Meet Skylar: Meet the Self: Brush Your Teeth

The small library of meditation books collected over the course of this life have have been picked up and put down; perused; held and stared at with desire; carried around from place to place just in case spontaneously there might be the perfect situation to learn. They have intimidated and bewildered. Once or twice they were placed under my pillow with hopes for the power of osmosis in the night to bring knowledge and understanding without effort. The illuminated faces on their pages, the easy and relaxed postures, the promise of peace and understanding all kept me coming back to the shelves to touch, to read again, to wonder what makes someone special enough to tap into the real thing.

With those books as guides, I have tried at various times “to do” meditation. And, though desperately wanting what the practice of meditation seemed to offer, I just didn’t get it. Sitting still, closing my eyes, burning incense, burning candles, staring into space, listening to music. No matter what or where it was tried, it didn’t work. I must have been born in the wrong country. Unlike Skylar, our maine coon-like cat, birthed in the insulation between the walls of a double-wide trailer and who took to meditation from the beginning of my bringing the practice into our home.

In February, 2008, Dr. Rolf Sovik, president and spiritual director of the Himalayan Institute, taught a meditation workshop that I was fortunate enough to attend. Being in the room with Dr. Sovik, for even the shortest amount of time, it is clear that he’s got it. He is one of those illuminated faces on the pages come alive. And, to boot, in a mere weekend (after a lifetime of my wishing), he drew a practical map for meditation that made logical sense; he practiced with us; he walked us through the world of meditation and stopped at each major landmark to describe and explain; we breathed together; we asked questions and he answered. Dr. Sovik made me believe that meditation is possible for anyone willing to practice.

The workshop provided a meditation map with directions for traveling all the way back to the Self. At the end of the weekend workshop, Dr. Sovik left me with this wisdom: “Practice like you brush your teeth. Make it a part of every day like brushing your teeth.” Wasting no time returning home, I headed straight for my yoga space, lit a couple of candles, sat on a pillow, and followed the map:

One
Establish a steady posture that leads to a feeling of stillness

Two
Develop deep, diaphragmatic breathing

Three
Relax systematically and finish by breathing as if the whole body is breathing

Four
Establish breath awareness in the nostrils

Five
Use a mantra to refine your inner focus

On that first Sunday afternoon in February when I was at Three, Skylar came over and settled down on the pillow behind me. She didn’t move until I moved and, in the quiet, I could hear her purr box, steady and humming like a beautiful chant. Though touched by Skylar’s company and her seeming natural ability to recognize, intuit, and settle into meditation, I figured it to be a passing fancy. Cats are curious. It was something new.

Now, over one year later, Skylar and I still meditate together; and, if I miss a day of meditation, every time I head in the direction of our yoga space, Skylar runs past and turns around to look at me from ahead, as though to say “Are you coming? We need to meditate.” Or, maybe it’s “Have you brushed your teeth today?”

We have grown together into the sweetest ritual. I light candles and incense, wrap myself in a meditation shawl, and begin traveling with the map. One, Two, Three.... In the meantime, Skylar crawls under the shawl and settles in next to me or she sits in a convenient location nearby where she can relax and look at me while we meditate. She stays, even for as long as thirty minutes of meditation. And, when we are done, I chant

Om. Shanti, shanti, shanti.

Always in response to the chant, Skylar pokes her head out from under the shawl or comes over from her perch; she looks at me and trills

Trill, trill, trill.

Big downward-facing dog cat stretch. And, Namasté.

I don’t know if the joy following meditation is because I have come closer to my Self or if it is the unadulterated pleasure of taking time out of this busy world to be quiet and still, to breathe, and share a common spirit with one of God’s little creatures.

What I do know is that every day that begins with the practice of meditation is a better day than those which don’t. Better how? The mind is clearer; joy is more spontaneous; peace tickles at the heart; sleep is better; presence in the moment isn’t so illusive; the world seems navigable.

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For Dr. Sovik’s complete map for meditation see Moving Inward, the Journey to Meditation, Rolf Sovik, Psy.D., http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/store/product/Moving%20Inward,%20the%20journey%20to%20meditation