Author: Kathleen Bloom

During winter break we went up to Tahoe for a family ski trip. It was beautiful and we all enjoyed plenty of good skiing for the week.

My practice is that during the course of my travels, I like to experience a public meditation. Sometimes I get to do that with other people and sometimes I do it by myself in a public setting. So, of course, Tahoe was no different – except that it was COLD!

The temperature was -2 degrees – and that is Fahrenheit, it was -18 in Celsius! But I was determined to sit outside in the Northstar Village and bring meditation into the world. No fanfare, just a quiet silent stillness amidst the bustling crowds of folks on a holiday.

So I found a sunny spot and decided to start with a 5 Minute Meditation. It was quite surprising that once I settled in, it was effortless to go another 20 minutes. My bum was really cold, but the shining sun kept the rest of my body warm enough.

My favorite part was relaxing into the moment and tapping into the ancient grandness of the mountain. It was easy to see how transient my worries are in the face of such a lasting and solid rock of earth. As the people hurried by me, I often sensed the excitement, anticipation, worry and unrelenting go-getting-ness of people with an agenda for having a good time.

It was interesting to observe and I noted how often I fall into that place of being determined for things to happen in a certain way instead of allowing a more natural flow of life to occur. In reality, it takes both the determination and the allowing – but it’s important not to let one overtake the other.

After nearly a half hour, it was time to get moving! So off I went for another day enjoying being outside and appreciating the gorgeous mountain and the sense of groundedness it gave me.

Best blessings to you,
Kathleen

Did you “Meditate In The World!” today?

My public meditation, out in the world, was in London at Paddington Station right at noon. One of the pleasures of meditating in a public place is the surprise of how easy it is to do. And paradoxically, one of the busiest train stations around, London’s Paddington, is an ideal place for a meditation.

Wait a minute Kathleen! Did you just say that a loud, noisy, rushing, chaotic, busy train station is IDEAL for meditation??

OK! Let me qualify that a bit…not for everyday.

But the truth is that I bet your life is loud, noisy, rushing, chaotic, and busy – at least some of the time. So what better than to have an external experience to mirror the internal experience.

A reminder of how wild the inner mind and daily demands can be.
And a reminder of the necessity for a “time-out” every day.

Also, the train station is superficial. None of the noise and demand is for you. It is just in the background.

Consider this: how much of the chaos, noise, demand, distraction in your life is really and truly yours? How much of it is superficial and can be ignored? Not all of it, I know. But some of it.

So, my Meditation In The World was quite invigorating. I am always get excited before I meditate in public – and I do it a lot – cafes, coffee shops, bookstore, parks, beaches, city plazas, sidewalk, airports, and now train station!

How will it go? Will I be able to find quietness? Are people staring at me? Ignoring me?

And of course “why?”

Well, each time I learn something new. I notice something else. I experience another place of quiet and calm amidst the swirl that otherwise never presents itself.

Public Meditation is a wonderful treat to experience and just a little adventure that you can have wherever you may be. Give it a try.

Please remember SAFETY. I often have someone else with me who is the “keeper” and keeps an eye on me, any others participating, and the belongings. Use common sense…and Enjoy!

xo,

Kathleen

I just got back from NYC where I did a couple of meditations in public surroundings.

One was in a busy coffee shop. There was so much noise it was unbelievable. Many languages all around me, construction outside, traffic, horns, and just a lot of chaos and noise.

I knew this was going to be good…

I set my timer for the 5 Minute Meditation and closed my eyes.

Always when I start a meditation in public, I make sure that I am in a safe situation and that my belonging are secure. And that first moment or two when I close my eyes it is awkward. Although I was quite visible, the nice thing about New York is that no one really cares what you are doing.

And I start to settle in.

Immediately I notice the different languages.

Gently the words themselves begin to fade, and it is the cadences of the voices that filter through.

The blaring horns and machinery sound distant even though I know they are only a few feet away. After a surprisingly short amount of time, the noises settle into an indistinguishable pattern.

At this point, my mind travels to my self consciousness – is any one staring at me? don’t worry, no one cares, is any one staring at me? don’t worry, no one is bothering. Back and forth a few times. Let it go.

And then it happens.

I see it, I feel it, I sense it:

Stillness.

Briefly, I find stillness.

Everything is completely quiet and I can hear nothing else. There is no noise, no distraction, nothing at all.

Pretty quickly it is jarred, but I want it back so I try again.

I reach out in my mind trying to grab onto it.

Hahaha – trying to grab stillness!

So I think of it like a dove. I’ve been told you must hold a dove carefully with firmness but not tightly. Hold it so that it cannot fly off, but gently so as to not squeeze it.

I imagine that moment of stillness is like a dove in my hand and return to it carefully with focus and gentleness and there it is again.

Another moment of stillness. Deep inside me.

When I am at home in my meditation space and this stillness comes to me, it sometimes completely envelops me with warmth and calm.

In the NYC coffee shop, it didn’t happen quite like that!

But none the less, it was there and everything else disappeared.

All of this is happening within the 5 minutes, but in meditation the passage of time is different. What is only few minutes can seem like an eternity. Both in it’s best and most difficult sense.

Again, I am jarred out of my stillness, but is is OK. I just continue to sit quietly with my eyes closed and am enjoying the experience.

The timer beeps softly and I open my eyes taking in the scene again. Everything is full color, full volume. Close next to me is a man who appears agitated by my meditation. He glares at me, but I cannot help but smile back at him. He visibly relaxes and then goes about his business.

And I too get on with my day.

I am glad I gave it a try.