Meditation Practice

I have never had a meditation practice, per se. Well, not at all. I first came across meditation during a College psychology course in the early 90s. I had to write a paper about mindfulness meditation. I remember reading the book in the bathtub thinking that would be the best setting if I had any hope of meditation. Well, it didn’t work, I did not find mindfulness. Then there was the time, a few years ago, when I asked a good friend for ideas of things to do for vacation. He was always going to interesting places and trying new things. He suggested I try a week long, Vipassana meditation retreat. When I looked into it I discovered that it was a one week silent retreat. Not having done such a thing before I decided to try a shorter workshop before committing to a full week. I found a Temple in Toronto that was offering a weekend workshop and showed up on Saturday morning, a bit unsure of what I was about to encounter, and took my place on the floor among the rows of people who sat facing the monk at the front of the room. We spent the day in silence, first practicing seated, and then walking meditation. Lunch was also silent. When I walked out of the Temple at the end of the day I was going a bit squirrelly. I had spent most of the day struggling with my wandering mind and day dreaming. I did not make it back for the second day.

Since that time I have dabbled in meditation, although in smaller doses. I have tried a number of different types of meditation, from guided meditation to singing bowls to walking a labyrinth and silent seated/walking meditation in a group setting. I’ve had some very profound moments during these meditations and always enjoyed them in the moment, but have never been able to transfer this to a home practice. 

That is, until now. Starting on January 1, a group of keeners from Everyday Yoga and I have embarked on 21 days of meditation. The premise is that we all meditate on our own but do it in community, with support, knowing there are others out there meditating too. And so far, It has proved very successful. I am following the book 8 Minute Meditation by Victor Davich which provides a very helpful and reasonable plan for meditation. 8 minutes a day. Something I can do. So far I have maintained my practice for eleven out of eleven days and look forward to continuing my practice. 


What has been your experience with meditation?