The power of meditation

Paul and I went kyaking yesterday on the delta. This is the first time we've gone to the delta. We set off from Brannan Is. and went nearly 4 miles, at least that's what it looks like we did from looking at the map after we got back home.

It was very windy! It took us about an hour going out. On the way back the tide changed and it took us 4 1/2 hours to get back. The tide and the wind were incredible. No stopping for a rest or taking a break either. It was all we could do with both of us paddling to make any headway against the combined tide and wind.

We have never paddled that long without a break before. But this time we couldn't take a break or we would have been sweept back out on the tide. For me I used this as an opportunity to meditate. I focused on finding the saddles in the waves, kind of like looking for mountain passes. The waves were up to 4 feet high and our kyak is only 22 inches tall. I also imagined that every time I dipped my paddle into the water that the current was helping to push it back and there by speed us onward. As long as I held my meditation I didn't tire. When my meditation was finally broken I went into muscle spasms in my right arm and shoulder and I stopped having fun.

It is amazing to me how much work we did, how much effort we put into getting back to the marina, how sustained an effort we made, and yet how much energy I have today. I do feel as though I went kyaking yesterday, my arms and shoulders and back are tired, but I don't feel as tired as I would have expected after the massive effort I put into it. It just goes to show that strugle is opptional. I didn't strugle I just put energy into getting where I wanted to be. I stayed focused on my goal and maintained a constant effort towards achieving it.

Hmmm, guess I need to put that lesson to work in other areas of my life.

YOU are magical,
Dianne

Magical YOU!

Spinning as meditation

Not the Whirling Dervish kind but the Gandhi kind, you know, fiber into yarn. Gandhi was of the belief that if every one in India would devote just a half an hour per day to spinning, that the country’s poverty would be alleviated and her people would be spiritually uplifted.

While I don’t use my spinning time exclusively for meditation, I have found that it does make for a wonderful meditation experience. When I meditate at the spinning wheel, I direct my mind prayerfully towards my friends, family and neighbors or world situations and send them love, peace and light.

I don’t know if it helps those I direct my thoughts to or not, but I have found that it makes a huge difference in me. When I get up from one of those spinning meditations I am calm, relaxed and filled with joy. My body and my mind are both at peace and ready for new activities. I am more creative and stronger.

I still enjoy spinning with a group or chatting with Paul while I spin, but when I spin alone I find more and more that I go into the meditative spinning. It just plain feels good. And, I can see the difference in the quality of the yarn I produce while meditating.

YOU are magical,
Dianne

Magical YOU!
You can have every thing you want.