Finding a meditation home

meditation_tara

A few weeks ago I wrote about longing for a place to call home and put my request for my ideal home out to the universe.

Well, the universe delivered. Since writing that post several people have expressed their interest in the Home Project so it may actually be a goer.

Go universe.

Seeing as the woo-woo-put-it-out-there approach worked so effectively, I’m going to give it another go today – this time with my long sought-after Ideal Meditation Group – my meditation equivalent of home.

I love meditation – I’ve written about it many times before – and I really like sitting in meditation in a group. It’s not just the sense of connection it offers but also the practical aspect of committing to being somewhere at a certain time and doing (or not doing) an activity for a specified time. I find it’s a very effective external motivator that helps me have a regular practice of long (more than 10 minute) meditation.

In my quest for a meditation home over the years, I have gone to quite a few meditation and mindfulness groups. It’s much easier to find them now – with the interwebs and meetup – but I still haven’t found my place.

Some groups are bit too beliefs-based – be it Buddhism or Hari Krishna or even therapy or new age – and it can feel like the meditation is part of the recruitment process.

Some are a bit too interactive – I really don’t go to meditation for chanting or dancing or shaking or speaking in tongues. I go for stillness.

Some are a bit too short – 15 minutes of meditation? I can do that at home.

Some are too noisy – we won’t talk about the meditation class I persevered with for months hoping the Greek wedding band that practised on the other side of the very thin wall during our meditation would stop after Paniyiri … They didn’t, but I did.

Now, it could be said that I am being far too judgmental in my meditation home search – that the lesson here is to let go of all my preconceived ideas of what meditation should be and just accept what is.

Well, I’ve sat with what is long enough.

I’m now just going to put what I want in a meditation group out into the universe …

I just want to sit (not dance, not shake) for about 45 minutes (or 46 minutes) in a group guided (or semi guided) meditation, that’s not too far from my home.

My dear universe, is this too much to ask?

Oh, and I don’t need to interact with anyone – beyond a friendly hello and a smile – and I certainly don’t need to stay on for the light vegetarian meal.

Oh, and also, I don’t really want to start the group myself okay? I just want to go along and support something someone else has started – for a change … 😉

Ok universe, do your stuff.