8 am Pilates class was pretty good, body felt happy after movement. Then went for swimming. Did 30 minutes of laps. It was really good to get back into the pool again. Last time it was with Bella swimming at our hotel’s pool in Hainan.
Saw on the booking app the Yoga studio had an evening sound Yoga session, it was for almost 2 hours. I decided to give it a try. it was my first time to try sound bath. The room was dark. Everyone was lying on the mat. In the middle of the room, there were many different types of instruments on a mat. Candles were lit. There were two teachers guided us through the session. Half way through it, I really wanted to go to the bathroom. But I felt concerned. If I moved in and out of the room, I will interrupt my fellow classmates’ state of deep focus. So I decided to wait. After a while it did not bother me much. Interestingly, in my mind, many people who had passed away came to visit me. I wonder if it is a purpose of this type of meditation, it quiets down the noise of daily life. Providing a window of special break for the ones from the past to come and say hello. The different sound also provided different sensation to the body. Some sound made my scalp felt tingling, some affected the limbs feeling numb. I think I will try it again, as my mind felt relaxed and clear afterwards.
I wonder back in the very old days, there is no digital device, no electricity. After a day of hunting and gathering, or working on the field or farm, people gather. They come together to experience this type of meditation. Where there isn’t much entertainment, maybe people look inward more? I read in a science fiction novel once. It suggested that all the entertainment we heavily consume these days are tools for aliens to control us. The purpose is to delay our self awakening.
Last night, I read one chapter of a book on perception. How our brain can only keep snippets of information from the past. Our perception of the current moment is based on past memories and prediction on the future. Our memories can trick us. The brain is designed to make certain shortcuts. Sometimes, it prevents us from experiencing reality as here and now. We constantly jumping into what the future will hold if we choose to act now. So we rarely focus on this very moment. For example, while I am typing these words, I am also thinking about who will read them. How people would react to my thoughts? What this really taught me was affirmation to what my therapist once told me “your thoughts are not reality. Thoughts are just thoughts. They feel real, but they are not”. To know this can be liberating if the mind sometime is consumed with negative thoughts.
This week has been a packed one. Tomorrow will be my day with two kids while M plays golf. I will see how to make the most of this Sunday, make it relaxing and fun for us all.
LIYANG'S THOUGHTS 