I’m taking a break from entries on our African journey to share some of my upcoming book with you. The below article is an excerpt from “Awakening the Wise Woman Within You, Igniting Your Passion, Purpose, and Playfulness.” (from the chapter entitled Be Here Now with Your Meditation Practice) – ENJOY!
- Join a meditation group to learn a variety of breathing techniques, mantras, and other helpful tools to guide you within. Scientific studies in quantum physics have proven when groups gather together to meditate, a powerful force field is created. One significant experiment led by Dr. John Hagelin brought thousands of meditators together for a period of time over two months in Washington D.C. The results indicated a significant reduction in the crime rate. Not only does the group meditation experience positively impact the meditator, it can also transform our world.
Group Meditation with our Beloved Katy (aka: Ka-Tea)
Almost two years ago I joined a weekly meditation group which meets every Wednesday night at 6:30 pm at Katy Guard’s home. She is a spry, brilliant, outspoken woman from Bombay, in her late 70’s without a wrinkle on her skin. There we tame the thoughts which rush through our minds so our meditation practices can flow more like gentle streams than cascading waterfalls.
Yet this practice has also helped me to better understand and feel more connected to the oneness of humanity allowing love, compassion, and kindness to form deeper roots in my being.
To her “children,” as Katy calls us, she is Ka-Tea because of the large silver urn of homemade Masala Chai Tea which awaits us when we arrive. It tastes as if it has come directly from the best Chai Walas, servers of this staple drink, in India.
During meditation Katy guides us within to our private sanctuaries where we find peace and rest. We sit on pillows on the floor, and often lie down wrapping the blankets we have brought from home around us. She then leads us through visualizations where we float free from life’s concerns and even our own bodies, somewhere out into the cosmos. We then study a chapter from I am That, a Spiritual classic which shares the timeless wisdom of our guru, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. His four life precepts are what we aim to follow:
1) Avoid the unnecessary
2) Don’t anticipate pleasure or pain
3) Don’t repeat mistakes
4) Live an orderly life
Finally we end the evening with a delicious, homemade Indian meal which Katy and a devoted “child,” Scott, prepare for us as we sit around a large round table passing food to one another and catching up on our latest life happenings, just like the family we have become.
To learn more about Katy or to peruse through the book I am That, you may visit her site: http://www.YogawithKaty.com
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