Bliss...

This has been a week of new experiences. Tonight I tried my third; a meditation class at the Ashoka Meditation Centre. I've been using guided meditation cd's on and off for years now to help deal with stress and generally reduce my worrying quotient, but I've never been to a class before.

I can't honestly say I'd thought I'd ever go into a Buddhist centre. A meditation class, yes - that's something that's been on the 'to do perhaps one day' list rather than on the 'must do' list, so I hadn't actively been looking into it. But on the way to Exeter on Saturday, I passed the centre and it's literally two minutes walk from my house. In fact, if it weren't for a fenced garden in the way (very pretty btw), I could see it from my front gate. It was one of those 'Ho boy - that's too neat to be ignored' things. So then I looked it up on the web - and guess what? Thursday evening classes at five quid, and a drop-in with no commitment policy, which would balance out the week nicely since choir will be on Tuesdays... so, why not?

The people running it were surprisingly normal and the participants even more so, and it was a good mix of sexes and we all sat on chairs bar the nun leading the meditation - not at all like I was expecting having been to Thailand and seen the Buddhist shrines and temples there. It was actually really interesting. The nun didn't go through any doctrine either that I could tell. The center has other classes if you're into that. But they do go through a 'course' - foci for the meditation if you will - and the current one is on anger. Rather insightful. I believe I'll be going again...