Laura Smith Writer

Multiple Intelligences….Ommmmmm

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I have been trying to incorporate a daily meditation practice into my life, been trying for at least ten years. I start, reap the benefits, and somewhere down the road life changes and the practice is left in a ditch. Let’s see, what other excuses can I come up with? I can’t sit still for very long…my mind races…I fall asleep. All of these have happened, even when I was in the midst of a daily practice (they call it practice for a reason.) So the excuses take over and eventually I sit in front of the computer, blogging about how I need to start meditating.

I just finished up a summer program, working with a group of young people transitioning to high school. On one of the days we all filled out questionnaires to discover what our learning styles were. This activitity took our answers and tallied them to pinpoint whether we were auditory, kinesthetic, or visual learners. Also, whether we were musical, mathematical, interpersonal or intrapersonal learners. We were all a mixture of the styles, I scored high in the visual, verbal, musical and intrapersonal categories. It helped to explain how best I learn, there were some surprises, but most I had discovered when things didn’t work out in a classroom.

Taking this quiz a bit further, I wonder, if we all have strengths in our learning styles, might we all have different ways in which we have a higher success rate with one meditation style versus another? I run every day, it feels great, and I have time to work through life situations with which I might be concerned. The steady even rhythm of my footfall lures me into a meditative state. So maybe I am actually mediating, it just looks different than a Tibetan monk’s practice. Some people might need music, others a lap pool. Anything that quiets the mind so that a state of peace can enter. The word meditation itself derives from the 13th century, “discourse on a subject,” from meditari “to meditate, to think over, consider.” Today I meditate on the many styles of meditation that are available to me. It’s ok, I am doing it right, I just need do it.   

2 responses to “Multiple Intelligences….Ommmmmm”

  1. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Laura, I love this post and found it most helpful in my own pursuit of meditation.Love yaJoan

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  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Hi Laura,I believe successful meditation, like good writing, must be done in private, which is why your meditation is spiritual. No course or program can help you meditate successfully any more than a writing class can make you become a good writer. Techniques and nostrums for meditating — or writing — are palliatives that may impose a certain discipline on the process, but end up distracting you from what you're really after — a view into your soul. I began meditation in the Army when one early morning I sat up in bed a few hours before sunup. I had been pretty worried having learned our entire unit was shipping out to Vietnam in a week. So I sat there and sort of let my mind go adrift and finally accepted everything would be all right so long as I wanted it to be. Since then I usually wake up around 3:30 a.m., sit on the edge of my bed and let myself slip into a blank state for about 15-20 minutes, then go back to sleep refreshed and confident everything will turn out all right. It pretty much has. But this is what works for me. I love reading your blogs because so much of your personality shines through. I especially loved your blogs from Italia. You've realy got the gift and I know I'm very lucky to have you for a teacher. Your somewhat pedantic (but devoted) follower. Ciao,Chris

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● About Me

I wrote and published my first blog post on May 26, 2009. I was about to turn 36 and had been accepted to Mount Holyoke College as a non-traditional student, on my way to completing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Medieval Studies. I had managed, finally, to know what general direction I was traveling. As a self proclaimed voracious reader I knew that I needed a vocation that would allow me to engage daily with words: reading words, writing words, and hearing words. I also needed to eat, so I navigated my way to a teaching position and I began to fine tune my craft. I love to teach and I love my students, but I also needed to continue to hone my own literary technique, voice, and style. I continued my education in order to delve deeper into literature, making connections, and most definitely, writing. I gained more confidence as a reader as well as a writer of both creative and analytical text. That first blog post in 2009 is short, the writing average, and the topic mundane, but as I continued to learn from other writers I began to understand that to become a better writer I needed to write more. Each time I write and release a poem, a post, or a story, I hone my skills. I invite you along for the ride, for this journey of mine as I attempt to wrangle a wealth of ideas and competing directions into an organized freshly paved path to publication. I might get distracted along the way, but sometimes those detours lead us to amazing views and new friends. 

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