Alice’s Wonderland has nothing on meditating…

“‘I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is ‘Who in the world am I?’ Ah, that’s the great puzzle!'”

– Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

One of my favorite books as a child, Alice in Wonderland holds new meaning for me now as I continue down this path of self-discovery. A metaphor for growth, Charles Frey described the story as Alice being engaged in a romantic quest for her own identity and growth, for some understanding of logic, rules, the games people play, authority, time, and death. Umm, yea, I could have written that after this morning’s meditation.

Soon into my regular practice of meditation, I noticed that I experience different physical and emotional sensations during releases of energy or emotion. I often experience tingling in my fingers, hands and arms as I retreat deeper and deeper into relaxation. In yogic philosophy, we talk about chakras — energy centers — at the hub of a sort of ‘energetic nervous system.’ One of the minor chakras connected to the heart chakra is in the hands where I experience release, and, I’m not alone in my experience. I’ve heard many people talk about similar sensations.

I’ve kept a meditation journal for a while now to record whatever is in my head after I ascend. Sometimes it’s prosaic. Sometimes it’s nonsense. Sometimes it’s pure catharsis. Over the past few days, the purification has been so powerful that I still experience the energetic release for several minutes — sometimes as long as a half hour. If you check out the picture above, you’ll see that I couldn’t even grip the pen to continue writing down my thoughts.

Like many people, I’ve also experienced extremely vivid visual experiences, like watching The Wizard of Oz on a mind altering substa….well, we won’t get into my college years. In fact, I can go so far down a rabbit-hole (pun intended) that it’s like I’m observing an outsider, often wondering if this person will ever find their way out.

Regardless of the form, the feeling of peace after an emotional or energetic release is sometimes indescribable and often lasts for hours. My point to this dharmic diatribe? Meditation, like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland can be just the journey to inner stillness that you’ve been looking for. If you allow yourself to go down the rabbit-hole, you might just find yourself at the threshold of a tiny door that opens to a garden of spiritual growth.

Namaste.

– Your Charmed Yogi.