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Experiments with Meditation 1

1.Lots of stress in life...good!
2.Too much work...good!
3.Nothing is happening, things are stuck, slow...good!
4.Important deadline ahead, no motivation to give your best...good!

All these situations we have experienced at some level. Did you know these situations make excellent antecedents for great meditations? I have, only recently.

Let me start with situation 4. Important deadline ahead, no motivation to give your best..dislike the situation, yourself, rest of the world, but heck its got to be done.

I am in the last stages dissertating, I NEED to, HAVE to transcribe the last set of interviews, and these are so maddeningly routine, monotonous they are a tough job. I need to be more attentive cos I already hate doing it and put myself through this monotonous task of transcribing interviews, not 10 or 20 but much much more(6 hours to transcribe each tape)

So here I am one day at room 4G27, a tiny carrel, that the library offers free to future docs like me, and professors and other people who I suspect in previous life times must have definitely lived in caves. The carrel is about the size of a closet, enough space to sit, plug laptop and other research gadgets. Vastu Shastrically built to make you work, it is impossible to digress or waste time on any other activity. I betcha those rishis lived in caves for similar reasons. They must have felt the same way, you know, the same way to get to the meditation, keep meditating, till you get the answers to life, cos who wants to extend time living in caves!

So here I am again, one day...
I do everything I can to keep working, and today the mind will not listen. Usual threats / motivators - 'what will other people think?' 'as an art of living person what kind of example are you setting?' 'what will parents, friends, your clients, boss think? just would not work.

Cajoling, begging also did not work. I did every trick to get to the transcribing, but NO, today, my mind was rebellious, tired of threats, begging, tired of everything, and the carrel wasn't helping either -- increasing negativity, darkness, gloom, stress, all bad or so I thought.

I glanced at the Gift of Silence CD and thought, well let me do this experiment. Let me really see, and experience if the meditations by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar really help, I mean HELP. I have read meditations help, and I am regular with my home practice, yoga and meditation twice a day because its a preventive, long term kind of alternative to good health and a happy mind? You know what I mean?

I want a quick fix right now! I am down and out, mood is especially dark right now. Will it help? Can meditation also act as first aid, A QUICK FIXER to my current mood.
I did "Contentment" meditation the theme was relevant to my situation. I heard Sri Sri' words, and a beautiful quietness enveloped me. His voice, the meditation, don't know how time flew, I have no recollection. Somewhere my mind surfaced, and then it was gone, gone. Soon hearing instructions to 'gently open the eyes' and yes I was out of it. The researcher in me of course still had questions, well now that was good! So What?

I still cant believe how my hands reached for the transcriber, and just as easily I began to type and listen and worked for the next 4-5 hours uninterruptedly, there was such joy, the very work some 30 minutes ago my mind had rebelled so much. Unbelievable! I was able to move past the speed bump with such grace. No threats, begging, cajoling, whatever. Work flowed.

See, meditation works even as a band aid, as a quick fix, when you want to move past a speed bump life or work has just presented before you.

20 minutes of letting go followed by 4-5 hours of uninterrupted work by a calm mind.
Corporate Honchos are you listening?

More experiments with meditation in coming blogs. Looking forward to hearing from y'all!