John Tyler
My nickname was ‘room boy’ when I was young. As soon as I got home from school, I always jumped straight into bed. When my mom yelled out for dinner, it took more than 10 minutes for me to get up to go to the dining room. I didn’t join the conversation with my family after dinner and returned to my room straightaway. While other kids were busy going out on golden weekends, I undoubtedly spent time alone at home. My friends seldom asked me to go out with them. Even when they did, I invited them to my house instead. My family and friends called me a ‘room boy’ because I was always stuck to my room.
I didn’t want to be bothered to go out and do something. I just loved doing whatever I wanted and to be comfortable in my room. When I go out, I have to consider what to wear and deal with people. I hated it so much. I was just lazy. In some respects, I was truly egoistic and selfish.
I also eventually became more lazy and fat. It was natural to happen. I suddenly felt anxious as I could lose all sociality. Although it was at stake, all I could do was worry about it because a plan was not easy to carry into action. There was no way I could come out from my old habits overnight.
One day, I started this meditation as my cousin almost forced me to do so. My throwing away mind began with complaints, ‘I’d better go to a gym or a yoga center, but why should I cleanse my mind?’ But a couple of days later, my complaints disappeared. Looking back at my past which accumulated in my mind, I felt so ashamed of myself who only thought about myself and was negligent to my family and friends under the excuse of laziness. I was actually imprisoning myself in the invisible mind jail while stuck in the corner of my room. I was so afraid. Because i wanted to be free from that jail, I went to this meditation center almost every day. I was so deeply overwhelmed with laziness that I started to solely focus on throwing away the mind. I was even surprised by my own changes.
After completing level 1, my mind opened to the extent my mind was discarded. I began to take steps toward the world outside home. In addition, due to lighter mind, my body was able to move more actively. I took away my label of laziness and changed to a new self who is working diligently like an ant. These changes were something I could never imagine before and this easy method made it possible. I felt grateful for the method.
I still meditate. My goal is to find my true complete self by mastering the whole program. And I try my best to throw away the negative thoughts, such as ‘I feel lazy’ ‘I don’t like it’ or ‘I hate doing it,’ directly through this meditation. I take diligence as my new trademark and try to live like an ant. Good bye Room Boy! Now is the time of the ant.
more information www.meditationusa.org
