Traveling Meditation

For some reason, “meditation” is a scary word for a lot of folks I meet or teach. That’s probably because they think of meditation as some new- age, hippie crap that they don’t have time for. In reality, meditation is old-age stuff. When you practice Meditation, what you’re doing is letting go of stress and distractions and getting back to a state where you simply “be.” And heck, if your thoughts are as crazy as mine are on occasion, wading through the distracting thoughts can be as entertaining as any summer blockbuster.

My Favorite Mediation

One of my favorite meditations is the Traveling Meditation and it takes about ten minutes. Here’s how it goes: You sit down, turn off the technology, close your eyes, and allow your mind to wander. That’s right, I mean let it GO. Usually when I do this, something about a girl with a cute tattoo comes to mind. Then my thoughts move on to a strip club in Fort Lauderdale (because I used to be a bouncer there; get your mind out of the gutter!). I think about what I ate for lunch, what parking tickets I have left to pay, and where did my ponytail from the early 90s go? But once my mind tires of traveling and moving through all these distractions, and there’s no place left to go it comes home to roost and it’s left at a place where I can finally feel at ease. No worries, no anxiety. Nothing but the present moment. A better, clearer and truer version of myself where I finally realize that I now save tons of money on haircuts and hair care products and a place where I sometimes get a glimpse of the meaning of life.

A good place to start meditation

So the next time you’re feeling restless or overwhelmed for whatever reason I suggest trying the Traveling Meditation. Let your brain wade through all your thoughts until it gets back to a resting point where it can connect back with your body. And then, when you’re back at peace, do me a favor: drop me a line and tell me about the wacko thoughts your mind traveled through during your meditation. Nothing makes my day more than a strange story — well, except a little peace of mind.

Rudy Mettia