Meditation is a powerful tool...

...so last night before I went to my painting class (I'll write another post on this later) my massage therapist and I held a short 10 minute meditation session in her apartment.  She has 2 of those wonderful round fluffy chairs so we were totally comfortable.  She had never really meditated.  I had meditated one time but on the listening end, not the speaking end so I wasn't sure how it was going to relax us.

Anyhow, the soothing music was started, we sat and discussed how to start.  She asked if we needed to hold our thumb and index fingers together and I said it was explained to me that one needed to be in whatever comfortable position they preferred, fingers together or not.  So then I suggested imagery and away we went not really knowing what would come next.  Based on the one meditation method I really enjoyed (use imagery) I began speaking in a soothing voice about coming upon this secret garden filled with beautiful trees, flowers, a pool and a waterfall that one simply had to walk down a beautiful stairway to access.

Within the first 2 minutes a fire engine came blaring past siren screaming and then across the street some type of demolition was occurring with a loud crashing and scraping.  All of a sudden we both burst out laughing for a good 30 seconds.  So much for meditation!

After the hearty laugh we gathered our composure I slowly led us into and through the garden detailing the sites and sounds and smells of each tree, flower, herb, and water feature.  We ended the meditation with a reminder that we could take ourselves back to that garden anytime and anywhere just by finding a nice quiet place to sit and bring to mind that beautiful place.  We leisurely walked back up the stairs and into the rest of the day.  10 minutes gone poof - and so relaxing - even for me!

I left being more relaxed than I have in decades!  Yes, decades!   I went to painting class and our instructor, Howard, had very relaxing music playing so the mood and atmosphere continued for another  2 1/2 hours.  What a great evening.  I would love to share with more people the power of meditation!