Did I mention that the Midwest is having a heat wave, temperatures in the 90's and of course good old humidity to match, ah! Is that why it is named Ah-gust? Well, I don't know the last time you tried to meditate while sweating but I have a few observations to share.
We have a stationary bike downstairs where it stays pretty cool most of the time. I was there this morning to ride the bike, got in some good cardio and then went upstairs to meditate. I was running late so I didn't bother to exactly cool down but I said to myself, "oh, just go ahead and sweat for a minute." It's no big deal, right?
At first, as the sweat was running down the sides of my face, I wanted to jump up dash over and get a towel - after all I had just set the timer - that wasn't really cheating. I mean really, I wanted to wipe down like any reasonable person would have done to begin with. But, no, I decided to just wait a minute longer to see if I would stop sweating.
Then, I got curious about the sweat. I started to just pay attention to the beads of sweat, one at a time. Where was it popping out? Where did it go and at what speed? What was the path of the bead of sweat? At first, I noticed I had many running down the sides of my face at the same time. I noticed a particular bead that announced itself right at my hairline, smack in the middle of the top of my forehead. It started to travel rather quickly towards my left eye. I thought it was going to run right into my eye. It occurred to me that I might want to actually wipe this one away. But, I patiently watched as it quickly - and gracefully I might add - curved around my eye and made a bee-line right down the side of my nose, then made another quick jog around the corner of my mouth - unbelievable! I felt one bead ever-so-slowly making it's way down the back of my neck. And, so on and so on.
As the beads of sweat ran down my face, each one traveled over the angle of my jaw, tucking ever so gently under my chin, and while slowly creeping towards my collarbone on either side. Then a funny thing happened, they kind of disappeared. Wait! Where did they go? I wondering if I would feel maybe something running down my chest, but no! Did they evaporate? No clue! This went on for many minutes. Me sweating, me observing, me sweating some more.
Then it dawned on me that these beads of perspiration were just like my thoughts in meditation. At first maybe I just want to wipe them away, be rid of them. Then, I notice that they pop out of unexpected places; travel at different speeds and take different routes in and out of my mind. If I just wait, the thoughts, like the beads of sweat, dissipate on their own! Voila! A speck of insight today, I love then that happens.
So, go ahead and sweat - I think I just invented HOT MEDITATION! oh brother....
We have a stationary bike downstairs where it stays pretty cool most of the time. I was there this morning to ride the bike, got in some good cardio and then went upstairs to meditate. I was running late so I didn't bother to exactly cool down but I said to myself, "oh, just go ahead and sweat for a minute." It's no big deal, right?
At first, as the sweat was running down the sides of my face, I wanted to jump up dash over and get a towel - after all I had just set the timer - that wasn't really cheating. I mean really, I wanted to wipe down like any reasonable person would have done to begin with. But, no, I decided to just wait a minute longer to see if I would stop sweating.
Then, I got curious about the sweat. I started to just pay attention to the beads of sweat, one at a time. Where was it popping out? Where did it go and at what speed? What was the path of the bead of sweat? At first, I noticed I had many running down the sides of my face at the same time. I noticed a particular bead that announced itself right at my hairline, smack in the middle of the top of my forehead. It started to travel rather quickly towards my left eye. I thought it was going to run right into my eye. It occurred to me that I might want to actually wipe this one away. But, I patiently watched as it quickly - and gracefully I might add - curved around my eye and made a bee-line right down the side of my nose, then made another quick jog around the corner of my mouth - unbelievable! I felt one bead ever-so-slowly making it's way down the back of my neck. And, so on and so on.
As the beads of sweat ran down my face, each one traveled over the angle of my jaw, tucking ever so gently under my chin, and while slowly creeping towards my collarbone on either side. Then a funny thing happened, they kind of disappeared. Wait! Where did they go? I wondering if I would feel maybe something running down my chest, but no! Did they evaporate? No clue! This went on for many minutes. Me sweating, me observing, me sweating some more.
Then it dawned on me that these beads of perspiration were just like my thoughts in meditation. At first maybe I just want to wipe them away, be rid of them. Then, I notice that they pop out of unexpected places; travel at different speeds and take different routes in and out of my mind. If I just wait, the thoughts, like the beads of sweat, dissipate on their own! Voila! A speck of insight today, I love then that happens.
So, go ahead and sweat - I think I just invented HOT MEDITATION! oh brother....
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