For more than a year I’ve been trying to find time in a busy life to offer a meditation class. I first mapped out a plan and shared it with my most revered teacher and received her enthusiastic blessing. Excited, I started telling friends who said, “sign me up!” and I looked for a venue. But every effort resulted in … nothing. I struggled to find a time and place that worked for others but wouldn’t create more stress for me, an outcome that just felt at odds with my real goal. Nothing seemed to add up. I scribbled in my journal about how much I wanted this and even chastised myself: If this is so important to you, why aren’t you making it happen?
Then on March 17, ours was one of six Bay Area counties to come under a Shelter In Place order as coronavirus began rapidly spreading across the globe. That day as I sat for meditation, I felt not only an uneasy uncertainty about the days ahead but also a tiny glimmer of relief, knowing I could now devote what had been my commute time to meditation. I recognized immediately that this moment of panic, grief, and confusion was also a moment of opportunity to nurture my practice—and that nothing could be more valuable.
In normal times, I meditate some days and practice yoga on others, or I split my available time between the two—but rarely do I have time to adequately indulge in both. In theory, I could now do it all. But I could also imagine my good intentions dissipating on days when I would rather sleep-in or chat with my husband over coffee, so on the first day of Shelter In Place, I committed to a disciplined approach: Meditation at 8am for 30 minutes, every weekday.
But wait, I thought, if I have time to do this right now, so do others. What if we got together to Meditate In Place?
I invited a few friends and they invited a few friends and now every morning a small group gathers at 8am over Zoom. Some people come a morning or two each week, others come every day and report that they’re meditating on their own on the weekends (when I do sleep-in and chat over coffee before getting to my cushion).
Often the sense of expansive awareness I feel during these morning sessions is astonishing. I am, of course, spending more time every day thinking about meditation, about philosophy and spiritual teachings, and preparing to offer breathing practices and meditation techniques. Yet I am increasingly aware that any plans I make for the morning are just placeholders. The guidance I end up offering often just arises spontaneously out of some combination of years of study, intuition, and wisdom’s natural attraction to this group of strangers seeking peace in silent, geographically-distant togetherness.
So my experience of Sheltering In Place, though taking place against a backdrop of death and economic destruction and sheer horror, is offering something precious, something that “regular life” just couldn’t make room for. I recognize how extremely fortunate I am to be healthy and safe in this moment, and also to have finally found the opening that I had been seeking to share meditation with others. Together we are finding a sense of peaceful well being, gratitude, even contentment in these most challenging times. As we head into the unknown future, I am comforted by knowing that even the least expected and darkest of times holds shimmers of beauty.
Everyone is welcome. To join, drop me a line at MeditateInPlace@gmail.com