Tuesday, March 6, 2012
We were warned that the “Venerable” (buddhist monk) would be guiding the meditation and there would be a question and answer period afterwards. Since he did not speak English, only Pali and Thai, another member would translate. This gave it a far more mystical and weighty edge. As we proceeded through the guided meditation first in Pali, then in English, I was confronted with a dilemma. We were told to think of a “happy place” to focus our thoughts, and place our focus on a round object within the “happy place”, preferably a crystal ball. I chose a small spiky sun about the size of my fist. We were also told to focus our awareness on a spot two finger widths above the navel. Here was the conflict, I was having trouble concentrating on the sun and two finger widths above the navel. It was like trying to focus on an object in front and behind you at the same time. I gave up on the stomach and focused on the meditation. Next would come question and answer period.