe--MOM! (this time said as two-syllable word)--COMING!
So much for meditation.
So more often than not, I pause BEFORE my day even begins. I read a spiritual passage in anything from the Bible to The Quotable Einstein to . . . the Dalai Lama to . . . and then I think about it. Then I pray. I remember all the people I promised to pray for, I think of my friends with loving kindness, I think of people I don't like very much with loving kindness, like my mother-in-law, and try to send good vibes to invade her Fortress of Evil And Wrath. And THEN, I think about my books. And my characters.
And somewhere along the way, I transcend. By that, I use the definition more closely associated with "beyond the range of ordinary perception."
Because in the books that really flow for me, that's what's involved with my characters. I have read many authors who dot the i's and cross the t's. But somehow, the author didn't make a connection with me as reader, and usually it boiled down to what I can only think of as an esoteric "the book didn't have any soul." It's sort of like jazz. There's jazz. And then there's Django Effing-Amazing-Transcendant Reinhardt.
So when my characters transcend, somehow they are beyond my ordinary dot the i's perception. They start living in some three-dimensional, quantum physics sphere where they LIVE and have a life of their own. They decide their own paths. I may tweak with the qanatum mechanics, but they react in that world.
And so, no . . . can I sit like Buddha above and meditate? Not so much.
But are my books a bit of meditation and transcendence?
I hope so.
Thoughts?
11 comments:
I so get this, the M and the T.
I'm happy to say that peeing on the floor isn't so common around here anymore unless it's my dog, but those times are infrequent and my fault for not having let him out soon enough.
My Zafu looks more rested than me, and that is saying a lot. Three kids = lots of "Mom!".
Hi Heather:
Glad you can relate. Well, I think I'm glad--it means you are as stretched thin as I am, though! LOL!
Yeah, the peeing on the floor is a new "trick." He's pretty proud of the penis and its varied functions. LOL! Just like a guy.
E
Yes! Yes! Yes!
I've taken baby steps toward learning to meditate, but I'm guilty of an extremely scattered brain. One thought leads to lists of other thoughts and so on. Not at all conducive to relaxation. But when I've got something flowing in the writing department, hours can fly by without me worrying about a single thing. It's wonderful. Right now I miss it. :(
p.s. re: peeing, my son did the exact same thing! He basically toilet trained himself by about fifteen months because he just kept taking off his diaper...to check things out, so we borrowed a couple of potties, set them up here and there around the house (we even had one in the kitchen, which my mom thought was disgusting) and he used them! He also went commando right up until he started school. I'd help him dress in his cute little character undies and half an hour later find them stuffed down the back of the couch.
Lainey:
I like a man who goes commando. LOL!
E
P.S. And Buddhist meditate in everything they do. If you do the dishes, you offer it up for an act of compassion for your family. So writing . . . that, too. It's all meditation.
Recently, I heard a comparison. Men's thought processes are like a hotel where rooms are assigned to particular issues, while women's thoughts are like a ball of yarn, continuous and interconnected, one thought leading on to the strand of anoter. (I think mine are often times frayed and knotted ;-)
kathy:
Neat analogy. I know women who are analytical, but I could definitely relate to the yarn. I am often ALL OVER THE PLACE but I can always trace my path. Make sense?
E
My daughter meditates or is that just tuning me out? I can relate.
la:
I am trying to teach my kids biofeedback--but then, yes, they will be able to tune me out. ;-)
I have three of the four with crippling migraines (I have them, too), and I figure meditation can only help them.
E
I meditate twice a day. . .and then my niece and nephew came to visit! And even though they definitely don’t pee on the floor, having kids in the house changes everything!
I don’t know how you do it—but I really do admire you!
Hi Alyson:
I don't think I do it, frankly. I mean, I do it . . . but it's chaotic and messy and not this organized life of writing and motherhood. It's a mess all around, but somehow I guess it just . . . is. :-)
E
Me and my daughter get migrains. I don't get them so much anymore.
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