Lisa Online's Journal, 06 Nov 10

WALK THE WALK - Walking as Meditation
As long as I approached walking as exercise, I never made it past the front door. But one day I was so anxious I felt as if I would jump out of my skin, and so I bolted out of the house at lunchtime as if I were leaving the scene of a crime. Filled with dissapointments, painful memories, and my own unrealistic expectations from the past--terrified of what the future held and the changes that were inevitable--the only safe place for me was the present moment: my foot against the pavement, the wind on my face, my breath entering and leaving my body. Forty minutes later I stopped, discovered to my amazement that I was on the other side of town, and headed back home, calm and centered. I have been walking ever since.

Slowly I am learning what Henry David Thoreau knew: "It requires a direct dispensation from Heaven to become a walker." But I still don't walk for exercise. Instead, I walk regularly for my soul and my body tags along. There are different reasons for walking--to increase the heart rate and build strength, to solve a creative problem, to finish the argument with yourself or someone else, to saunter and wake up to the world around you, "moving meditation"--fitness of spirit. I try to quiet the voices in my head, take long strides, and concentrate on the slow, stready rhythm of my breath, comforted by the interior silence.

Suddenly my reverie might be broken by the sound of birds singing, a dog barking, or the sight of a pretty garden. Thoreau complained of walking sometimes "without getting there in spirit...."The thought of some work will run in my head and I am not where my body is--I am out of my senses". This happens to me as well, but I have learned to train myself to return my awareness slowly to the physical act of walking, for here in present moment, one step at a time, I have found peace.

If you have had difficulty sitting down to meditate, you might like to give a walking meditation a chance. Take into consideration your preferences--if you are not a morning person, take a walk at midday, in the late afternoon, or after supper under the stars. Even if you work in the city during the day, you can break at lunch and take a walk. No one needs to know that you've shut the world out and are meditating as you stroll down the street. Twenty minutes to a half-hour every day is a good amount of time to restore a sense of serenity. I have found there is no wrong way to do a walking meditation. Sometimes we expect to experience immediate transcendence and are disappointed when it seems as if nothing is happening. Let go of expectations and life will unfold, step-by-step.

Today I was lured in by an ad in a neighborhood paper. It was so funny because I went in for a sparkly fun halter type party dress and of course they didn't have it in my size so she found this cute little black dress by the same dress maker and it fit perfect! My eyes popped out of my own head when I saw myself in it. She told me she could order the red dress I originally came in for in my size on Monday so I now have a Christmas Party Dress and a New Years Eve Dress. I suppose this means I need to be on the look out for a New Years Eve party cuz it is meant to be this year! TOWANDA!!!!!!!!

Ctss words worth repeating! Towanda!!!!!! read your journal entry, Lisa. I, too, have discovered the joys of just...walking...and yes my body does tag along...lol And wow does it make me feel good when I am walking along and see a squirrel gathering acorns and nuts and storing them for winter, when a little cotton tailed rabbit darts across the lane in front of me, when the resident mockingbird sits on the phone pole and serenades me as I walk by, or the big fat groundhog runs from the sybean field, his body waddling along as fast as it can, the neighborhood dogs running out to get a quick pet, or the beauty of the trees, in front of a glorious, beautiful, hand painted by God, sunset! All these beautiful gifts from the Creator, and they are always there, just waiting for us to notice! And what better time than during a nice evening walk...or meditation!


Borrowed from Sarah Ban Breathnach - TOWANDA!!!!!!!!!!

---

1655 kcal

Fat: 54.59g | Prot: 59.41g | Carbs: 231.26g.   Breakfast: Apple Crumb Cobbler, cottage cheese. Lunch: apple. Dinner: ham and cheddar lunchable. more...