High on Happiness

Posts Tagged ‘meditation’

Withdrawing from the busy world, he claims twenty minutes as his own.   He settles himself comfortably into his chair, closes his eyes and inhales a full volume of air.

As he exhales in a long, luxurious sigh, he feels all the tension leave his body.  Again he breathes in deeply.  Again, he exhales and feels every muscle in his body softening, as if he were weightless and floating on air.

After the third deep, relaxing breath, he lets his breathing find its own rhythm, watching it flow of its own accord.

He feels his body expand with every in-breath as the cool, fresh air enters him.  “Wellness,” he whispers silently to himself, imagining he is breathing in a divine elixir that brings his mind and body perfect health.

As he watches his breath flow from him, he silently whispers, “Peace.” It is his offering to the world and he gives it with sincerity and love.

His mind grows as still as a woodland creek on a windless August afternoon.  “Wellness,” he breathes; “Peace.”  Thoughts come and go, like leaves floating on water.  The mind will do what the mind will do.  He notices them, but their sound is muffled and seems to come from far away.

Sometimes one will capture his interest and he’ll ride with it for awhile, captivated by its intricate designs.  But then he will notice that he’s thinking, and gently let the thought go as he returns his attention to his breathing.  “Wellness,” he breathes; “Peace.”

He doesn’t think about it, but he’s aware that he has entered another dimension of consciousness, a kind of quiet communion with the transcendent intelligence within and behind the manifest world.   It’s nothing he could describe in words, but it feels wholly loving, wholly powerful, both intimate and immense.  The peace of it is dynamic; its silence is the music of the spheres.  He has no desire to understand or define it.  He simply sinks into it and allows it to fill his being.

After twenty or so minutes have passed, his phone’s alarm softly vibrates.  He takes a long, deep breath and begins to count slowly from one to five.  “Returning now,” he tells himself as his count reaches three.  “Feeling good, feeling great, feeling better than before.”

At the count of five, he opens his eyes.  The room is clear and bright and has an aura of beauty about it.  He stands, feeling awake, refreshed and at ease.

As he returns to his day, his stride has a renewed lift to it; his face wears a slight glow and an easy, peaceful smile.  He’s centered, integrated, confident and ready.  All in exchange for 20 minutes apart.

Suppose the Good Fairy showed up with an offer to build you your very own retreat—a place all your own, beautifully designed, equipped with every luxury—and a magical means to access it instantly, any time you wanted.

She says she can create it in any environment you want – woods, seashore, mountain top, desert—you name it.

Where would you ask her to have it built?  And what do you imagine it would look like?

A few years ago, my friend Faith told me, she began building an imaginary retreat, and now it has grown to a fabulous estate that she wanders at will, using as she chooses its spa, its music room, its theatre, its conference center, its meditation chapel, its library.

It has a coordinator, two personal guides, various instructors and facilitators, and sometimes other guests.  She can visit with any of them, or be entirely alone, depending on her purpose and desire.

She walks its winding paths to various gardens, some formal and ornate, some like meadows filled with wild flowers, some with fountains, some with pools.    She paddles across the retreat’s vast lake to visit a Teacher whose academy is sequestered in the base of a mountain, accessible only through a secret door.  She has a transparent crystalline transporter that carries her to other dimensions and times.

“It provides me with a place to explore solutions, to envision possibilities, to tap new levels of knowledge, and to rest and heal,” she told me.  “And it has become as tangible for me as my every day life.”

She suggested I begin building one, too.  “Start with something simple.  Some structure in your favorite kind of environment.  Go there when you meditate or when you simply need a few minutes away from the stress of your normal world.  It’s wonderfully relaxing and peaceful.”

I remembered her story today as I walked beside an emerald river, deep in a secluded wood, listening to the babbling waters, the gentle rustle of leaves, the birdsong.  This would be an ideal place for a retreat, I told myself, and I began imagining a beautiful glass-walled lodge . . .

If you were going to build a place of your own, where would you put it?  What would it look like?  You just may want to give it some thought.