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I have officially completed 2 "21 day meditation challenges," 1 "Global Meditation for Compassion," and months of independent meditation. I can now officially say that I have tried meditating.

I can also say that I love it. My heart feels active and uneasy when I look at facebook, or my email, in the morning. When I meditate it slows and levels it's pacing.

At first meditating was downright hard. Apparently, I am no longer used to sitting for 20 minutes straight without being in a chair. I couldn't remember mantras in sanskrit (a language that I and most other people in the 21st century don't speak). I would receive my thoughts, and then rather than stare at them in an out of body manner  and let them go- I would follow them in an out of body manner like Alice and the white rabbit. The time felt long, and as if it weren't elapsing at all. The music felt loud and domineering. Nothing about my experience involved an ease or release.

       

Meditation is a practice, however. So I practiced. I did the meditation experiences, and used the time to concurrently develop better sitting posture. I forgave myself when I would forget a mantra, and would continue with the classic fallback, "om." I brought art into the experience of watching my thoughts without engaging them. When they would come I would imagine them as watercolor bands drifting into a white box just ahead of my vision.

I began to really enjoy my meditation time and look forward to it. The negative space created by an absence of thought produced more ideas. Doing nothing produced a me that was more likely to try new things. I even created this blog. If you're considering meditating this author says, "om."