Sunday, April 14, 2013

Purashcharana Journey So Far




Before I left India, I began doing a Purashcharana practice; I'm hoping to say my mantra, as I roll my mala beads, counting each time I complete a circle of the 108 beads.  My goal is to reach 40,000 times. I'm now up to 700+.  But I have encountered a few struggles.

The main one is that rolling through my mala beads, repeating my mantra silently over and over, and counting, churned up my Parkinson's Disease response.  My dyskinesia, a kind of writhing movements, kicked in, and I also stiffened up involuntarily.  I kept at it, wondering how I could make it better and more peaceful.  After all, I'm used to meditating silently and I normally find it very peaceful--this was not!

Someone suggested I buy a "clicker," like one would use to count golf strokes.  I did.  I bought a nifty little clicker that does the counting for me.  (I look at the tabulation after I am through meditating.)  It works!  I can now meditate more swiftly and peacefully.

Thank you Jordan and Chad!