This morning I used a great little app called “Oak” to meditate. For years, I’ve used the word “one” as my mantra. Today I switched to the breath as my method of focus. Neither is particularly easy, but because the goal is to bring my mind back when it wanders, both methods are effective, albeit equally challenging.
As I tell my clients, it’s the bringing the mind back when it wanders that gifts you with the myriad of benefits meditation offers.
Fortunately, your mind is just as capable of drifting to a pleasant memory as it is to a present worry.
Where Am I?
Today I was transported to my grade school classroom. I attended Catholic school and the entire grade level was comprised of twenty-five students and a Benedictine nun.
I loved school. What gave me the most pleasure was the memory of the open windows in my classroom. In those days, there was no air-conditioning. We were bombarded with fresh, although often steamy, unpolluted air.
Why this played such a dominant part in my recollection, I can’t say. I suspect it’s because smells are potent direct transports to the past. Just think about bacon. Where does that take you? If that doesn’t work, think about honeysuckle!
Fun At the Red Lights
Open windows also remind me of my first car, a 1971 Toyota Corolla. For some reason, the air-conditioner didn’t work at red lights. My friend, Linda, who was riding shotgun, would humorously suggest I roll up the windows so people wouldn’t think I had no air-conditioning. Ha!
Back To Class
As a young junior high school teacher, my classroom had no air-conditioning… again, the reappearance of the open windows. This was not quite the pleasant experience I’d remembered from elementary school. Teachers and students alike were prime candidates for a deodorant commercial!
So, thanks for accompanying me on my trip, to be trite, down memory lane.
That’s my history lesson for the day.
Minute Meditations for the Soul 