Finding Mirlk: Part 2

Buddhist Guided Meditation

[THIS BLOG IS A PART 2 OF A 5 PART BLOG SERIES]

This is the second part of the blog series “Finding Mirlk”, if you would like to get the full extent of the story it is advised to start here: Finding Mirlk: Part 1

        Many whom know me will know that I am not a spiritual and/or quantifiably religious guy. It isn’t for the lack of trying, reading, or reviewing religious text. I’ve read the scriptures of the satanic bible, the Holy Bible, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other such religious content. Fundamentally I get it, but, for me, all paths lead to “Don’t Be a Douche. Treat People with Respect”. At the end of the day that’s my motto and as spiritual as I get – balance Karma, treat people with respect.

Quick brief detour - to ensure readers are not stuck on satanic bible. Gaining a basic understanding over any topic is a fundamental goal of mine and it starts with soaking up information from an array of sources. This is how I combat ignorance and support a healthy perspective and, ultimately, conjure my own sense of truth. In the realm of the religious forefront, this is no exception. While I claim no alliance to any religious covenant, diving into the lore of these tales is quite an interesting expedition.

But, alas, to the event. In the journey to discover who I am, one of the other ventures was guided meditation. This was done for no other reason except it was something new and free. Remember the idea of this voyage was to find who I was by throwing myself in new and exciting meet ups.                               

Happy, Happy, Happy

Entering the building 2 mins late, I was greeted by the eyes of 20 (give or take) individuals. I was wearing a gray Beavis and Butthead shirt and gray sweatpants with black knee-high socks. The room was like an oversized living space with buddha décor sparsely on the walls. There were three doors evenly apart on the left wall, expanding the length of the main room. One room had a washer/dryer combo, one was closed, and the other had mattresses without sheets laying on the ground.

Dead ahead in the middle of the room, the guide sat with a small table. A bell and what looked to be large sticks lay on a green cloth on the table. To her right was a 32” (give or take) TV and in front of her sat the class. Square cushions were evenly spread throughout the room in rows of 5 (or 6). Next to the cushion was a brown towel. Just a towel, nothing special but folded very uniquely. All in all, the room, the doors, and décor gave this very soothing atmosphere of serenity.

Das Cushion

She greeted me and offered me a seat up front; accepted without question. This was a beginner’s class, so the class started off with a “tutorial”. A demonstration video of Chi flows by what looked to be a formal monk. Through the series of 7 videos, we learned how to breathe, swing our arms, and even how to acknowledge each muscle by deploring certain movements.

 After the videos, the guide took up the bell and hummed hymns of peace as we worked through each set of meditational drill (usually 7-10 mins apiece).

Most of the sets were easy and very relaxing, until she started discussing the “flowing of yellow light” and praying to one’s deity. While I am not trying to be insensitive, as I’ve explained I am not religious, and this exercise caught me off guard. I bit my lips and looked down swallowing my laughter every time I heard - “Let the Yellow Light fill you”. This was simply the longest 7 minutes of my life.

The Yellow Light, or how I suppose it would appear

The meditation lasted around an hour or so and concluded without further struggles… Until it came to my attention that there was to be a group discussion about one’s journey during the meditation. Despite the vulnerability I exhibit here, I am not one for discussing my intrapersonal adventures and journeys with a bunch of random people, at least not at that time.

The question came to me first, of course. If you’ve never told a room full of practicing Buddhists that you don’t pray to any deity and that the yellow light almost made you lose it, you’ve never lived. I did follow up my comments with, “But I found it very relaxing”. Nevertheless, the room was swayed by my initial comments so it was clear half thought I was funny, the others would have stabbed me if the karma didn’t stain them.

In conclusion, the overall experience was well suited for my journey. It was one of the first solo things that I did on this journey to Finding Mirlk. It was an exhilarating, yet peaceful experience that gave me the confidence to try bigger and bolder things… and the next one was a real bare it all moment.

-Mirlk