Bus Meditation
I know that you can meditate anywhere at any time. All it takes is the ability to stay in the moment. Next time you are on a bus, try to stay in the now. When you hear the noise of the bus listen to all its pitches and the people talking – but don’t try to process the conversations, the colors, or anything that surrounds you. That’s bus meditation. Let it in without judging its beauty or ugliness; just let it be an experience without attachment. This takes practice and most of the time I can’t tune out conversations, but when I can allow the moment be as it may, it’s a giving experience.
Meditating on a bus is a great way to test out your skills. It’s hard not to judge the weird people, and all the different noises.
You should ride the bus by yourself or do it with someone that wants to join in the meditation with you. When you have a partner with you it can make the meditation a team effort. Try to stay in the meditation and refrain from any communication. After it’s over talk to your partner and find out what their senses felt.
My last meditation went like this: It still shocks me to think about how many people it took to get this bus moving. The engineers designing the engine, the government to support the company, the driver maneuvering the bus around the turns, the sandwich he ate to keep his energy going, the pig that the butcher had to kill to be able to have ham available at the deli so the bus driver could purchase the meat, the bus’s filtering system that catches the soot from wafting into the air, the tires made into the mold by a computerized machine, the concrete the machine sits on, the…
I brought my wandering mind back to my breath and once again enjoyed the sounds without trying to figure out what each one was. After the bus stopped I eased myself out of my seat and walked off nice and easily, soaking in the calm feelings. There was this weird guy walking away from the bus with a limp and he had some neck problem. He looked like he didn’t have a neck. I laughed at my judging brain and strode toward the concrete strip mall.
The meditation can go in so many directions and it’s fun to get lost in the thoughts, but remember to bring your feelings back to the present moment; stay aware of your relaxed muscles; stay aware of your breath; stay aware of all the greatness your senses feel, but let each sound and image pass on by – letting the brain release everything it wants to understand.
