WE LIVED IN OKINAWA, way back in nineteen-aughtsixty
nine. A cute boy lived next door. His hair was long. He
played in a band. We were military brats. He was a rebel.
On summer evenings he’d leave home to go practice. He’d
return between 8:00 and 10 pm. That summer, between 10th
and 11th grade, I meditated on the sidewalk in front of our
house 3-4 days a week, 2-3 hours at a time, between 7:45
and 10:15 pm.

My parents would sigh; at least she’s a quiet child.
Meditation was a nearly daily practice of mine in the
high school years. The Beatles introduced Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi to the western world; I was smitten. In eighth
grade Geography class, Atlanta, Georgia I introduced India,
Mahareshi and yoga poses to my stone-faced classmates. I
made an “A,” of course, but gained no friends, go figure.
It’s okay. Meditation and yoga served as constant
companions. The sensations of diving within and gaining
alignment were rewarding, comforting and reliable.
Yet, nothing was fulfi lling in that summer’s concretesitting
meditation, awaiting Pat’s nightly return. Surely he’d
be so intrigued by my discipline he’d want to encounter this
exotic blonde chick (me), a Quiet rebel.

Weeks passed, the fi rst couple tedious. My sitz bones
ached. Mantras helped pass the time. From a Donovan song
I chanted, “Happiness runs in a circular motion. Thought is
like a little boat upon the sea. All our souls are deeper than
you can see.” Disciplined chanting continuing. Pat’s friends
dropping him off. Some hip chatter, a shouted good-bye and,
click, his front door closing. “You can have everything if you
let yourself be. Everybody is a part of everything anyway.”
Intriguing to me, but not to Pat. He never even waved.
What went wrong?

Something two-fold was happening. The mysticism of
my soul vast, placid, ever expanding collided with my 16
year old girly mind. Mind had its own hidden agenda/
mantra. Listen! “Happiness runs in a circular mmmoe,
ommm, ummm, howmIgonnagetboyzzz boyzzz boyzzzhowmIgonnagetboyzzz,”
etc.

Meditations guide you to answers. Persistence pays off.
To that 16 year old romance-seeker, the answer came fi ve
full years later. “Drink tequila!” Boy, THAT worked.
Unity Bookstore for Spiritual Thinkers addresses inner
alignment, not over-indulgence. We’ve more meditation
CDs, music and Visual DVD meditations. These tools can reveal
the true nature of YOU, beneath the romance of a teenager’s
passing fancies. We hope you visit us, purchase your
holiday gifts, breathe in the peace. Encounter the True you.
Thank you for Being at Unity Metaphysical Bookstore.

by Sammie Alijagic