Welcome aboard, Sandy, a phone fast, successful retreat into meditation...

Thanks for the chat! And you're right. Communication is essential to coexistence. I've always struggled with it. Asperger's Syndrome is funny that way. I may live and breathe among humans, but like most people, I'm not as fluent in peer bonding as I should be.

Alas, The Introvert Exposed.

I've started a phone fast and thus far I've actually been successful. Instead of using my quiet time this evening trapped in a number of social media apps on my Android, I decided to meditate.

I began at 9:02, having replaced my spider plant with my Buddha statue so that I had something to focus on. I sat back against the headboard with my legs folded and my palms up. On only one occasion did I become frightened by the depth of the trance into which I subsequently fell.

I planned to meditate until 9:32.

I noted subtle differences in energetic frequencies based on my posture. I found that leaning back against the headboard as opposed to supporting my upper body weight allowed me to relax. I also found that with my palms up and open I was more vulnerable to the sense of blissful dissociation that goes along with Zen meditation.

Then I was moved to cut a red circle out of construction paper (I used a spool of fishing line as a template) and tape it at eye level on my closet door so that I had something large enough and colorful enough to focus on during meditation. I replaced my Buddha statute with my spider plant and spent the next ten or fifteen minutes staring at the circle.

I lost it a number of times, needing to call it back to my attention.

I meditated until 9:32.

The practicality of such a simple means to attain balance is impressive. I now know that if at any point in the day I need a time out, I can come upstairs and focus on that red circle until I feel normal again. It will serve as a very quick way to reset until I have the opportunity to meditate on it for extended periods of time.

Now that I'm no longer using my Android, I have little else to keep me occupied at night.

It's weird.

See you on Facebook and Tumblr! starliper.corey@gmail.com