Five Things I've Found Through Meditation (#4 Is My House Keys)
On June 15th, 2016, I started a daily meditation practice. I started it solely to help with my anxiety and depression. Once I found my personal mantra (it's a secret), I started my journey. Little did I know, it would help me find a lot of things I didn't even know I was looking for! Here are a few of the things I've found through meditation over the years.
1. My High School Locker Combination
There I was on July 15th, 2016, one month in to my meditation practice, sitting in the Lotus position. While repeating my mantra (I won't disclose what that is), I suddenly kept seeing repeating numbers. 36, 7, 19. Over and over. It took me a few moments to realize what those numbers meant. It was my high school locker combination! But why was this in my brain still? I must have left something in there! I had to go back to locker 1472 and find out what this meant!
Shortly after midnight, I broke in through the gymnasium window and found myself scouring the halls for my old, trusty locker. After finding it, I put in the code : 36, 7, 19.
Much to my chagrin, the locker opened and the only thing in there was some dust and a moldy sandwich (I did not eat this, despite what the police report states).
2. The Broken G.I. Joe I Buried In The Backyard When I Was 8
Three months in to my daily meditation practice, I was chanting my mantra (sorry. I really want to keep it to myself), and the image of a broken G.I Joe popped in to my head. The broken rubber band. The legs that flew off of it's lifeless body after I twisted it one too many times. I named him Roger and I remembered I held a military funeral for him in my childhood home's backyard.
I grabbed my shovel and hopped in my Camry. Once I got to my old home, I hopped the fence and started digging. It took me a few hours and many holes to locate him. I cracked open the Altoid tin I used as a casket and there he was. Still in tact, albeit covered in dirt.
I sat there until the sun came up, playing with my broken toy, thinking back to how great it was to be a kid. Then I heard the back door to my old home open and that meant it was time for me to skidaddle (being arrested twice in three months doesn't look great in front of a judge).
3. The Cursed Painting I Purchased At That Weird Yard Sale
One year in to meditation, you start to feel like you've found everything. But then one day, you think to yourself "what ever happened to that cursed painting I bought at that weird yard sale?" After 20 minutes of silently repeating my mantra (please stop asking me to reveal it), I remembered that I had gifted it to that rude DMV clerk who renewed my driver's license.
After a quick google search, I found the guy on social media. I asked him for the painting back and he had no problem parting with it (something about losing everything and everyone that ever meant something to him). I was so happy to have this painting back in my life! Things were really going well for me at the time so I figured I'd welcome some humbling events in to my life. Because meditation has taught me to take the good with the bad.
I have since gifted it to my ex girlfriend.
4. My House Keys
Not every discovery through meditation has to be profound. Sometimes it's as simple as focusing on your mantra (SERIOUSLY! I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT IT IS! FIND YOUR OWN MANTRA!) and realizing you have lost your keys, but "they must be nearby because you were able to let yourself in last night." Sure enough, they were under the pile of yesterday's clothes.
5. The Meaning Of Life
I figured it out. It took me three years of daily meditation to find it, but I finally stumbled upon the meaning of life. If you're wondering why I didn't use any exclamation points in the previous sentence, it's because the discovery was incredibly underwhelming. It was so disappointing, it made me wonder if my time would have been better spent doing another activity like Jiu-Jitsu or knitting instead of spending countless hours repeating my mantra (... it's the word "DANGER!").
Then I glanced down to see my lost keys in my hand. Time well spent.
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I hope you read this and thought to yourself "wow, I should give this meditation thing a try. I am missing out on so much that I've lost over the years!" After all, meditation is all about discovery. Until next time. Namaste.