Looking back I have not been on a retreat since 2019 in Upstate New York. Wow has time flown and things have changed. As I deepen my curiosity and practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM) life has only gotten richer for me.
During the pandemic one early morning I was awoken by my mom's voice telling me to go get my TM checked. A couple of things you should know, my mom passed away back in 2019 and I had never gone to get my TM practice checked. After she passed away, I promised her and myself that if she ever guided me to something I would not argue and I would just do it but this was different, we were in a pandemic. I had only been back in Los Angeles for a year and we were in lock down. I got online and started to research how to get my "TM checked"- by the way that was 3:00 am on July 23, 2021 when I heard her guidance. Interestingly, July was the same month and year I decided to form my company Karegrounds Clarity. Within 2 weeks I was in person sitting with a TM teacher getting checked (meaning you sit with them and meditate and they answer any questions that come up). It was easy and next thing I knew I began meditating with a Local TM group over zoom. It was something new and I felt connected and continued until I joined a couple of TM group meditations in person and that was serene and deep- mom was right.
About a month ago I saw an email to sign up for a TM National Retreat. I had recently become more interested in going to Maharishi University where My mom had gone over the years to meditate decades ago. She was what is called in TM as a Sidha and would often go to Iowa to meditate in the famous Golden Dome. I heard so much about it as a child she would talk about how incredible it was for her. Now I could have a chance to go and see what she experienced and have my own direct experience. I signed up and was off to Fairfield, Iowa.
Living in Los Angeles I take so much for granted in terms of all needs met- Uber Black, Waymo, UberEATS, walking to stores open all night, etc. I forget when I travel to other states that access to these same services are different or nonexistent. This can be part of the retreat experience- adjustment and getting into that areas rhythm. What I noticed was slower paced moving, empty highways, lots of space in rolling corn fields and blue sky for eons. The air was fresh, clean and moist- good for the skin. The nights were quiet and dark I heard all the crickets at night and saw a million dragonflies during the day dancing and scooting around the lakes edge. I immediately felt calmer and didn't feel the need to walk fast as I do back home- a shift.
Lots of resting and meditation sessions called rounding help loosen the deeper stress and I initially began to doubt that was happening until I started noticing some nighttime dreams of people and things I haven't thought of in decades. It's like it was all bubbling to top of my mind ready to be released easily- it was wild and a bit confusing. After awhile I let go as I was here for it all.
Several wonderful experiences I always have on retreats: meeting new people from states and regions I have never travelled to (yet) and to connect deeply through TM is genuine and real. We laughed a lot, exchanged ideas and concepts along with exploratory walks around the area. What is amazing is when you are with people who practice TM and you eat meals with them, listen to their stories and longings and hear them at the deepest level it opens my mind and heart in new ways. I am grateful.
Meditating with the group in the Golden Dome where 100's of thousands of people have practiced TM since the early 1980's was deep Bliss and Peace and worth every moment. Look at us here!
Re- entry into my everyday life. Can I just share I have always buffered my time away and coming back but after this retreat it was a full week of not much interaction with people and work- only what I needed to take care of- more presence. I checked in on the elders that's about it. I rested, did some journaling, and did not feel the urges of lists, to do's, or everyday must accomplish. It's like things settled for me. A couple of things that I normally would scramble to fix - a lost Zelle payment, a missing package, etc. they all worked themselves out with out me getting upset and needing to fix. I will be honest what re-entry didn't adjust was my LA driving anxiety that seemed to kick back in fast- I am working on it - its a practice.... Take good Care of YOU.
留言