Time expands ..and I expand with it ~ breathing deeper ~ thinking clearer ~ speaking freer and listening longer ~ until a scheduled event approaches ~ like workshop time ~ meal time ~ or checkout time ~ then time compresses ~ and my breath becomes shallow ~ my mind races ~ my throat constricts ~ and I feel cramped and awkward ~ well, not anymore ~ I tell myself “fuck workshops ..meals ..and checkout” ~ I’ve never been jailed for truancy ~ gone hungry ~ or been charged an extra day for hanging out too long ~ I go to the round house ~ where there’s a different meditation guide ~ I listen closely ~ he reminds me of my own zen instructor ~ I follow what he says ~ I lean my upper body back and forth ~ feeling heaviness and tension in my abdomen and hips ~ then upright until I feel lightness ~ I lean my head back and forth ~ feeling heaviness turn into lightness ~ I feel my breath rise up ~ and lift my shoulders ~ next, I notice how my attention is like a flashlight ~ shining on my thoughts ~ although it is not my thoughts ~ shining on the space around me ~ although it is not the space ~ shining on the sound of his voice or the stream ~ although it is not the voice or the stream ~ ~ I play with the flashlight for a while ~ then gently bringing it back to the present moment ~ as the session ends ~ and I re-enter ordinary consciousness ~ the guide suggests that I pay attention to my ‘inner narrative’ ~ noticing the way I narrate my day.