Graveyard Meditation
“You have to go to Kassim to meditate. Now. Alone.” AM blurted this out around midnight while we were at the beach meditating. I am like WWWWWWHHHHHHAAAAATTTTTTT???
KASSIM IS A FREAKIN’ GRAVEYARD! Kubur Kassim to be exact. Nestled in an idyllic private housing estate. The graveyard? Not so idyllic. It’s one of those scary Muslim burial sites with overgrown shrubs, fallen trees and those scary willowy trees with hanging roots. Like the banyan tree. This graveyard is said to date back to beyond the 1800s. Some older members of the community have mentioned that people have been burying over the older graves which date back hundreds of years. They stopped using the graveyard around 1950s-1960s. Before land reclamation in the area, the graveyard was relatively close to the sea. Set atop a hill. In the past, it was said that if one was not meant to be buried there, the grave would fill with sea water and the body would float. The family would then have to rebury their dead relative in some other graveyard. So we now have a scary and mystical graveyard. Cool.
It is NOT cool that I had to go there ON MY OWN and sit there ON MY OWN to meditate. NOT COOL!
I started considering a few factors:
- AM was pulling a fast one.
- AM was bipolar.
- AM was just plain mad.
I figured it was none of the above three factors. It was me. I was mad to even consider going! And then I thought… I had committed to this journey…. Let’s suck it up and just go. We were at East Coast Beach at the time. AM went to the edge of the water and stood there looking out to the sea. A few minutes later, he turned to me and said, “Go now. Find a place that’s not too close to the entrance. Go where it’s dark. Go by feel. Burn 3 incense sticks and then take 7 steps back and meditate there,” he said. And so I went. As I walked to my car, I felt I was not alone. This may seem creepy to you, but I swear at that time it was so comforting.
I arrived and parked in the housing estate nearby. I had brought flowers for meditation that night. I liked having the smell of flowers and incense around me when I meditate. So I brought the flowers and incense, along with my trusty shawl and a towel to sit on, and headed to the graveyard.
Oh the trepidation… As I walked towards the main gate of the graveyard, my heart was beating so fast. Thoughts running through my head… like what happens if I have an encounter of the spirit kind?? What if I pass out? Can I really do this? I was starting to have second thoughts. Next thing I knew, the gate was before me. I pushed it back and it creaked a little. Perfect. Adds to the already creepy atmosphere. Why not I thought. As I walked into the swallowing darkness, I felt my heart settling into a steady rhythm. I no longer felt the anxiety I felt earlier. Rather, I felt a little floaty. Maybe I WAS losing it.
I took a deep breath, clutched my shawl, towel, flowers, and incense a little closer and just focused inward. I allowed my feet to take on a mind of its own and guide me. All the while I was just focusing on my breathing. Letting my entire being be one with the environment I was in. My feet led me to what looked like a large mound in front of a tall tree. Of course, it was nestled among gravestones.
I placed the flowers near the mound, burnt 3 jasmine incense sticks, and then took 7 steps back. I placed a towel on the ground and sat down. Immediately, I realised that I was sitting on a step. I turned and in the darkness was able to make out what looked like a mausoleum. Again, I felt comforted. Odd, I thought… On my right were graves and shrubs. On my left, more graves.
I started my meditation. With eyes opened, just focusing on the bright glow of one incense stick 7 steps away. Before long I felt myself entering the zone where I become one with all around me. I can ‘feel’ the trees, the earth beneath me, the air moving around me. Everything becomes sharper. It’s like I am there and yet not there. About 10 minutes in, I heard a rustling sound. It got closer and closer. I focused my eyes to a spot a few steps to my right and I saw a pair of eyes! Bright eyes! And then it moved. My heart started to beat faster. The eyes got closer and closer. And then whatever it was, was beside me! I focused on it and then realised it was a cat!! Of all things! JESUS!!… and it had the cheek to sit down beside me. After scaring me like that. So now, I had Kitty as a companion. Oh well…
I continued meditating. And then I heard it. It sounded like it came from about 100 feet away. A faint sound that sounded a lot like branches breaking. Maybe another cat, I thought… I focused my eyes on the darkness in the direction of the sound. More branches breaking… And then I saw it. A faint greyish white figure! It was moving towards me! very slowly. My heart starts to beat so fast, I started to sweat a little. I said to myself. This is it. Brace yourself. An experience not many will go through. Cherish this, a chance to communicate with the other dimension!
Heck!! I couldn’t believe this was happening. The figure got closer. I could make out that it was human like, about 5 feet 7 inches tall. And then it was only 10 feet away… It was a man! A real human being! *facepalm*. I nearly burst out laughing. First a cat, then a man. He was dressed in a long shirt that came down to his ankles. And had a hat on. Arab looking attire. Well, this WAS a Muslim graveyard. He must have been doing his night devotions in the graveyard. Unusual, but not unheard of. AND HE SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME! 🙁
I WAS ALREADY READY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE OTHER SIDE!!! The emotions that ran through me. Oh my… I might need a shrink after this.
By this time, the cat was gone. He must have scared her too. I continued to calm my racing heart and before long was in the state again. After a while, I started to feel emotional. Soooo sad. I felt a pull in my chest that I couldn’t control. A deep feeling of anguish. I had never felt like that before. I didn’t understand it. Tears streamed down my face. What was this sadness?? Have I finally lost it?? In the void blackness of meditation, I heard my own voice within myself saying, “Don’t worry, everything will return to the way it was before.” I felt that this referred to the state of the world. And how it must have been before the Mahabhrata and Ramayana.
After what seemed like a long time, the sadness started to dissipate. I started feeling like myself again. My heartbeat returned to normal and I opened my eyes. I felt no fear. I felt one with everything around me. They are me and I am them. It didn’t matter that I was in a graveyard. Nothing mattered. I just felt a calmness I hadn’t felt before. I felt as comfortable as being in my own bedroom.
I looked up and saw that the incense sticks had long burnt out. I checked the time and realised I was there for about an hour! I texted AM and headed back to him.
AM asked me how was it. I told him everything that happened, and he asked me if I understood why he asked me to go.
I nodded. I understood then why AM wanted me to go to Kassim. To attain a level of understanding. What is within the other dimension… they are just like us. There is nothing to fear. It didn’t matter if I was in a graveyard or at the beach. I had broken away the human perceptions tied and embedded within me. Fear developed through years of indoctrination. Through what was portrayed by the media. My own perceptions of the graveyard. Everything just melted away. Just like that. I teared up. It was a beautiful feeling…
#spirituality #meditation #loveall #inspiration #anewbeginning #karma #dharma #soul #spiritualawakening #livecolorfully #colourveil
