New Gaze - New World

Bank of favors

Day 6

Tool 7

The next morning, the morning routine was now well established, everyone had folded their blankets, taken their things back to camp and had breakfast. 

The nomads had prepared the bread, gathered their belongings at the foot of each camel and loaded them. 

At the briefing, Saida had instructed: "Today we will not form groups, you will walk alone. I ask you to repeat the exercises of the past three days, namely: 

- Look for synchronicities. 

- Debate the planetary issue theme. 

- Investigation of your certainties. 

But unlike the previous days, at regular intervals Aziz will ring a bell. At this point, you will stop your thinking immediately, sit on the floor and enter into meditation as you practiced yesterday during Sophie's teaching. After about ten minutes, Aziz will ring the bell a second time, and you can move on and resume your thoughts. The caravan then set off. 

That morning, everyone had noted that they had headed south. 

Marie, 37, was an osteopath. She lived near Lake Constance in Switzerland with her husband and five-year-old son. 

She was of average height and dressed in a long white tunic and a red chèche to protect her from the sun. Marie felt good in this outfit, which she felt masked the few extra kilos on a figure that some would have considered perfect and harmonious. She liked these long walks alone with herself. 

These moments of relative intimacy sometimes allowed her to practice the "dry cleaning" which consisted of rubbing her body by rolling in the hot sand. She readily admitted that the 'cleaning' was just an excuse and that she actually enjoyed the warm sand on her skin and the soft sunlight that enveloped her.It was during one of these privileged moments that the bell announced the beginning of the first meditation. Responding to Saida's instructions, Marie sat in the sand in the posture that seemed most comfortable and natural to her.She had cleared her mind and concentrated all her attention on her breathing. Gradually, she felt the beating of her heart, the movements of her stomach. Then, without any thought, her attention had shifted from her breathing to the pleasant sensation of warmth felt by the parts of her body exposed to the sun. Slowly, she scanned each of these parts; her hands, her arms, her face, her shoulders, her breasts, her stomach, her legs, her feet. No thoughts, just very simple yet profound sensations, sensations that, like her breathing, were present in her daily life, but which she never took the time to dwell on. Mary was vigilant and made sure that no thoughts were coming to her. If they did, she would bring her attention back and focus on one part of her body. She then scanned the parts that were not exposed to the sun, her back, her shoulders, her neck. Then those that were in contact with the ground. It was with some disappointment that she heard Aziz's bell sound the end of the meditation. 

Marie put her tunic and her chèche back on and started walking again. She tried to carry out the exercises proposed by Saida, but abandoning her state of inner peace to immerse herself once again in reflections on her certainties or on global issues seemed almost impossible. 

Four times during the day Aziz rang the meditation bell. Mary had realised that her privacy was preserved at these times, since everyone was sitting alone where they were. So she repeated the experience of meditating in Eve's clothing, wrapped only in the sun's rays. Mary was definitely delighted with the day. She was certain that she would adopt meditation in her daily life.   

Aziz. Sophie, Saïda, Liam and Aziz looked at their trainees affectionately. They noted the serenity that Marie had felt earlier. There was a kind of peace in everyone that was almost palpable and visible. The faces were more relaxed and smiling than usual.