Outdoor Meditation

I've been relying a lot on meditation lately. A situation has come up with another person in my neighborhood that I refuse to bite into. However, this is quite a struggle and if I don't watch it, I can get into obsessive thinking. If I can't sleep at night because of this I just put in one of my meditation DVDs, even if I have to play it more than once.  

My meditation spot at Bull Run.

Part of my personal lesson this week is to go on with my life even if other people are trying to turn it upside down. This is all part of restoring myself to sanity, another concept I've been working on. I didn't want to go out of town, but I decided to go with my boyfriend to Mananas, VA for a family party and a visit to the Bull Run battlefield. I'm glad I went because it was a nice rest and nothing happened at home while I was gone. I did get some time to meditate as my boyfriend wanted to spread a blanket out in the grass at Bull Run and nap before we headed to the party. It was my first time doing meditation outdoors and it was a sublime experience. It is amazing how much I heard of nature when I was listening to "nothing".

So, I have been working at meditation even though, according to my notes, it took me 40 days to complete week 3 of Yoga Journal's Meditation Revolution. I don't know why, but I just didn't warm up to that week's meditation. I did get some useful things out of it.

In my last post about this series I mentioned I had trouble with the breathing. This has gotten better since I've been practicing on my own. I still struggle with the idea of meditation creating energy, but I put that on the back burner, figuring that I would just understand it in time. The Yoga Journal email for day 21 mentions that thoughts are energy. Well, that seems obvious, but a good reminder for me right now since I am trying not to waste energy with obsessive thinking.