If you want to meditate without effort or practice, please take a kite and fly it. What saints and yogis doing after several years of practice, which you will perform when flying a kite.
During my boyhood, one of my sport activity is ‘kite flying’. Kite flying is not a recognized sport, so I can term it as my hobby.
During evenings and holidays, I spent time in flying kite. Blowing air sufficient speed is needed to fly kite. From October onwards it is a good season to fly kite.
Many parents object their kids for flying kite. Many think it is a dirty act, which will spoil education. Many of my friends were hiding their kite from their parents. Me too. I have never seen any girl kid flying kite in my city. It seems to be a Boys hobby.
After reaching college, I stopped flying kite. Shifting house often too stopped me from kite. Once I caught up by evil hands of career, I forgot Kite from my life.
Now I am a busy software engineer in India. Whole world knows, how stressful it is in India. How much time on Indian software engineer spending per day for his work.
Recently I got three days leave(holiday) for Diwali festival.
I was spending time in my apartment terrace. Suddenly I noticed a rope was running across my terrace. I grabbed it immediately like a reflex. I rolled it. The length of the rope might be nearly half mile. At the end of the rope there was a kite knitted. This kite might be set free after loosing a ‘deal’ with another kite.
Anyway, I was so happy to get a kite with rope. My boyhood memories about kite flying re-blossomed. I decided to fly the kite.
But few negative thoughts raised hesitation to fly the kite now.
I am a software engineer now. Leading 5 to 10 programmers. I am married having a kid. I am leading a upper middle class living standard. Is it a manner or etiquette for a man with such social position to fly kite like a ‘boy’. Many ‘respectable’ people will have a evening walking in my terrace. What they might think when I will be busy with kite. Moreover, kite flying is an activity for boys from lower and lower middle class society. In my apartment video games is the right choice for boys.
So my social and self image and the area/society where I am living give me hesitation to fly kite. Everything in my thoughts, but nobody conveys me orally as ‘do not fly kite’. But my imagination and thoughts goes in such way.
I realized, I have to overcome my ‘self’ first then the society. I decided whatever shame come to me I have to fly kite. I decided to do what like to do rather than what I suppose to do. Never worry about others opinion. Even my wife laughed at me when I invite her to ‘kite flying’. Later she enjoyed it. She regularly joins with me for flying kite.
After 15 years, I fly the kite. Without any difficulty ‘my grabbed’ kite takes off. It raises and settle down quickly in the sky. My hands and fingers still remember the skills/dexterity required to fly kite. I let out 70% my rope I have. My kite goes high, it becomes tiny dot.
During kite flying, my only focus is kite. Eyes fixed at kite and keep watching it. My eye vision has a long distance focus, which is short distance always by starring at monitor. Now it is a change.
My mind stops thinking, wandering, and worrying. My conscious released from time, space, and ‘self’. It slips into tranquility. Eyes fixed at kite, hands maintaining the rope. That’s all. I do not feel anything other than rope and kite. I become empty. The overall mood I get while flying kite is absolutely similar to the mood after meditation but without any effort.
It is a great relaxation and change from my regular life.
Are you a busy professional? Do not know how to relax in your free time other than going to bar. Learn kite flying. You will enjoy it and may attain tranquility without doing meditation.