VIEW FROM THE THIRD EYE
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I have to admit that I kind of stumbled or got lured into this meditation thing. I was still adjusting to New York City, walking around gawking up at the skyscrapers when it happened. I'd just graduated from Iowa State University and had been in the city less than a year. I'd grown up outside of Des Moines, and I guess I still had that rural, cornpone, country boy look about me. My shock of red hair didn't help, and the Iowa twang, well, let's just say that four out of five people guessed that I was a Hawkeye the minute I opened my mouth. It wasn't the best profile for getting over in New York--particularly since I had settled in the hippest part of town. I was holed up in a little studio apartment on Morton Street in Greenwich Village, right at the heart of all the action.
Anyway, I use to drop by the Lion's Head bar on Christopher Street --at the time, in the mid-1970s; it was a real hot spot, full of hard-drinking bohemians. Jimmy Breslin, Norman Mailer and a whole lot of famous writers were regulars and the place was always packed. But, for me, the main attraction wasn't the literary scene. No, the bar had a couple of the most beautiful waitresses I'd ever laid eyes on. Honest to Pete, you couldn't keep your eyes off them! Before she turned up in King Kong, that actress Jessica Lange worked there. But there was this other girl, Carol, a model and aspiring graphic artist, and she was a real doll. She was a few years older than I and a whole lot hipper. But after months of begging for a date, she finally agreed to meet for a cup of coffee. That's when I found out that she was into Transcendental Meditation.
TM, I learned, is technique based on yoga practices. I'd never heard of it, but I latched onto the opening and told her it sounded fantastic. I asked if she'd take me with her to the next session. (Hey, country boys aren't as dumb as they may look or sound! There's more than one way to skin a cat.)
The third eye has always been regarded
by those who seek to
know themselves as being like a precious
jewel on the forehead that marks a gateway
to the inner realm of
the Spirit. It is a still inner space that
transcends the agitation of everyday
consciousness. Moving into that space, even
for only a few minutes each day, reduces stress levels and brings greater calmness and
clarity to your
daily life.
Well, one thing led to another, and I signed up to take a course in TM. Carol went with me to the first session. I'll never forget it. There was a group of newbies, and we all sat down on these mats, surrounded by flowers, the smell of incense and the sound of lilting Asian music; then these hippie types came over and, after a lecture on meditating, gave each of us a personal mantra and guided us through the art of erasing all thought from our mind. They told me that silently repeating the mantra and focusing on the sound helped clear the mind and allowed you to access the Third Eye--that place where consciousness evaporates and you are completely at one with yourself. (Years later, I learned that it's at the core of Yogi meditation and is also known as Chakra Meditation.) I was skeptical about the claims, particularly when they told me that I should never divulge my mantra to anyone else. It seemed bogus to me. But, because of Carol, I went along with it. I began practicing every day. In fact, as suggested, I meditated for 20 minutes twice a day. To my surprise, I immediately felt some positive effects. And as I expected, the more interest I showed in TM, the more interest Carol showed in me; we began to hit it off. For a while there, we had a nice thing going.
I guess you can tell that I was more interested in Carol than TM. After all, I was in my twenties and feeling my oats. As it turned out, we split up a year of so later. She found someone who could offer a little more than a struggling college grad. After the break up, I stopped meditating. I just drifted away from it. I guess it reminded me too much of her. It was nearly fifteen years later, after I had moved up to a sales management job at a big New York firm, married and migrated to the New Jersey suburbs, before I thought about it again. The pressure of commuting, family responsibilities and the stress of the job started getting to me. Why not give it another try? I thought.
Well, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Since then, I've been meditating three or four times a week. It not only relaxes me but also helps me focus on daily activities. When the pressure builds at work, there's no better way to calm down, gather yourself and get a grip on things. When the kids get on my nerves, I can always go into the den, close the door, meditate for 10 minutes or so, and come back fresh and ready to deal with their latest crisis. I can even bring down my heart rate and blood pressure with three or four minutes of meditation. I did it once while a doctor waited to finish an exam for a health insurance policy. The doctor couldn't believe his blood-pressure gauge. I'm just amazed that more people aren't into it.
The achievements of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi are profound in the field of knowledge and immense in the field of action. During the past 50 years, more than six million people have learned the Transcendental Meditation technique and are rising to enlightenment through their twice-daily practice.
The Village was a bohemian haven when I met Carol. Things have changed. Now it's pretty tame. High-rise apartment buildings, wine bars and Starbucks are potting up, the middle class has moved in, and it's full of yuppies, like me. I haven't seen Carol in twenty years, but I hear she's an illustrator for one of those chic fashion magazines. But I'll always remember her. Yeah, those were great times, and I still thank her for introducing me to meditation--it remains one of the most rewarding parts of my life.
Oh, by the way, my personal mantra is still a secret. I haven't told a soul.
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