OPEN

[burnseternal]

WHO: Saint Walker and YOU.
WHERE: In every Porter City to make sure imPorts of every city have access to some good old fashioned meditation!
WHEN: Throughout March.
WHAT: As per this post, Saint Walker is offering meditation lessons -- people tagging in needn't respond to that post to participate, however. All of my starters will be geared towards meditation classes, but if you want to play out anything else, feel free to PM me or PP me at feygasm!
WARNINGS: None anticipated.



A: HEROPA

[Heropa is, in truth, where Saint Walker prefers to give his lessons. Not because he lives there - to commute between cities is but a trifling thing - but because it features a quiet, peaceful beach ideal for meditation. While it's possible to meditate no matter the locale, it's always easier for beginners to have nothing but the sounds of nature and Saint Walker's harp to distract them from their task.

Saint Walker is easy enough to spot on the beach, as blue and alien as he is, but even if he goes unnoticed, he's got an eye out for any of his potential students coming towards him. He floats in mid-air, legs crossed and hands resting gently on his knees as he surveys his surroundings.

Even if you're not here for meditation classes, there's certainly no harm in saying hello.]

B: NONAH/MAURTIA FALLS/DE CHIMA

[In the absence of a nearby beach in the remaining Porter cities, Saint Walker has located nearby forests for meditation purposes. It may not be as sunny and warm as Heropa, but the air is clean and fresh, and Saint Walker knows that there's a small river - more of a creek, really - not so far away that they may use to their advantage. To prevent others from getting lost, he lingers at the entrance of the forest, hands wrapped around a thermos of green tea he had made at home, large enough to provide cups for anyone who may decide to attend his lessons.]

C: WILDCARD

[Want to do anything else? Go to the library? To a cafe? Catch him flying about town, or playing his instrument publicly? Just let me know, and I'll be happy to write a starter for you, or respond to one made for me!]

Comments

[burnseternal]

I see! Excellent. The possession of a heart is not at all necessary for meditation, but it is rather useful.

[He walks away from the Doctor to sit down beside him, legs crossed, and hands resting gently on his knees. Time to get started.]

Close your eyes, and tell me what you notice. What you smell, what you hear, what you feel. No detail is too small.

[helpline]

[ The Doctor closes his eyes, pauses for a moment, and then continues. ]

I can hear the ocean—I can practically taste the salt from here. The wind's blowing, probably ruffling my hair every which way, I imagine I look a bit ridiculous. There's...well, the sand under my feet, can't forget that. It's shifting with my weight. And, of course, I can feel time.

[ of course he can feel time, he says, like it's just something that happens and isn't a weirdo Time Lord skill. ]

[burnseternal]

[Feeling time is definitely something he'll quiz the Doctor on in the future - as if every single one of their conversations doesn't devolve into him badgering him with question after question after question - but that's not the focus right now.]

Good. I wish for you to concentrate on the sound of the ocean. Can you hear - or feel - how the beat of your hearts interacts with the steady, sweeping sound of the ocean?

[helpline]

[ For the first time in possibly ages, the Doctor pauses and just listens. He focuses on the sound of the ocean. He focuses on his hearts, acutely aware of each of their beats. They don't sync up, but eventually his mind falls into a pattern. The wave comes in, heartbeat heartbeat, the wave recedes, heartbeat heartbeat, and so on and so forth. ]

I can, [ he simply says, though he's a bit distracted. The Doctor's focusing on the pattern of his hearts and the ocean over anything else. ]

[burnseternal]

Good, [Saint Walker says, and while his voice is always low, always calming, as if he draws from some well of serenity that is invisible and inaccessible to everyone else on the planet, it's particularly calming now, audible while still somehow managing to blend in with the sound of the ocean.]

Focus on that, on the rhythm inherent in your body as it connects to nature. As you breathe, clear your mind, and concentrate only on these sounds. Breathe in through your nose... and now out through your mouth. In, and out.

[He'll repeat it as many times as it takes up until the point at which the Doctor falls into it naturally.]

[helpline]

[ It takes the Doctor a while, longer than most humans. But eventually, he's got his mind cleared, focusing on his body rhythm as it interplays with the waves, breathing in and out. Eventually he's just concentrating entirely on his body, eyes shut as he breathes in and out in a regular pattern, paying attention to his hearts as they beat in time with the waves.

It's already a bit relaxing. ]

[burnseternal]

Very good. You may be able to feel your whole body move in tandem with this rhythm. See if you can feel it -- start at the base of your foot, and work your way up, concentrating on how each muscle feels, on how relaxed it is at this present moment.

[Bodily awareness -- something that Saint Walker preaches in meditation and combat alike. Being aware of one's position as it relates to the world around them can work wonders.]

[helpline]

[ The Doctor does so as he moves his body in tandem, concentrating on his foot, then his ankle, then his leg, as they feel relaxed and alternatively tense. His body relaxes as the Doctor notices the tenseness in his muscles, moving up to his stomach.

And.....then he sneezes. ]

Whoops.

[burnseternal]

[Saint Walker chuckles.] Sometimes, I'm afraid, that's just part of the process. I assure you, there has been plenty a time when an entire class of students has been interrupted by one's need to urinate.

[...]

Occasionally into the lake, which really does not help the ambience, I must say. But now that we have arrived at an appropriate resting point, do you believe that this method will be useful to you?

[helpline]

[ He can't help but smile at that, chuckling a little at the mental image of Saint Walker desperately trying to reclaim some form of ambiance. ]

It really can be useful, [ the Doctor admitted, with a small nod. After all, he was already feeling restful and relaxed. ]

[burnseternal]

I am glad to hear it. That is the essence of meditation concentrating purely on one's focus on the body. It is useful, I think, to have someone leading you through the motions in order to maintain concentration, but if you wish to attempt at another form, do say the word.

[He tilts his head, a quirk to his mouth.] These preliminary meditation sessions are something of a sampling. I find that it is best to let my prospective students know precisely what they may be getting out of it.

[helpline]

In that case, take away the prospective in front of my student. I think that, especially here, a little bit of meditation would be good to keep me from making rash decisions.

[ says the man who is inevitably going to make a billion more rash decisions ]

[burnseternal]

Good! I think it will be useful to you as well -- but only if you use it to meditate upon your decisions prior to making them. [He offers the Doctor a cheeky little smile.]</small. Meditating afterwards does not, I'm afraid, have the same effect.

[helpline]

If I meditate after my decisions, I think I'll just end up with a running tally of all my flaws in crystal clear picture.

[burnseternal]

Not a bad thing! Sometimes, only awareness of why you made the bad decisions that you did, and what environmental things influenced you prevents you from making such decisions in the future. Meditating on such things can, however, be somewhat draining.

[helpline]

Only somewhat? [ said in a 100% teasing tone ]

[burnseternal]

That depends on your volume of poor decisions. For me? Yes, only somewhat. For you...?

[He just smiles. He can give as good as he gets, Doctor!]

[helpline]

No comment.

[ who makes poor decisions, the Doctor makes poor decisions! ]

[burnseternal]

[He laughs.]

I am teasing you, my friend. I have faith that whatever poor decisions you have made were done with the best of intentions. It happens to us all.

[helpline]

[ The Doctor matches that laugh with a grin of his own. ]

The problem with my poor decisions is that some of them are made with rushed intentions. Best intentions are great, rushed intentions make people worry.

[burnseternal]

Ah, therein lies the problem: rushed intentions and good intentions often go hand-in-hand. Emotion and rashness generally do; whether a rash decision takes place because of a sincere desire to help or a sincere anger, the outcome is often very much the same.

[Oh, Doctor, don't get him started on the philosophy of emotion.]

This is why logic and emotion must go hand-in-hand.

[helpline]

[ Look at these old hippies hanging out on a beach and talking shop. ]

I'd put a bit more weight on emotion, though. It's easy to think yourself in a circle—I've found it's harder to feel yourself in a circle.

[burnseternal]

[He chuckles, a slow, low sound.]

I believe that they work best in tandem. One should not function wholly without the other, and to go too far in any one direction is a path of folly. But I do admit that, personally speaking, I have always been weighted in favour of emotion. Something to work on, perhaps, without one here to anchor me.

[helpline]

Yet another reason why we get along so well, [ the Doctor responds, with a grin. He's another one that's firmly on Team Emotion. ]

Besides, logic changes with worlds and with dimensions. Emotion always sticks.

[burnseternal]

Do you find that reasoning changes so very much between worlds? I must admit, I'm curious as to what your experiences with that have been. I have met many people who have refused to listen to logic, certainly, but it tends to follow very much the same paths.