I Find Peace Like This
When I was a teenager I had a friend that wouldn’t take much care of herself. Eating properly or doing exercise weren’t part of her daily practice. Instead, she used to have unhealthy habits like smoking a lot. However, she was always taking very much care of her aspect. Looking great was an important thing that made her feel good.
Three stories of three young people (Evgenia from Russia, Carmen from Italy and Giorgos from Cyprus) who became interested in meditation during the training course “SUSTAINOFUTURELAND” in Demänovská Dolina, Slovakia.
“We’ve got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can’t just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it’s going to get on by itself. You’ve got to keep watering it. You’ve got to really look after it and nurture it.”
John Lennon
It was usually before or after the dinner when a group of people took a blue cushion each and, one by one, climbed up, in the direction of a church. They all gathered in the refreshing, green yard just behind the church in a search for the inner peace. That’s how I will remember our meditation group that we unofficially formed in the youth exchange Film for Inclusion in Topola, Serbia.
I am sitting motionless in the middle of nowhere. It seems that I have no body, I am just an embryo still attached to the Universe by an invisible cord. I am embraced by silence and emptiness, floating in the dark peaceful ocean.
Indra’s net, in Hinduism and Buddhism, is a metaphor used to illustrate the philosophy of interdependence. The image associated with it is beautiful! A net where every node is a jewel (diamonds) representing life, and each jewel reflects all the others.
Attributing a meaning to life is something that I’ve always dreamt about. I wrote about this some time ago on this blog, and I’d like to recover some of the reflections I made at the time.
Free is what we essentially are. Embracing freedom is our natural state of being, as natural as breathing. Still, many of us are chained to the belief that we are not free. We change our outer context to achieve a glimpse of the freedom we long for. Daydreaming of quitting our job and wandering around, bettering the world, contributing a meaningful way.
Meditators know that through the practice of meditation, people can evolve to become better individuals. However, what many people still don’t know is that this self-development can also benefit others. But, how is this possible?
Many of the Peace Revolution guided sessions finish with a loving-kindness meditation. I feel happy and silently excited during this moment. The idea is to garner enough peace energy to share the love, joy, kindness with communities and the greater world. Practicing loving-kindness makes a person open to use it on a daily basis in real life, be kinder, more mindful, in the everyday human interactions.
