Walking meditation

Dear friends walking with dogs.

A few times I had the courage to suggest to you a different kind of walking. As we all belong to the chattering classes, we think that most of the time we have to fill the space around us with chattering voices. Dogs (and lots of other animals)do not walk(=hunt) like that. What I suggested a few times was to walk for 10 minutes without saying anything. I do remember that some friends were not able to do it. But others could really keep their mouths shut for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes of silence I stopped the group and asked if anyone had noticed anything.Two friends said that their dogs had paid more attention to them. They both had experienced, had seen and felt, the different connection with their pets. My interpretation was that they had been closer to their dogs and closer to nature.
That is what I experience many times when I walk silently with my dogs.

In another letter I have been writing about a Tibetan monk who does silent walks with thousands of followers all over the world. He calls these walks "Silent Meditations". I could understand what the monk means. Some 35 years ago I became a student of Transcendental Meditation and I started learning how to listen to my soul. When practicing TM I am supposed to sit down in quiet surroundings, close my eyes, etc... Since then I discovered that walking with my dogs offers me a different way of connecting with them, with myself and with the universe.

A while ago Jeni brought along a book for me to read. Immediately I was fascinated by "Conversations with God",(book number 3) by Neale Donald Walsch. Having finished the book, I gave it back to Jeni and bought a copy for myself. I have now read it a third time and I want to share with you what I found on page 162.

"In meditation you place yourself in a state of readyness to experience total awareness while your body is in a wakened state. This state of readiness is called TRUE WAKEFULNESS. You do not have to be sitting in meditation to experience this. Meditation is simply a device, a tool... Sitting meditation is not the only kind of meditation there is. There is also stopping meditation. Walking meditation. Doing meditation... When you walk in a state of true wakefulness, you breathe in every flower, you fly with every bird, you feel every crunch beneath your feet. You find beauty and wisdom. For wisdom is found wherever beauty is formed. And beauty is formed everywhere, out of all the stuff of life. You do not have to seek it. It will come to you."

Have you ever practised walking meditation? Or are you going to give it a try now that you have read this letter?

HIGH TEMPERATURES.
Last Sunday I drove to Benimeli without my dogs. At home we had 35 degrees in the shade and that is too much for my two oldies. But on the square in Benimeli I spent a nice evening with some friends who agreed that it was too hot for a walk.
Back home I looked at http://www.eltiempo.es/jalon.html and saw that the same high temperatures are being expected for this coming Sunday.
For that reason my suggestion is to interrupt our Sunday walks until temperatures come down. I suppose this is going to happen in September. Personally I will keep on walking my dogs at 07.00 a.m. and again after 10.00 p.m.
However, if you want to meet for a drink, just call or drop me a line.

Love.

Bruno