I said Yes on a whim to two things last week and this is what happened.
My first Yes was to attend a yoga workshop on concentration. Or, at least, this is what I thought it was because the flyer had an illustration of a man in the lotus position serenely meditating while iPod’s and clutter swirled above his head. It turned out to be a seminar about the path toward spiritual consciousness, which turned out to be fantastic. The lecturer was a soft spoken, lively Frenchwoman. She took us through the different levels of conscious awareness as illustrated by a Tibetan painting on this very topic. The painting depicted a man’s path through six stages of consciousness, starting with him having no conscious awareness, going all the way up to the last stages were he is completely aware and finally retracing his steps to help others.
This turned out to be wonderful because I’ve been wondering where I am in my spiritual journey. Now I know that I’m in the middle. I’m more conscious of my actions and thoughts than when I started learning about this, but I’m still led sometimes by my ego and fear. I left the seminar hopeful because on any road trip it’s always reassuring to be able to locate where you are on a map. The lecturer also said that the first few stages take the most amount of energy.
My second Yes came the day after this seminar. It was an evening of chanting meditation, a first for me. When I read the description for this event I felt excited and then inexplicably compelled to sign up. Once again, I wasn’t sure what I was in for, and again it turned out to be brilliant.
It was held at a beautiful yoga studio with exposed red brick walls and large windows that framed the sun as it set for the night. I sat on a hard rectangular pillow that was surprisingly comfortable. They gave us a delicious vegan meal and then it started.
The chanting brought me the closest to God as I’ve ever felt. When the man leading the chant finished his first verse and our group of 30 joined in, it was the most beautiful sound I’ve ever experienced. Soft and flowing like a gentle ocean wave, I felt wrapped in its warmth. Even though I was self conscious at first, the chanting and the music melted into me and eventually I joined in and floated on its soft waves. There was a moment toward the end when the man looked out at us with his eyes half opened and he smiled. The genuine happiness of his smile made me feel like I was looking at the face of God.
Halfway through the evening, my body began to take over while my mind quietly stepped aside. For the first time, my body was moving on its own, with no direction from my mind because it was silent. And I was aware of this, and then I was aware that I was aware.
Then, the remarkable happened: my third eye opened. Suddenly there were three parts of me: my body, my mind, and this mysterious third self observing the two. I’ve felt this separation only once before during an argument with my mother. In the heat of it, I distinctly felt myself watching myself argue with my mother. But that moment disappeared quickly and I’ve never felt it again until this moment. Here, sitting on the floor was me watching my body dance to the music and being fully aware of what was happening in my mind at the same time. And now, I’m able to observe myself at will. This is one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received.
When I told a friend about this experience she said that there are no coincidences, that I was meant to be here and have this experience, at this precise time. Namaste.
