I try to do a me-treat every year around the end of August.
As opposed to a vacation somewhere in the world, this is my ‘inward-bound’ time. It’s become a critical yearly expedition.
Some years it has been a fully silent, bare-bones affair with seaweed broth and barefoot walks while avoiding eye contact in an idyllic center framed by cow pastures. Others have been more spa-like, with hydro-massage, yoga classes and Chopra audiobooks (his voice tho!), but still with minimal interaction with others.
These me-treats have lasted as long as 2 weeks or as little as 2 days and always with the same guidelines:
Reduced stimuli (news, booze, blue-light…the usual line-up)
Increased nature
A lot of silence
Journaling and meditating
No ‘work’
This year, especially in March when everything closed down, a lot of those things just naturally started happening. So when August rolled around, I had to figure out how to make my me-treat different from just my day-to-day.
I decided to spend my time off revisiting my introductory lessons on meditation. Specifically, 1. calming the mind; 2. clearing it; and 3. focusing it.
Going back to the basics of any practice unearths so much newness. I did several sessions a day and found the effects lingering longer in the spaces between: I’d catch myself contemplating the patterns in a leaf, marveling at the expansive universe and feeling the miracle of the mandible as I ate a peach. It was exactly the recharge I needed to come face to face with arrival of fall. Basically, the me-treat was a success.
But my biggest takeaway was realizing how much I missed having people to share and learn from when practicing meditation. Ironic for an introvert on a week-long adventure literally dubbed a ME-treat. But this year, going inward made me realize my need for outward deep interconnectedness.
The energy created from meditating with others is palpable and indescribable. It can help support you when you need a little extra and you can practice your giving muscle by holding space for someone else. Learning from other’s experiences with the practices of meditation is invaluable to growing your own as well.
I am happy to say weekly meditations are back on the RSunMoves schedule. Please check the online schedule or contact me directly for more information.