Meditation Stories

I've been meaning to write this blog for nearly a week now.  But with how things have been moving it's simply not happened.  The story I really wanted to share concerned sitting in an airport lounge waiting to board the plane.  I happened to be meditating as I often do when things are quiet when my 3 and a half year old daughter obviously felt the need to engage with daddy.  Noticing that my eyes were closed she said, "Daddy, stop meditating!"  Of course, I immediately stopped and enjoyed some time with her before we eventually got onto the plane.

But really stood out for me, above and beyond how adorable that experience was, was that my three year old daughter not only knows the word meditation but can recognize it.  I was certainly never exposed to such ideas as a child and I get the feeling that as the population that's beginning to awake starts to expand that more and more children are going to grow up with such examples.  And in turn this just gets me to thinking about the unfolding consciousness that is ever expanding.  When people try and tell me that things are getting worse I simply cannot agree with them.  I believe this is a very exciting time to be alive.  I also look forward to the younger generations coming into their own.

On the topic of meditation I did have an amazing experience to also share.  The Centre for Spiritual Living, Edmonton, had a Board retreat yesterday.  My being involved stems back to the Circle of Love.  At the retreat I'd happened to mention to Patrick Cameron that I was applying to be a volunteer instructor with the Board Development Program in Alberta (and I have an interview this Wednesday).  This is an excellent opportunity to serve non-profit boards in delivering best practices in governance.  When he heard this he asked me if I'd like to observe the upcoming Board retreat.  I agreed, but on the condition that I could simply observe and hold the space as a Practitioner.

Well, that day was yesterday.  I arrived at 9am, pulled up a chair at the back of the room, and then spent the day in meditation and prayer.  I cannot stress how beautiful the experience was.  Ironically, a couple of years ago I had served on the board as Vice President but had stepped back for a few reasons.  Firstly, I was beginning my Practitioner studies and wanted to focus.  I also felt that the board experience and how it was functioning was off for me.  In short, I don't believe I was ready for the role. 

Yesterday though I got to sit in silence.  In fact, even when questions came up about the past, that I could have answered, I remained silent.  I spent the day focusing on the Divine within everyone present expressing itself.  At many points during the day I was entranced by the expression and explosion of Spirit in the room, marvelling at the gifts and talents being revealed.  A few times my mind did wander, but in 5-10 seconds I found myself pulling myself back to empty mind.  I also felt my heart filled, as if as Rumi put it, I was looking through the eyes of the heart.

As I think on this 7 hour meditation experience I was truly gifted to have been in such service.  I can still feel the echo of yesterday and would enter into such service again in a heartbeat.  As I compare the experience of being on the board and being a Practitioner for the board the latter is undoubtedly the more profound experience.