Chapter 4: Lesson 2 – Making the Space

The next chapter in my meditation memoir. Offers ideas on how to create an inviting place to meditate. Please note this is not a guided meditation.

Transcript

Chapter 4,

Lesson 2,

Making the Space These days I can meditate anywhere,

I mean anywhere,

At the post office,

When I'm out walking,

Sitting in a chair,

In my bed,

At parties.

Sometimes the meditation I'm doing is meditation light,

Eyes open,

Not deeply into it,

But still using the technique of mindful breathing,

Which is the main point of meditation.

Bringing your focus away from all of your external distractions as well as all of your internal distractions,

And just focusing on two things,

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

Sounds relatively simple,

And I hold that it is relatively simple,

But then there was a time when tying your shoelaces,

Spelling your name,

And reading a book seemed impossible to fathom.

Learning these things requires practice,

Much of it rote learning,

And,

In the case of shoe tying,

Muscle memory.

Meditation is like that,

A combination of practicing regularly,

Studying some,

And muscle memory.

Once you've decided to heed the calling of meditation,

Basically you are a meditation kindergartner,

Acquiring building blocks to get started.

Even though I can now plop my ass down anywhere I meditate,

There was a time when I was a kindergartner too.

I remember that time very well,

Because it took me years before I could sit for more than five minutes.

Five minutes was very hard.

I checked the clock often.

I didn't always make it,

Sometimes skipping out before five minutes was over,

Sometimes skipping entire days,

Weeks,

Months,

And,

I hate to admit it,

Probably a full year or so over the course of the practice I began in 2000.

The hardest part of all was simply making myself sit to begin with.

It took me a year or two after I heard the calling to say to myself,

No really,

This is it,

We are going to sit our ass down.

Which meant I had to pick a place to sit.

At the time,

I was living in a falling down rental cottage in a lovely little neighborhood in Austin.

The foundation had shifted so much that when one of my dogs would pee in the house on one side of the kitchen,

I'd wind up having to mop up on the other side too.

Such was the slant of the floor.

The rent was cheap though,

And while some people might call it a dump,

It was home to my son and me and our many pets,

And we loved the place.

The day I decided was THE day.

I went out to the backyard and lo,

As if the universe wanted to support my decision,

I spotted a couple of old bread crates off in a corner.

Left behind by some previous tenants,

They were maybe 2 by 2 feet,

Dirty gray plastic,

And not very deep.

I decided they were perfect for making an altar,

Carried them inside,

And stacked them in a corner of my bedroom,

Covering them with a colorful embroidered cloth from Peru.

I added a few tchotchkes,

A collection that would grow over the years,

And while the makeshift table would come to hold a hand carved St.

Francis I picked up on one of my many trips to Real de Catorce,

Mexico,

Plus a few Buddhas of various sizes,

These additions were not included to signify religious belief on my part.

I just really liked the stories of those dudes.

Mostly the items I placed were from nature,

Vials of dirt and sand,

Rocks,

Autumn leaves,

Pinecones,

And a little plastic cow I found while hiking with some friends on a trip to St.

Louis.

Eventually I amassed quite a bit of incense and a few nice candles.

The whole idea behind this altar of curios was the old build it and they will come routine.

Long before I came to know my mind truly and deeply and clearly thanks to meditation,

I was pretty familiar with some of my personal psychology.

I knew that if I made a specific space to sit and meditate I would be more apt to sit and meditate,

And I knew that if I included things that inspired joy whenever I sat and saw them waiting for me,

I would be more apt still.

My plan mostly worked.

No,

I did not instantly start sitting every day,

But having a dedicated spot to meditate helped me to start the meditation habit.

As a former drunk,

I am well versed in how habits work and how easy they can be to form.

As a former Catholic,

I can't deny I still have a deep love of ritual.

Every time I sat and lit some candle and a stick of incense,

I strengthened my habit just like a little kid tying her shoes over and over again.

I was as far off from a deep practice as a five-year-old is from being able to tie a series of intricate mariner's knots,

But I had to start somewhere.

I still have that altar,

Now in the house I bought when I moved out of the old rental.

It's set up in a room referred to as the meditation room.

The tchotchkes are still there,

Dust covered and rarely visited,

And I stopped buying incense years ago.

Despite the continued existence of the table and a room dedicated to my practice,

I can't actually remember the last time I meditated there.

In that way,

I am the opposite of who I was when I first started the habit.

I so do not need a specific spot to sit.

Some teachers and gurus will advise you to try to sit in the same spot at the same time every day.

While I do try to meditate in the morning,

There are days I don't get around to my sit until the evening.

Sometimes I sit on a secondhand meditation block set up in my office on the other side of the house with a fuzzy pillow to cushion my knees.

Often I meditate in my bed because I was gifted a king-size memory foam mattress that is so amazing and firm that I like to hang out on it as many hours per day as possible.

It is also where I do my writing.

I travel frequently,

So I have learned to practice in airports and on planes,

In hotel rooms or friends' apartments.

I don't need a reminder altar anymore.

I haven't missed a day in years.

Once you've heard the calling,

Perhaps before you are ready to actually sit your ass down during that time when you are still thinking about it and thinking about it,

Do yourself a favor.

Take whatever time you might otherwise assign to beating yourself up over not starting and assemble a little meditation area.

This could be as simple as an old pillow on the floor with a picture of a flower tacked to the wall,

Or it could be fancy and include a bunch of unnecessary meditation accoutrement,

Hand-carved altar,

Candles made from the earwax of Tibetan monks,

Statues of Buddha blessed by the Dalai Lama that you feel you need to purchase.

No matter what route you go,

The idea is this.

You are both Pavlov and Dog.

You are creating a visual cue to remind yourself to sit.

Once you get into the habit,

Like a happy drooling dog,

The mirror sight of your designated space will inspire a conditioned response,

And you will sit.

Reviews

Your philosophy on spirituality and meditation really resonates with me. Really enjoy listening to your experience and wisdom!

The more I listen to you, the more I feel like you could be my doppelgänger. Thank you for being so real and relatable.

Ok let's try it and nothing gained
If you dont try willingly. Thanks

It’s so true, I have my own spot and it works, your mind is prepared when you sit at your spot! Yay

Yep. Loved it. Saw the name Spike in a list, went to investigate, decided to listen, and I’m still smiling. Will listen to additional chapters...with that proverbial bated breath (whatever the hell that really is).

Love this! Thank you.

Good idea about the meditation place!

I am loving your book... Thank you!

I can relate to your story, thank you for being so down to earth Spike. I hope you are well.

Sooooo true!!!!!! Love her!!! I've been listening back to back lol

Found you again phew. Thank you.

I love your story and connected with so much of what you shared. Soooo much! Kindred spirits we are, yes. Very insightful, thank you. Beautiful. 💖

I loved listening to your journey. I never thought about starting a meditation practice being as difficult as it was when first learning to tie your shoes. Great insight! I think I'm gonna try setting up a meditation space in my room. I hope you have more chapters or things like this to share! Thanks again!

Nice and uplifting

Great inspiring information! Thank you.

Thank you Spike for your heart warming honesty , integrity & courage to step forward helping so many others do just that .. love & peaceful blessings ❤️🙏

Resonates completely with my experience - thank you!!

Thank you for sharing this!