What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever meditated? Your bathtub? Okay, maybe weirdest isn’t the right word, and unconventional would make more sense.
Often times when we visualize the idea of mediating, we see someone sitting in bed or on a yoga mat cross-legged and eyes closed. This is a very practical, traditional form of mediating. But it isn’t the only one.
Today I hop on a plane and head back to the east coast. The longest flight is four hours, and there’s a whole lot of time to do nothing on it. I make the trip from coast to coast rather frequently, so I often find that I enjoy meditating on the plane.
I turn on my white noise on my headphones, close my eyes, and am usually left undisturbed.
In this place, I can often do my usual meditation where I count down from 100.
Once again though, there are quite a few different types of meditation.
When that doesn’t tickle my fancy, I often look out the window and try and find shapes in the clouds, often with a question in mind. It’s sort of like a form of divination. You can also mediate on a topic or question and see what patterns in the clouds stick out to you.
Or, simply let you thoughts go, and meditate until you are in a pure state of contentment.
I also like observational meditations. I look down the aisles and see what I can notice. Someone’s boot sticking slightly in the way, someone’s shoes who are purple. But also, what I feel in my body, and where I feel it. A little cold breeze on my neck, or a patch of heat where my hands are tucked into my hoodie pockets.
You can do these sorts of meditations anywhere. On the bus on the way to class (shout out to my fellow SCAD bus riding bees), or on the subway. A car ride – where you’re not driving of course.
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