Meditation

I come in from the run, sweat pouring down my body, and switch the shower on. I disrobe. I'm nude, unadorned - my thoughts are my only armor.

I climb in and sit in the Lotus Position, letting the water fall around me. I close my eyes.

Breathing in with my nose, feeling my body fill with air. The air is full of colors - red, blue, purple, green, yellow, brown, black . . . and suddenly my body is full of those colors. I breathe in until my body can simply take no more - no more mass, no more air, no more color. I hold.

I ignore the water splashing about me. I ignore the sweat still seeping from my body. I ignore the songs playing in my head. The thoughts/concerns that accompany me everywhere disappear. I'm full. I consciously stop breathing. It's me - and only me. I feel inside and wait for a heartbeat. One, two, three, four. Those colors inside switch to white and I slowly release from my mouth.

My eyes still closed, I watch the white fill the shower with my mind's eye - then the bathroom, the house, the street, the neighborhood, the city, state, country, world, solar system, universe. White travelling to all areas at once, until there is no breath left inside of me.

Again, I find my heartbeat. I allow the water splashing over my body to re-enter my consciousness, then my nakedness. I listen for an internal song, never surprised when it's right there. I look for my thoughts, and I find that the day's concerns are slower to find their way back to me. Slowly, I open my eyes, and again find my heartbeat.

I close my eyes.

Breathing in with my nose, feeling my body fill with air....