Dealings with Distractions: At-home Meditation Practice

Excerpt

I’m on a date –

me and my mind.

Wearing loose cotton

I’m lying down

on a yoga mat

my eyes closed

in the basement,

my meditation lab

cool and quiet

like a cave.

Here I’m a scientist –

curious detached

accepting –

watching my mind

free of external distractions.

Again and again

I throw out a lifesaver

and reel myself in

bringing my mind back

to the breath.

I am at sea

dwelling in sensations –

observing the short and choppy

rising and falling,

transient waves

of thoughts and feelings,

without riding them,

without getting caught in a rip current

or smashing surf.

My job now is training my mind

by focusing

on each in- and out-breath,

finding refuge

where right and wrong

ego, anger, and fear

in this moment dissolve,

finding refuge

in compassion,

her warm, calm water

embracing me

lifting me up.

My mind disengages

from the world outside

until breath by breath

I arrive home

safe and serene.

Twenty minutes later

my eyes open.

Slowly I rise

stepping outside my self.