*Matisse sneezes*
December 15, 2009
Gesundheit! The German word for ‘healthiness’ and, ‘bless you’, is also a common response. What good are sneezes? A ‘sneeze’ (or sternutation) is a semi-conscious, convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, usually cased by foreign particles. A sneeze is like a ‘reset button’ to return one to a ‘normal but, more clear state’.
A good sneeze, particularly one that starts and lasts 5 to 8 seconds, is a ‘mini meditation’. Always one is slightly more alert after a good sneeze. The ‘mind stops’ in a prolonged sneeze creating a time to just watch while the sneeze builds it’s intensity. Of course, it wakes up others who may well have been unconscious or asleep. Particularly good in groups of people be it in a theatre, church prayer, or alone with your partner during sex! Arguments are usually altered with a good sneeze also.
In any case, looking at a sneeze as ‘good luck’ brings a smile and acknowledgement from others near by of a ‘blessing’. Then too, look at sneezing as releasing and letting go of evil or unwanted thoughts in the spontaneous reflex action. From another perspective, holding on to a sneeze is an opportunity to be more sensitive to those who may be disturbed by it’s sound or spreading of germs. Sitting in a ‘fine dining restaurant’ or riding in a crowded subway are ideal places to both practice ‘controlled sneezing’ and still receive a mini moment of igniting a heightened level of awareness.
When the environment is appropriate, allow the experience to be total and, an opportunity to regenerate and clear the mind while at the same time to activating positive emotions. Meditation is a mystery to most as well as something that creates a misinterpreted illusion of what it is and, consequently, something to avoid. Let sneezing be a stimulus to explore the many facets of meditation not only from the many ways of breathing but, even yawning, laughter, humming, singing, swimming, jogging, screaming etc. The secrets to finding ‘self love’, buried within each one, is to explore the many meditations that provoke awareness and peace within. Clear the windows of the mind! Aaaaaaaa – aaaaaaa- choooooo!!!!!
