Meditation, Mantras and Road Rage

As part of a feeble New Year’s resolution effort, I have tried to incorporate meditation into my routine. This has not been a roaring success.

Meditation is the effort to quiet one’s mind and possibly find peace and clarity. For me it goes something like this: Sit quietly cross-legged on the floor, usually in my living room facing the window. Close my eyes, hands resting on my knees with the palms up – a receiving position, according to my instructor. (Let’s face it, I’ll take any help thrown my way.)

Then I attempt to clear my mind. This last about 2.8 seconds. Breathe. Calm. Closed eyes. My forehead itches. Can I scratch it? Wow, it’s light out. Better open my eyes, Geez, that tree still has a lot of leaves. I’m gonna be raking forever. Do I have time this weekend? What am I doing this weekend? Grocery store? What do I need to buy there? And on it goes until I realize this would be way more effective if I just made a list. Meditation time is officially over.

Okay. Clearly I need to focus. Maybe a mantra would help. But I had to steal one from a magazine. Apparently repeating, “Don’t hit the jaywalker, don’t hit the jaywalker….” is not appropriate. (My road rage is legendary among friends.) So this is what I picked, primarily because it rhymes and has the cadence of a limerick.

"May I feel protected and safe.

May I feel contented and pleased.

May my physical body support me.

May my life unfold smoothly with ease."

I’m up to 12 seconds. Success.

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