This week I decided to make Mingyur Rinpoche my root teacher. What this means, if I understand the term correctly, is that I will practice his method, and only his method, for an extended time to create a solid foundation for my practice.
I've been meditating in some form or another for almost twenty years, so it does feel a little strange this declaration that I am only now building my foundation. But there is that island off Japan that I read about once, where they consider 50 years old as only the start of adulthood. I'm feeling the longing to commit to something, and there is something about Rinpoche's teachings that resonate with me in a way that no other teachings ever have. Maybe it's his light touch, his sense of humour, his simplicity that feels closer to the Taoism that I've always been attracted to. Whatever it is I'm ready to make his school of being my home.
Which means I'm heading out on what I'm going to start thinking of now as a three year retreat. For the next three years I'm going to make him my my only meditation teacher. When I'm feeling lost or overwhelmed I will turn to his books, his videos, his organization. When I feel lonely I will see his face.
I need his steadying presence because I'm heading into a big transition in my life. My agent says there are a couple of New York editors keen on seeing my book proposal. I'm optimistic that this book will be published and I'm going to need grounding during a process where I know I'm going to be experiencing a lot of over excitement. I'm going to need all the emotional and spiritual mentorship I can find. I may not have much time to be wandering around trying to find it. Having one teacher, one way, one practice will probably be the lifeboat I'm going to have to cling to as I get used to fulfilling my dreams.
There's that. There's the fact that in the next month both my parents turn 80. This may be their last decade. So the next ten years of my life are going to be filled I expect with elation and grief.
I'm going to need solid ground, solid friendships, a solid community to get me through. After almost ten years of travelling that I've been recording on this blog, this is where I finally put down roots.
