Tomorrow I'm going to a Buddhist center meeting for the first time.
I found a center in my area and have been wanting to go but have been too nervous to go alone.
First of all, I'm very new to Buddhism and secondly, I have a bizarre fear of going to new, foreign places alone.
I emailed this center asking what I should expect and what I should bring. I received a very friendly reply telling me I should expect to be greeted warmly and to have a meaningful experience.
I've asked a friend to go with me. He's not Buddhist, nor has he been studying it like I have but he's always up for new experiences so he agreed to tag along with me.
He and I have known each other such a long time and know each other so well that I sometimes know what he's thinking without him telling me.
Therefore, I just know something is going to happen tomorrow that is going to end up giving us the giggles.
Someone is going to start chanting weird or the people will be strange and one look at him will have me snickering because I KNOW that later, in the car, he's going to be cracking jokes and then we'll REALLY laugh.
But this isn't a laughing matter. This is about my spirituality and mindfulness. This is about finding enlightenment and a purpose in life.
Somehow, though, I always find the humor in it too.
I'll let you guys know how it goes.
I'll be sure to write about in great detail how my foot fell asleep during meditation so when I got up, I fell on my face. Or how I got a cramp in my leg after sitting there so long that I jumped up and yelled, "Shit shit shit!" like I do when I wake up with a charlie horse in the middle of the night.
My soul is damned.
Posted by De at October 18, 2004 09:19 AM