A sense of inner calm

I just needed to write a quick post before I lose my feeling of inner calm that I have just achieved at my first meditation class!

Lois and I really didn't know what to accept and were greeted by a man who called himself Helen and then proceeded to almost break his chair, so our best efforts of trying to be serious went out the window from the get go as we burst into laughter. We had a couple of minor interuptions including a mobile phone ringing and a customer service announcement through the loudspeaker but I have to say it was really interesting!

The 5 week course is run by the Brighton Buddhist Centre by a lovely lady called Kate. We did 2 lots of meditation with a focus on breathing and listened to a talk on 'intention' - there's a different topic every week. There was an emphasis on cultivating a positive mindset with a hope that one day, all negative thoughts would be eradicated. Sounds blissful but considering I beeped my horn and swore at someone on the drive home from the class I fear this may take a while.

Discussing it with Lois afterwards, I do consider myself a positive person, I honestly don't think I'd be where I am today if I wasn't but I think the most important aspect of the class for me is that focus on the meditation, I love the idea of it, it sounds so calming and 'zen' like, I used to get off on living life at a pace of 1000mph but now I'm all into a slower, relaxed pace but when trying to practice relaxation or meditation my mind tends to wander. I know this is OK as part of the practice is to be at one with these thoughts and accept them but I would love to somehow train my brain to be more willing to partake in these exercises.

I'll keep you posted on my progress and as I said earlier I will eventually get back round to telling you how I stumbled upon these classes in the first place!