Om

Not really. Nice sound, but not mine.

I finished my meditation course on Thursday, completely exhilarated, maybe even a little high about the whole thing--I realized just how high I was when I crashed into grumpy moody meanness all day yesterday....then, I sat down to meditate last night, and--my mood improved. It's a little freaky to me; I am a skeptic by nature, and narcissistic enough to too often believe that whatever works for others cannot possibly have an impact on me. And yet--something is definitely happening.

This course was basically Transcendental Meditation, though as I think I wrote earlier, that term is never used. (It's trademarked by the Maharishi, of Beatles' fame.) But as I (barely) understand TM, the approach is essentially the same. Your teacher (he doesn't use the term "guru", though he understands that others may) sits with you privately, gives you a bija mantra, and then over the course of four days and about seven or eight hours, explains the technique, conducts group meditations and answers questions. Simple. It's all simple. And it is envigorating, relaxing, mystifying, all at once.

I found out about the course from a friend and former writing teacher of mine, but didn't tell her I was going to do it. I felt shy; I don't know her that well, I didn't want her to feel like I was on some creepy "Single White Female" (the movie) trip of trying to be just like her...I don't know. But then I emailed her to tell her what I had done, and received a lovely response,and I'm looking forward to discussing it with her more. Though I loved the teacher, I didn't necessarily feel much of a connection to my fellow students, so it will be nice to be able to talk about the experience with someone I like and respect so much.

And there's not much more to tell about it. It seems to be bringing me some mental calm, a feeling of being more in control as I face the normal stresses and fears of life. And that is worth a lot.