When I was 8 years old the movie Little Buddha came out starring Keanu Reeves. It was inspired by the book Siddhartha written by the German mystic, Herman Hesse. The movie was playing in select theaters in Philadelphia and I joined my parents along with some of their friends to go and watch the film.
As I watched young Siddhartha evolve and grow through the lavish palace as a child, something deep within me began to stir. Upon discovering sickness, old age, and death that had been deliberately hidden from him from his father the King, his spiritual journey begins. The suffering he sees spurs him to become a sadhu and he joins a band of ascetics. As Siddhartha evolves, a chord within me started to resonate and I too became immutably humbled and emotional while watching the movie. I remember tears coming to my eyes. Resonance.
As soon as we were out of the movie and in the parking lot, I asked my mom if I could meditate. “Can you teach me?” I asked.
When we arrived home, my mom first showed me how to make a comfortable seat using a cushion to sit up onto and pillows to prop up my knees. Next she told me to sit with my head, neck, and trunk in a straight line.
She told me to close my eyes and then introduced me to my breath. She said, “follow your breath from head to toes and toes to head.” I remember darkness with a profound stillness. It brought a new territory to explore. I remember feeling and visualizing a warm energetic flow through my body.
Next, she introduced me to the universal mantra ‘So Ham,’ which according to yoga philosophy is the sound of breath correlating with the inhale and exhale.
For the next three months I practiced every night before bed. After a while I felt obligated to meditate. So much so, it created an anxiety for me. After three months I came to my mom and ask, “Mom, do I have to meditate still? I don’t want to meditate anymore.” This question surprised her. She may of even forgotten I was still practicing. Her kind response came as, “My dear. Of course not. No one said you have to meditate.”
So I stopped meditating before bed and soon forgot the whole episode until my mom reminded me late in high school when I rediscovered meditation at seventeen.
