I jut finished the book Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness and Creativity by David Lynch
“Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deeper. Down deep, the fish are more powerful, and more pure. They are huge and abstract and they are very beautiful….
Everything, Anything that is a thing comes up from the deepest level. Modern physics calls that level the unified field. The more your consciousness, your awareness, is expanded, the deeper you go toward this source, the bigger the fish you can catch.”
David Lynch is a director (not a household name to me since I don’t have a TV and don’t get to the movies much…). He has been mediating 20 minutes every morning and 20 minutes every evening since the 70’s, and he reflects on how that has been central to his process as a director. He started out as a painter, and moved in to movie making because he wanted to make paintings that moved. The book is personal and also very short, straightforward and beautiful. I was inspired to start meditating. I already had an inconsistent morning mediation, but I like the idea of just a short time, 20 minutes, and making it daily.
I wasn’t sure how to fit in the second daily meditation because I have a 6 and 8 year old I spend my afternoons and evenings with, and I try to keep my attention available for them. Towards the end of the book he talks about his pet project of bringing the practice of meditation to children, and he has a foundation that furthers this cause. Lynch says, “Consciousness based education is education that develops the full potential of the human being. It’s the same education everyone receives, with the added bonus that the student learns to dive within and unfold that self, the pure consciousness.” He talks about the results , including less stress experienced by students and teachers, and reduced violence, experienced at schools that include meditation in their curriculum. I know children can sometimes learn things easier than adults: languages, computers, piano. It makes sense it could be the same for meditation.
So now we have started a family meditation every evening for just 10 minutes. The kids are amazing. I hooked them in with some fun rituals like candles, incense, and a special seat. I had no idea they would be such eager mediators. When I mention it in the eve they jump up and say oh, yes! Time to meditate everybody!! How cool would it be to keep it up as a family tradition over the course of years… wow.
Enjoy the mural of the week!
