Friday, March 19, 2004

Last night I was unable to get my meditation thing going on, so I lay down on the floor and thought about the latest big-family politics in DW's extended family. However, I was soon mediating about meditation. Is there such a thing as meta-meditation?

In my ongoing search for sources of new-age-y enlightenment, I occasionally come across things that are novel and even silly. Here's something I got a chuckle out of:

"As Master Fwap notes, when you are under water in the ocean, you are in a place that still remains pure and clear. Water acts as a filter. The thoughts and impressions of the people across the globe are filtered out by the vast amounts of ocean water. As you dive deeper you notice that your mind becomes sharper. The thoughts of daily life recede, and a clarity replaces it. You can solve problems more readily, not by thinking hard about them, but by seeing into the essence of the issue, and intuiting the answer. You experience a deep peace and immediate sense of being awake and present."

I enjoy scuba diving, though I go infrequently. I agree that it is calming and peaceful underwater. However, the notion of underwater meditation strikes me as downright silly. I'm too busy checking my air supply, no-decompression limit, depth, and dive time; keeping track of direction and distance; looking after my buoyancy; and watching my dive buddy to clear out my brain and meditate. Also, were I to take sufficient time to get into the mediation zone, the nitrogen would build up in my tissues and I would run out of air. That wouldn't be too fun.

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