I continue to play with different ways of meditating - mantras, meditation beads, counting my breaths, imagining streams of colored light entering my nostrils and heading towards my third eye! Don't laugh - these are all things I have practiced under the guidance of skilled yoga and meditation teachers. This afternoon, I was trying out a mantra I composed for a friend, "Om Ram Namo Namaha". I did not want to offer her a mantra that was awkward to repeat, or combine with breathing. My intention was to practice it today, with my own meditation.
My spare bedroom doubles as my meditation sanctuary. Next to an old futon, I have placed a meditation cushion, yoga mat and blankets and a little altar of sorts - a Ganesh statute and some elephant candle holders Mom gave me one Christmas. Today my body was loose - I had done yoga before sitting, so my hips, back and legs were open and ready for stillness. Once I settled onto the cushion and took my seat, I began breathing and repeating the words I had written for my friend. To my surprise, the mantra worked like a charm, helping relax my mind and focus my thoughts on the present. Until, Nookie, my maltese puppy, nudged his nose under my hand, demanding my attention.
Prior to this moment, he had been torturing Sam, my yorkshire terrier, with body slams and barking. This rowdiness in the beginning of my meditation is not uncommon. I often invite my dogs into the room while I am sitting, but usually my stillness calms them and within minutes they are lounging on the futon. Today was unusual. My mantra had helped me drown out the racket, but once the maltese turned his attention to me, I was helpless.
I tried for a second to ignore him. Afterall, the point of meditating is to shut out the outside world - right? Unfortunately, I get so much joy from my attention seeking puppies, to ignore them is to deny myself too much joy! Nookie and Sam seek attention so shamelessly - nudging, jumping and barking until I give in, which happened quickly today.
I opened my eyes and grabbed Nookie, trying to stay connected to the meditation by continuing my mantra - "Om ram namo namaha." As Nookie licked my forehead and I nuzzled his neck, my mantra changed, "Om ram I love my dog, Om ram I love my dog." I might be insulting a Sanskrit scholar by combining a chakra sound with a statement of love for my dog, but my intention is to honor the meditation and honor what brings me joy!
I am no longer going to ignore my dogs during meditation. I will instead incorporate them into the practice, until they are calm enough to sit with me. Including a loving, playful animal can only strengthen my attempts at increasing awareness and my attachment to the present. Afterall, dogs are not forward thinking animals. What they know IS the present - and all they care about is being with the ones that love. What a wonderful lesson they have to teach us!
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Thank you for sharing your meditation experiement / experience!!! You are so awesome! I'm inspired to start my labor meditation practice tomorrow and, I really like the idea of colors going into my nostrils. I'll have to see if I can add scent. Maybe if I meditate that I'm smelling chocolate cake in the form of velvety cocoa color wafting through my nostrils, I won't be tempted to go to the store and buy a big piece of mocha cake, eat it and destroy the evidence before I get home. (I'm afraid that I may have just made a bigger faux pas and been more offensive to more experienced meditation practitioners than mixing a mantr with odes to your cute dogs - if so, I apologize).
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