by Jane Holley
Eight years ago I was too weak to walk even to the letterbox, I had been living with a chronic illness for two years. I was house bound, my dreams of being an energetic person with an amazing life were shattered.
A friend suggested that I learn to meditate. Firstly to help with the stress in my life (A chronic illness, two preschool children and a husband who traveled for work) and secondly, meditation didn’t require any physical demands. It was something I could actually do!
I started going to the free meditation classes at the Auckland Sri Chinmoy Centre. That decision changed my life. I have meditated daily since those first classes.
Sri Chinmoy encourages self-transcendence - going beyond our limitations - which is often reflected in his poetry:
"I compete with myself,
And I try to become
A better human being.
This is my ultimate goal."
- Sri Chinmoy.
Sri Chinmoy also believes we are all truly unlimited if we dare to try. With this in mind I set myself some goals. A realistic goal of walking one mile. Then another was running two miles without stopping. And finally, the unimaginable goal of running a marathon before I was forty (I was thirty-two at the time). Family and friends laughed in disbelief.
As I began to practice meditation and become involved with the Sri Chinmoy Centre, I started to notice I was happier and I was living a more fulfilling life. My whole life was transformed and with it so was my health. I started to get stronger physically. I started training for my marathon. Baby steps at first. This year my dream became reality. I ran my first marathon. I was forty. It took me a grueling seven hours twelve minutes - but I did what everyone believed was impossible.
Then four months later I ran my second marathon, this time under seven hours. A slow time - yes, but unimaginable just the same.
Meditation gives you access to a world that goes beyond the limitations of the mind. A whole new world appears before you.