When I bought a house, there was a separate garage built at the start of the garden. Initially I used the garage to store several bikes and innumerable random bits of bike components, (things which tended to lie around unused for year after year – but without ever able to really throw them away, because in principle they are quite valuable.) Anyway, after much soul-searching, I decided to convert the garage into a meditation room – out went all the oily bikes and in came a new blue carpet and insulated walls.
It is a great boon to have a room just for meditation. An additional bonus is that it makes me go outside, even in coldest winter. Often I go out to meditate at night and see a beautiful moon, it is like on the way to your meditation, you gain a brief glimpse of the Higher worlds – something untainted by the problems of this world.
Staying indoors in the comfort of a centrally heated house, you miss nature’s free show. In the morning meditation, it is a cold journey to walk into the below freezing garden and only slightly warmer meditation room but, as ample compensation, I often eye out of the corner of my eye birds flying through the garden or least chirping noisily in the background. Ideally, I would be fully concentrated on the meditation to not notice the birds, but the feeling of meditating with nature all around is a good experience. I have put up a seed feeder near the meditation window so that I can attract more birds into the garden. When I have finished a meditation, I look quietly to see if the birds are coming for the seeds – this informal bird-watching is a form of meditation in its own right.
From my bedroom window, at the front of the house, I used to see birds land on a beautiful tree every morning in my neighbours garden. But, the tree was recently cut down to make room for a concrete driveway. I was sad to see this perfect perch for birds suddenly disappear to the council tip. It made me realise how few trees there are in people’s front gardens. As I look down the street, I realise we have mostly chosen the convenience of a car park in our former front gardens rather than keeping gardens to attract nature. This has inspired me to buy quite a few trees to plant in both my front and back gardens. I have planted several one foot Silver birches, Prunus and other native wildlife trees. Hopefully, when I’m an old man and spend even more time looking out of the window, there will be some well-developed trees to act as resting places for the birds I love to see.
It also makes me feel just a little bit of a rebel – to be planting trees when all around I see more building works and smart concrete being laid over former gardens.
Soul-Birds
Perhaps birds are so close to my heart because Sri Chinmoy drew so many “Soul-birds”. These delightful free spirits capture the essence of the freedom and joy of birds. It also reminds us of our own inner soul-bird spirit which seeks to escape the limitations of the world and enjoy the unlimited freedom of the Beyond. It is one of the goals of meditation, to feel this soul freedom of the birds.
In my meditation room, I have a few soul-bird paintings by Sri Chinmoy, they are a great complement to the real birds flying out of the window.
The outer bird
We try to feed
Lovingly.
The inner bird
Feeds us
Compassionately and self-givingly.
– Sri Chinmoy
Related
- Soul-birds by Sri Chinmoy
- Sri Chinmoy Art
- Aphorism by Sri Chinmoy, ST, # 39,652, 39,653