Wednesday, May 13, 2009

One quarter, .25, or 25 Days

It was 25 Days ago that I began the Blisschick's 100 Day Challenge. My challenge was to Meditate for 100 days. Just sit quietly focused for 10 minutes every day.

At day 25, of course, I am one quarter of the way through.

And, you know, usually when I am counting down days, it's to a goal: like, 5 days til Christmas, or 2 weeks til my birthday, something along those lines. Usually, it's something I get to and don't plan to keep counting.

But with my 100 Day Challenge, it feels different.

Sure, I am happy that I've gotten this far. (Overall, I'm a pretty unfocused and forgetful animal. Just ask the Blisschick-- it can drive her absolutely nutters!) I'm proud of myself for making it this far and only forgetting, like, once.

But the other day at the end of Meditation, I sad to Miss Zoe, "When we get through the 100 Days, then what? Do you think that will be it?"

She stared at me with that Knowing Eye. Then she turned her head and stared at me with a second, Knowing Eye. Well, I know what that means.

Detail of The Knowing Eye.
You know as well as I do what that look means!

Yes, the Knowing Eye means business.

(Luckily, the Rabbit version of the Knowing Eye is something best seen from the side, so it's hard to get two Knowing Eyes at once. Otherwise it could be overwhelming. Of course, one can easily receive Two Knowing Eyes from a Cat without much trouble, but that is a whole different story...)

It means, "Of course you won't be done. The point of something like the 100 Day challenge is to, like, form new Habits. Duh."

She is such a Wise Bunny!

I hadn't really thought of it that way at the beginning. I had just always wanted to be a Meditator, and thought of this as an opportunity to try it out. I am easily lured into Blisschick's insidious schemes for me! She's been trying to get me to meditate for 10 years, easily.

About a week into the Challenge, I said to the Blisschick, "I feel a little lost. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to, you know-- DO while I'm meditating."

Her answer, as always, was to give me a book to read. She handed me a copy of Turning Your Mind Into An Ally by Sakyong Mipham. "Read This," she said. "You'll know what to do then."

And she was right. I am not even halfway through, though I've been reading it for a couple of weeks now. It's one of those books that you think about so much that you need to read it slowly. You know the kind. You just don't want to miss anything.

The main thing Sakyong Mipham's taught me so far is this: Thoughts are not real; they are only thoughts. We place so much emphasis on them, we follow them, we dream about them, get anxious over them, etc. But thoughts don't have any more power than the power we give them. Which is usually a lot.

I've found that knowing this makes it much easier to refocus my mind on my breath. Many thoughts float through, but they are only thoughts. By repeating that Truth to myself, I find it's easier to let them go and refocus.

I'm looking forward to the next 75 days and the days that follow. I love the time spent sitting quietly in Miss Zoe's room. We set our timer. About 5 minutes into my sitting, she hops over and lays her chin on my knee. I place my hand on her wee, fuzzy head, and we sit.

It is a thing of beauty. Why would I ever want that to stop now?

100 days will easily become 1000 and on and on and on.

Thanks, Blisschick!!!

2 comments:

Tess said...

Yes, I think this challenge is all part of Blisschick's plan for world domination! But it will be such a, er, blissful world.

My morning pages, which are my response to the 100 day challenge, are going well also, haven't missed a day.

What is Miss Zoe doing for the challenge?

Emma said...

Yay!