Ohmmmmm

When my head hit the pillow last night, I knew it was time to put my limited meditation knowledge to the test. At least, I now knew that I was supposed to be feeling my toes and not breathing through them. On closer inspection, like the meatloaf that resembles a brain, I thought my big toe, when walking through a dark alley in a pair of flip flops, might easily be mistaken for Karl Malden’s nose.

I was flat on my back. I closed my eyes. I tried to concentrate on my breathing when I wasn't listening to Liam and Plume whack each other with their paws, which was then directly followed by their subsequent make-up washing each other and purring whilst doing so extravaganza.



As I listened to myself breathing, I began to fear that I might concentrate so much on it that my breathing might become an annoyance rather than calming. Sometimes when I think about blinking my eyes too much, I start, well, blinking my eyes like crazy because I become so conscious of it. Think about it; oh, don’t, because then you’ll be blinking your eyes like crazy like I am now!

Once I assured myself that the sound of my breathing was friend and not foe, I began to try to feel my toes. I wiggled them, which I’m sure was not the way to feel them. I was supposed to feel them without moving them; unfortunately, I began to think about breathing through them again, and then I doubted that I would ever be a good candidate for meditation.

I didn’t want to give up just yet. I relaxed, breathed in and out again, and then I heard Liam sniffle. I was back to the whole nose notion in ten seconds. I could not help but giggle uncontrollably thinking of the moment when Amrit found out that I was trying to breathe through my toes; I decided that I had made a good first attempt, took one deep sigh, and I fell fast asleep relaxed and comforted by the sound of Amrit’s laughter. I'd say that was a success. ♥

P.S. Today, wanting to support my meditation attempts should I try and attempt to breathe through Liam’s nose next, Amrit came by my office with a USB flash drive that held two meditations and every book by John Kabat-Zinn. (And why did I find it funny that a man who taught mindfulness meditation had a name that sounded like a blend of Cabernet and Zinfandel, two of my favorite “techniques” for relaxation!) Anyway, you had to love a friend for trying to help you make your body and soul a better venue, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art instead of what had felt like Chuck E. Cheese lately, and I did. ♥

Happy weekend, everyone!
Mwah, mwah, mwah, Brenda! ♥