Homerton high rise
Hackney, London
As my month of meditation draws to a close, tonight I did a wonderful mindfulness meditation outside of my flat in Homerton.
I love this photo as it captures the spirit of being able to find peace and tranquility ANYWHERE. Even in the madness that is a Homerton high rise. Or, as my housemate Holly put it:
“You don’t have to be in a glamorous place, or have some amazing ambiance to be able to meditate.”
It's funny, as even after all of the beautiful places I have visited and meditated this month, from stunning Cascades to incredible eco-hotels in the middle of the Canadian Massifs, I still feel most at peace by sitting in my own back yard in Hackney.
I guess, after a while, you can learn to call anywhere home! My neighbours here are nothing short of hilarious, so they definitely deserve a shout-out at this point:
At number 4 we have 'Mickey and the boys' who regularly pump iron topless in the front garden. There are frequent gatherings of alpha males lurking outside our front porch. All of them drive vans, and they are extremely friendly SOLID chaps. We even received a neighbourly festive christmas card signed - I kid you not - "Mickey and the Boys."
At number 6 we have Lisa and friends, who inhibit what is essentially a 24/7 rave den. The relentless Radio 1 dance hits started the Saturday night that I moved in, over a year ago, and have rarely eased off since then. At the tender age of 40 Lisa is Hackneys No. 1 vintage party queen. After several complaints to hackney council noise pollution I decided that living my life to the background soundtrack of Annie Mac and Pete Tong was my inevitable destiny. So I swallowed it and submitted to the Zen...If Lisa is the Hackney's number 1 raver, I am now the leading global expert on meditating/sleeping over full blast house music.
During the making of this photo a hooded teenage boy made a brief visit to chez Lisa, for what we can only assume was to "pick up." Holly tried her damndest to capture him on camera but he was too sprightly! The fella who was chased by police from her flat a few weeks ago was equally nippy….
Anyway!! Back to the meditation blog:
Tonight was a bit of a monster meditation session! I did 15 minutes meditation of my own meditation and then I listened to the "Cultivating a full heart" mindfulness MP3 recorded by my mindfulness/yoga teacher Ayala Gill.
This is one of my favourite mindfulness meditations, where you cultivate a warm and nourishing sense of love, calm and safety in your heart. Being able to generate a felt sense simply by using visualisation is such a wonderful gift. It's really incredible to feel such a strong sensation in your body that you have created entirely from your own thoughts!