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Rebeca Rodriguez
UWRT 1102
Instructor: Fran Volt
11 September 2015
Journal Entry#2 : Meditation
Surprisingly enough I found this assignment much easier than I had originally
anticipated. I do not feel like I am a person that is attached to any of my devices so disconnecting
was not an anxiety inducing task. Furthermore, sitting still was also a fairly easy task. So easy
that I had to reset my timer twice because the two previous attempts resulted in cat naps. I would
advise any individual that plans on meditating to sit upright on the floor, so that they do not relax
into a sleeping state like I fell victim to.
After two failed attempts, my third and final attempt was very successful. I decided to
change from the cozy environment of my room to the open yet equally as silent living room. I sat
indian style propped up against the wall furthest from the entry way in order to minimize
potential distracting sounds. It was difficult for me to completely rid my mind of all thoughts. I
initially wanted to start off the meditation with a clean slate but resorted to letting my mind take
its own course of action. For what felt like an eternity, I had song lyrics racing around in my
mind. I kept on repeating them over and over again. This was difficult to overcome because the
more I wanted to stop that train of thought, the more I continued to sing Taylor Swifts Blank
Space , ironically enough. After accepting defeat, I sang the lyrics a few more times until my
mind gently drifted away.
Although the order in which I remember my thoughts during meditation are a bit hazy,
they are accurate nonetheless. I found myself reflecting upon my day; over even the most trivial

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of occurrences. I remembered how during my lunch break before biology I snacked on the
coconut yogurt I wish was peach flavored. Actually, this tiny detail of my day managed to make
me a little agitated. Nothing very obvious happened to my physical posture just a minute shift in
my demeanor. Remembering the flavor I had prompted me to also remember how rude the lady
waiting in front of me at Starbucks was. I am not really sure why I made that leap from one
memory to the other, but it happened. The most logical explanation I can imagine to be the cause
is that they both pertain to my eating schedule that day.
Gaps between major trains of thought were few; one thought usually bled into another
once commonality was identified. For some time, I pictured what looked like myself dancing
around in a room. I say, what looked like myself because I have always been told that the
dancer you are to picture in your head should always be better than what you are in real life. In
part, this is told to every dancer to ensure they always strive to push to be the greatest version of
themselves imaginable. She whirled around in my head as I choreographed her every step. Even
retracted some steps I did not like and then continued on with the dance. This probably has to do
with the fact I am a visual learner. Even when I perform on stage, when I look into the crowd I
cannot identify faces because I am mentally doing the dance in my head. The dancers steps
eventually took her off to another portion of my brain as I descended into other thoughts.
Completely disconnecting from my surroundings actually made me less sensitive to my
environment. I usually feel cold in the living room but I felt comfortable in just running shorts
and a t-shirt during this assignment. The ambient noise of the dogs scurrying throughout the
house was also silenced. I truly felt as if it was just me and my thoughts in the house for that
extended period of time. A very remote but yet comforting feeling. During this realization, the

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gap between thoughts seemed longer. A whole lot of nothingness occurred in my gaps. I
appreciated the break in thoughts during those gaps. It resembled what seems like a miniature
mental nap. I was not focused on anything else but the pleasances of my stillness in the silence.
After finally regaining some structor, I remember thinking about the list of things I
needed to do that day. As I went on checking off tasks on my to-do-list, I would veer off on a few
tangents. For example, later that day I had to report for work at Harris Teeter. My uniform is
clean and hanging in my closet but that thought prompted me to remember to wash the sweater
laying in the backseat of my car that needs an oil change. My dad is usually in charge of most of
the maintenance things pertaining to my car yet he has not gotten around to taking my car in yet.
Thinking about car maintenance reminded me that I also wanted to clean some of my make up
brushes that day? Again, strange leaps that I cannot begin to define. Eventually I returned back to
my checklist. Going through things systematically until my phone timer finally rang. I thought to
myself, Wow, those were the longest five minutes of my life.
I feel as though this was a very positive experience for myself and hope it was for my
classmates as well . Though I do not feel like I am a person that is attached to any of my devices,
this scheduled break was refreshing. It gave my mind a break from the constant need for instant
gratification any form of technology can satisfy to then intensify in humans. I learned that a lot
more than what I had initially imagined went on in my subconscious. The mind is a vast and
extraordinary machine that we forget needs a break sometimes. The constant technological
stimulation we receive is exhausting for a brain that already has many daily tasks to perform.
This exercise was not challenging but it was a new experience I am happy to report was
successful.