This is an update of week four of 8 Minute Meditation.  I have been working through the book for 4 weeks so far (half way done) and am definitely getting used to meditation and am enjoying it more and more.  But, this week was the most difficult for me as far as trying to achieve the objective of the week which is “The Magic Moment”.

Basically, “The Magic Moment” refers to that instant in time during meditation when you are completely in the present with no thoughts running through your head.  The author, Victor Davitch, says that our minds are always working, generating thoughts that are either in the past or about the future.  He suggests that during meditation, when the thoughts start flowing, to simply categorize them as either past or future and mentally “file them away”.  The magic moment will occur right after you have filed away a thought, before the next one enters your mind.

As I said, I found this exercise to be a little frustrating.  I did manage to achieve the goal a couple of times but it was definitely fleeting.  When I did succeed it was a little magical.  The feeling of a totally focused mind is kind of neat.  I just didn’t get there very often.

What did I learn this week?

  1. My mind is definitely full of thoughts- Many, many more than I ever imagined.  It’s really amazing how much your mind does and most of the time we don’t even know it.  Meditation shows just how much we “think”.
  2. It takes a real effort to meditate- That sounds kind of strange but this week confirmed to me that meditation is work.  A good kind of work, but still work.

I am half done with the eight week program.  So far I am impressed with the book.  It lays out an easy to understand, and follow, program that virtually guarantees success if you are willing to work through it.  Next week’s focus is on “Gracious Declining”.  I am looking forward to trying it out.