Zen
On Tuesday I attended a Zen meditation class for the first time in my life, and to my surprise, I found it to be an extremely powerful experience. Zen meditation was unlike anything I had ever done before; it brought me to a state of peace and relaxation, and after leaving, I felt more pure, and more myself, than I had since starting my year at Loyola. I found the Zen meditation experience to be very enlightening and I felt that it had a very strong sense of spirituality within it.
When I first decided to do the Zen meditation session, I was unsure if I would enjoy it, or get anything out of the meditation, but in fact I found it to bring me to a state of peace and relaxation. The Zen instructor taught us the proper way to sit, the proper posture, and the proper way to lay our hands. He told us to focus on our breathing, clear our minds, lay our eyes on one spot, and to pay no attention to any thoughts that try to take over the mediation. There are very few times in a day that we live in the moment, focusing on the right here and right now, refusing our thoughts and the future. Zen mediation takes you into the moment, only to focus on your breathing, let go of your thoughts, your worries, and your troubles. Once the session was done, I felt at peace and relaxed, I had let go of my stress and taken a break from my never ending thoughts, over all I felt rejuvenated.
After the Zen meditation session was over, as I began to exit, I realized that I felt very pure, and so much more myself. As the Zen instructor began the class, he explained that one of the purposes of Zen meditation was that it makes you feel more pure, more pure in yourself in the moment, and more pure at whatever it is you are doing after. It brings one to a greater state of being fully there, and being more mindful of ones actions and thoughts. As I walked back to my dorm and looked around at the trees, a part of me felt clearer, in a sense it was as if I had taken a break from myself, and because of that, I had now felt more in touch with myself. The meditation revealed to me how constant my mind is running; it is always filled with things from the past, the future, things I have to do, or things I couldn’t forget to do. It is never ending, and unless I am asleep there is never any break these relentless thoughts. It also revealed to me that I’m most likely not the only one that feels this way, and possibly that it is why the others were attending the Zen meditation group. After my Zen mediation session was complete, I felt more like myself than I had since being at Loyola, and the reasons were becoming more evident to me what Zen mediation provides.
From the moment I first walked into the Zen mediation room and sat down on the matts, I could feel a strong sense of spirituality, and as the mediation went on it become an even more enlightening experience. As the mediation began the instructor rang a small bell which echoed in the room and into our ears, it reminded me of the sound of church bells. The mediation seemed very sacred to me, the idea of losing all of your desires, wants, thoughts, and only focusing on the sound of your breathing and the sounds of the bell, brought a very spiritual aspect to the room. The lights were dimmed and candles were lit which also brought a very spiritual power to the room. The feeling of spirituality I felt in the Zen mediation made me reflect on Whale Rider and the feeling of a force of nature drawing Kahu to the burial site of her birth cord. The Zen mediation brought a sense of spirituality to the room; the whole experience was an extremely enlightening one to say the least.
Although I was doubtful at first if the Zen mediation would speak to me, it proved to be an extremely powerful experience. Though it was only my first time and I have not yet developed the skills to completely take in all of the benefits that Zen mediation provides it was clear to me what it could provide if given the proper dedication and practice. Zen meditation brought me to a state of peace and relaxation, it made me feel more myself, and more pure, it had an extremely spiritual sense to it and overall was an enlightening experience to have had.
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