Bending the bow
Henry, my 5 year old, has been learning to put on his own seat belt. It’s a step towards independence for him, and one less thing for me to do. This feels like progress! It’s a natural evolution and increase of sophistication, that makes life simpler. Soon the seat belt actions will be automatic.
I have never knowingly taught ‘seat-belting’ before. First, we need to know that we should be wearing it - and notice when you are not. He learned to shout at me if I turned on the ignition but had forgotten to buckle him in. Recently, he learnt to pull, playing and exploring the strange resistance and recoil that is built in to the strap. For a boy who likes mechanics, this was quite a delight. Once he had mastered it, he loved to do it. He would pull, and pull and pull, and pull. I would then find myself navigating a spaghetti type excess of strap, but no sign of the buckle I needed to click. Seat-belting was now taking longer than when I would just do it all myself.
In the Veda, we use the analogy of making a bow. You can find a good stick from which to make a bow. You might want to refine it and polish it, prepare it for bending. But there is a point after which more buffing and polishing is no longer helpful. The bow needs to bend and get some string attached under tension. Then it is springy, and can now be useful. Similarly, more mileage of strap is just a distraction from getting ready for action. We need to find the clicky-bit and line that up, so we can get ourselves on the road.
As meditators, the ‘sitting with eyes closed’ habit becomes automatic, integral to our day, regular. It is natural as humans to comment on that which is fresh and different. We are often fascinated by new experiences, and what was remarkable at the start of your meditation journey may be of no import to you now. We familiarise ourselves and make meditation so regular that it becomes unremarkable - we no longer need to have an opinion on it, or comment much about it. Just as Henry played with his seat belt strap, I love to witness first time meditators getting to know their mantra, and the experience of transcendence. We talk at length about changes in sensation or breathing or whether they were really actually asleep or not. However, when meditation becomes familiar, there may seem to be less to ask or remark upon. I invite you to consider that at every stage of meditation experience, there is delight and wonder and intrigue. Soon after learning, Vedic Meditation had made big advances for me in health, job situation, and relationships. But I found that spending time with longer term meditators increased my enquiry and intrigue into what else was available, that I had not yet even imagined.
Have you found your meditation practice has become humdrum, uneventful? Would you like to access even greater levels of bliss in all areas of life? This is the possibility available to every meditator. Are you feeling upgrades in all areas? Are you satisfied with your rate of progress - or would you like a boost and an upgrade? How does 6 months of stress release in one weekend sound?
I am glad to say Henry has got the basics of the whole process now. A bit of practice, and it will become automatic and we probably won’t talk about it anymore. It will become an integral, but unremarkable part of our existence, just as his walking and talking has become. But i know his hunger to learn (especially anything about cars!) will continue to push him to explore, expand, and enrich his own understanding,.
I invite you to join me on a retreat this winter, to explore, expand and enrich. Come for an evening (Meditation and Meal for Midwinter 20th December); a day (12th Dec in London); or a whole weekend (19-21 November in Somerset). Retreats are a chance to boost your own experiences, enhance your understanding, get inspiration from others and build a rich connection amongst a community of meditators. I look forward to welcoming you along.
