I’m not a teacher, although I find myself answering questions all the time about how to do this or do that. If there is one thing I have become thankful for over the years it would be those who can teach… and will teach.
There are a couple of teachers that I have discovered that can help the novice meditation student far better than I. One is Dr. Wayne Dyer. The other is Louise Hay. Both have written books on meditation. And, quite honestly I suggest them for anyone who is a novice and wanting to learn the basics. For those who are a little more advanced, I’m sure you will find the two works I suggest a little bit boring. Been there, done that.
Yet, when my husband asked me about meditation a few years ago he just didn’t seem to get it. And, I didn’t have the patience to teach him. Sometimes it is hard to teach those closest to us. My husband has seen me at my worst… and at my near best. We have shared too much for him to consider me an “expert” on meditation, not that I am… but I do have years and years of experience. That is a lesson in itself. It is always easier for an “outsider” to teach or offer an opinion than it is for someone close to you.
One example of this is an encounter I had with my mother-in-law recently. She had been asking me about color combinations for a room. I offered my opinion and it was different from what she had wanted me to say. The discussion went on for over a week. Then, one day she came in with the three colors she was going to use for her room. They were the colors I had suggested. I smiled. It didn’t last long.
“I was talking to Susie,” she said. “She suggested that I use these colors.”
Okay! Susie is a 92 year old friend who has good taste in design and color, although she has no professional experience. I am, at times, an artist. I love to paint and have, in fact, sold a few pieces. I am confident in my “color wheel.” But, I am too close to my mother-in-law for my opinion to count. I’m not saying that she discounts me entirely. I’m only saying that someone from a distance has more influence. It has been often said in courts that an “expert” is anyone who lives a hundred miles or more away. You get the idea.
Anyway, when my husband wanted to learn how to meditate, he was hell bent on arguing with me about every little point of instruction. Why do it this way? Why do that? I bought him a couple of CD’s and told him to listen and practice with the recordings. About two weeks later, I was awakened by my husband talking in his sleep. I sat up in bed and stared at him. I could actually feel the vibration as he took a deep breath and said “Ooooooooommmmm!” (I grabbed my tape recorder and taped it. He had a great meditation session and was asleep!)
So, for those who are interested in learning meditation I suggest:
