An astronaut can confidently float in space, knowing they won’t fall, because they know the non-directionality of space and how gravity applies there.
Meditation is a nonreligious practice in the sense that it is not bound to any rules. One could follow another person’s practice or develop their own depending on the objective they have in mind. I have practiced meditation for quite some years now, but not as consistently as I should have. Currently, I’m in a place of uncertainty about the future, given how things have turned out in my life.
During my two years living in Thailand, I travelled a few times to the countryside and northern jungles, where I first saw water buffalos. Water buffalos are enduring hard-working animals that do heavy work in the fields. Sometimes they get stuck in the mud, and no matter how strong or experienced they are in their environment, they can’t get themselves out of it. At some point, they start grunting their fear and asking for help. Surprisingly it might take a little effort from one or more people to push the buffalo just enough to free itself.
These days I feel like a water buffalo stuck in the mud, grunting and trying everything to get out of the situation while trying to understand why past hard work and a series of good-intended decisions have landed me in a state that makes very little sense. So I’m trying to fill this gap of understanding and connect the dots between past and present.
A few days ago, I was chatting with a friend and told him how I felt about where I was and that I didn’t know how to get out; he said, “just put it out there to the universe.” so I decided to have daily 10 min sessions with the universe.
For ten minutes a day, I fully surrender my mind and life to the universe or god, or whatever you call it, and float with utter certainty and trust, just like an astronaut in space. I don’t know what may come out of it, but I’m going to have no specific anticipations and let the experience unfold itself; in those minutes, I let my mind float and my consciousness expand.
Payman Janbakhsh, Ph.D.