Day 5: Settling in

image from coach.nine.com

Today, I woke up to the sound of Indian music playing over the speakers in the campus.  It was 3:30am.  I smiled as I gently move to stand up and get ready- this is all too familiar to me.  "Time for dawn meditation", I told myself.  

Half the beds in our dorm were already empty when I looked around.  I cleaned myself and changed into a white kurta pajama (our uniform here in the campus).  Then, I leisurely walked for 15 minutes to get to the hall where 500 other yogis from different parts of the globe have gathered.  In the next 45 minutes, we sat in collective silence.

image from facthacker.com

The day was filled with more silence. Every hour a 1 minute song played and everyone stopped whatever they are doing- the ones eating put their utensils down, the yogis walking come to a complete standstill, and even the lecturers pause to give way to sweet golden silence.

We got to talk during the day but not in a careless way.  Gossips didn’t fill the hallway.  We all valued the time here in this academy for transformation.  Conversations centered around growth and spirituality.  Lectures focused on self-development and meditation.  And, everything began and ended with silence.

Silence filled the atmosphere such that it is common to sit down with a group and simply be in comfortable silence.

                       Ahhh… I'm home.   

                                 

                                   meditation by Release Your Wings