Ten Minutes, Unguided

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

-Lao Tzu-

As I have learned to meditate regularly, I have benefitted greatly from guided meditations. I have needed someone else to direct this practice for me in order to establish it as a habit. Left to my own devices, my thoughts would have me racing off in several directions or going down the same dark hole over and over. I am happy to report that practice has made progress possible.

This morning’s offering from the Healthy Minds app was a 10-minute unguided silence. Just a bell to begin and end. At first I was disappointed that this was what I was getting, but I trusted in it. With several scattered thoughts already swimming around in my brain, the first moments were anything but focused. I persisted though, as I walked our dog Oliver and took in the clouds in the sky and the approaching sunrise. Because no one was speaking through my ears, I listened to the sounds around me more intently. A few crows squawked. They aren’t always in the neighborhood, so I appreciated their presence, if not their noise. I heard the traffic on a county highway less than a mile away. It was almost soothing to consider that people were out and about early on a nice summer day, going about their own business or pleasure.

It wasn’t a sound that captured me the most though. It was the clouds and the light of the rising sun. As I settled in to my unguided meditation and brought my brain energy to the here and now, I thought about how the clouds and sun don’t need guides. They just know what to do. Of course, that is not true. They are guided by the forces of Nature. Forces far beyond the human capacity.

I decided to take some of that guidance myself. Calm peace came to rest within me before the ten minutes were up and the second bell sounded. A faith that life has a way of working out, in spite of getting in my own way often. A gratefulness that I have all that I need and much more right now. Cluttered thoughts dissipated. That’s progress!

I decided to do a short meditation from my other favorite app, Insight Timer, with one of my favorite teachers there—John Siddique. As I opened the app, Lao Tzu’s words above greeted me. A friendly greeting. Just breathe Lisa. Slow down. One thing at a time. Trust the Universe’s timeline. (And remember Lisa, pushing your own timeline has gotten you in trouble in small and big ways many times before.)

And John Siddique’s words—”simply being”—were the icing on the cake. Simply being, even if for a few moments a day, is a treasure. An awakening. Thanks to all who brought me these few moments a few moments ago. Even the crows. Onward!