Mind Over Matter- Lesson Two, 1st Years

Mel walked into Mind Arts. Nothing had really happened last lesson. The teacher hadn't shown up and neither had the other students. Well I hope this is more interesing, she hough, slumping into a seat. She pulled out a book and began reading as she waited for the others.

Mora was walking to her office when she noticed the lone girl in her classroom. A first year, it looked like. She hoped she hadn't over looked her last lesson; the girl was small compared to all the others she'd taught.

"Hello." She said kindly, her voice soft. "This is Mind Arts. Today we'll be learning the basics of mediation." Rather than sit on her bean bag chair as she would have in any other lesson, she sat before the girl on a mat directly in front of her. "Meditation is very simple. You simply close your eyes and let the things you've been thinking about ebb away. Once it is all gone, you let the sounds of the room around you seep into your consciousness, turning your senses back on one by one. Seeing without seeing." She brushed back her blond hair and smiled. "Let's see you try it, alright?"

Mel nodded at the Professor. "I've heard of it. I've even tried it a couple times. It helps me sleep when I'm restless." She sat cross legged, with her back straight and her eyes closed and counted in her mind. Breathe in, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4. In, 2, 3... and so on, making her mind blank as she did in bed when it wouldn't shut up. Then, as the Professor suggested, she tuned herself into the sounds of the classroom. She heard the low sigh of the Proffessor's breath as well as the gentle whoosh of her own lungs. There was a low hum emmenating around the room as well as the thump of her own haert. She took those sounds and let them fill her.

Next, she felt the hardness of the woven mat underneath her and the persistant itch in her left side. These she pushed away, not letting them disturb her. Instead, she focused on the gentlewash of heat from behind her where there was a low fire burning and the feel of a cool breeze across her shoulders. There was a draft somewhere in the room.

After feel, Mel concentrated on the smell of the room. With the next inhale, she identified scents. There was her own apple scented shampoo, along with the woodsmoke from the fire, a slight must from the bean bag chairs, a dry smell from the mats, and a flowery type of smell that might come from the Professor. She felt her lips twitch into a smile. This was amazing, much more so then just the breathing patterns she did to calm down.

Opening her eyes, Mel blinke in the sudden light of the room. "That was amazing," she breathed. There's just so much...!"

Mora smiled, letting herself relax as the girl followed her instructions.

"Now, if you practice enough, you will be able to do it with your eyes open. For most it takes years to master, but you seem pretty sharp to me. Maybe you'll get it faster." She grinned. "Once you can balance that, knowing your surroundings and focusing on your mind, you'll be a true master. That is my goal as a teacher, to get you to that level by the time you graduate."

"The trick for today is for you to be able to feel all of that, what you felt one by one, all at once. You can't just focus on the heat of the fire, or on the scent of your shampoo. You have to be able to feel all of these things at once."

She crossed her legs beneath her, looking very prim and proper. "Try again. This time try to keep all your senses open at the same time. It will be overwhelming at first, but the more you do it, the more you'll get used to it."

Mel nodded seriously, ready to try what Professor Kirke suggested. "All right, here goes nothing..." She shut her eyes again, not ready to try with her eyes open. One trick at a time, she thought.

Mel fell into her breathing pattern easily, and this time tried to concerntrate on it all at once. The sounds weren't hard; they came naturally. But when she tried to add all the smells at once, she sneezed violently as conflicting scents entered her nose. She rubbed it ruefully, then settled back and tried again. And again. And again. Try as she might, she couldn't let all her senses register at once. She might get a few sounds, a smell, and one feeling, but when she tried to add more scents, she lost the hearing portion, or she wasn't focusing on the breeze she could feel.

Opening her eyes, she grinned sheepishly at the Professor. "This is harder tah nI thought it would be," she admitted. "I can't seem to focus on everything at once, I just get caught up in one prticular scent, or the sound of the wind, or some such thing."

"That was bound to happen." Mora said comfortingly. "Being able to hear and smell at the same time is no small feat. You're getting to worked up about it. Try it slower this time." She took a deep breath through her nose, demonstrating the breathing. "Just smells this time. What you have to do is recognize a smell, but more than that. You have to recognize and accept that you're smelling it. That way it goes to the back of your mind, but it's still there."

"Okay..." Mel said slowly. This kind of confused her, but she'd try her best. Sliding her eyes shut again, she inhaled deeply. As each scent reached her, she carefully identified it and stowed it in the back of her mind. Apple shampoo. Must. Flowers. Grass. Wood smoke. The clean smell that smelled like outside. Dirt. The dry smell of the mats. The clean smell of their clothes. She carefully rememebered each one and after about 15 minutes, she was able to call to mind all of them at once.
Her eyes snapped open and she grinned widely. "I did it!" she exclaimed. "I could smell everything at once!" She sneezed, her nose tickling from the overload of scents. She rubbed it absently, still grinning. "That was amazing! I never thought there was so much to smell."

Mora smiled widely. "Well done!" She stood. "That concludes todays class, but if you practice between this class and the next, we'll be much more advanced by next lesson. If you have time, you should try to taste all the ingredients in something while at lunch, or listen to all the sounds in the library." She smiled. "Class dismissed."