A Day in the Life

So, I'd like to keep this blog going, but not too much has been happening lately. I mostly keep to myself, as I mentioned in my previous post. I have to keep a journal each day to turn in with my final project, so here is an excerpt from yesterday:
25 Nov 2009
It was my first day visiting Sajeeva at his house. I left the hostel at 7am, and had no trouble at all finding a rickshaw driver who knew exactly where I needed to go (they often just pretend) and used the meter. When he dropped me off, I wasn’t exactly sure which way to go. The directions Sajeeva had given had not been clear on this point. However, I found it without any problems whatsoever. For me, this was a small miracle.
We went over the seven charkas today, then he explained and had me practice Nithya Dhyaan, an intense meditation technique outlined by his master, Paramahamsa Nithyananda. It has 5 different parts. The first is intense and chaotic breathing, meant to over-oxygenate the system and energize it; the chaotic breathing is for interrupting patterns in the mind. Second is intense humming, also meant to interrupt patterns and thought processes. Third is focus on each individual chakra. Then, sitting silent and unclenched. Sajeeva explained that thoughts, by nature, are unconnected, but the mind finds ways to connect them, turning them into something they are not. An example given is that you may have a happy childhood memory of eating ice cream, and therefore always connected the act of eating ice cream to the emotion of happiness. It just doesn’t make sense if we look at experiences and thoughts in their individual state. So, sitting “unclenched” means to accept the thoughts as they occur, but do not connect them to each other or anything else. Finally, the last part is listening to mantras being chanted; it is believed that the vibrations alone can make a being more pure and blissful.
The first two parts require that you sit with your knees folded underneath you, your butt resting on your heels. Sajeeva had me put a pillow under my knees so that I would be more comfortable.
As I practiced the first part, the over-oxygenation made the muscles in my hands and face a little stiff (I have experience this before, so it was not as scary as the first time). But as I transitioned into the humming, I was able to relax and focus. I barely even noticed the pain in my lower body. When I went to sit cross-legged for the third part, however, my feet fell asleep so intensely I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry. So, I basically skipped the chakra part because I could not stop fidgeting and thinking about how terrible my feet felt. By the time that section was over, however, I could feel my feet again and completed the rest of the session without any problems. Sajeeva gave me the CD (it’s guided meditation) and told me to practice each day. He also said that I should build up to sitting through the first to parts on my knees, because it isn’t worth do if I am uncomfortable.
Once I got back, I read some more of The Zen of Creativity, which I have realized is the perfect book for my project. It doesn’t specifically talk about “yoga,” but all of the concepts are the same and the idea is the application of ideas like awareness and stillness to creativity.
I also wrote quite a bit, and edited some other pieces. When I first started, I was concerned that the subject matter should always somehow be directly related to India or this project, but I have abandoned this concern. I have just been writing about whatever comes up for me, and focusing more on exploring what happens in a single moment.

I am enjoying this quiet time. Sometimes I get caught up in worrying that I am not doing "enough," or that I am "wasting" time. But if I don't label it, I understand that I am just happy, and doing what I need to do right now. That being said, I am still so excited to be HOME!! I have awhile, but I figure once my mom gets here and we travel a bit, it will fly by.