Here I am, walking around the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo.  The track around the Emperor's residence is 5 kilometers.  From my apartment, the whole walk is about 8 or 9 kilos, equivalent to about 5 or 5 1/2 miles--lots of time to think!  All of a sudden I had this incredible insight into some of the things I have been studying lately. 

I am walking clockwise around the Palace, which is the opposite way that the majority of joggers, walkers, bikers traverse, against the conventional wisdom of the path goers.  [Point number one:  I could not have received this analogy and insight if I had followed conventional wisdom  ]  On my right is the palace:  lovely, but mostly hidden, with cicadas chirping; the moat, quiet with swans gliding along the water and koi just grazing along the surface.  Some areas have huge, steep impenetrable walls built with massive rocks.  There are gardens and hedges with varying fragrances wafting through the air. There is a quiet majesty of peace and strength. To my left  is the morning traffic:  horns honking, a hodgepodge of cars rushing to work, emitting pollution that makes it hard to breathe, construction sites gearing up for the day, things getting done, a sense of business as usual, but just a little bit crazy.

[Point number 2:  The brain resembles this scenario.]  The right side is quiet, peaceful, showing the big picture, connecting you to all that is, appreciating the beauty and source of life.  On the right side is where scientists look for what they call the "God spot", finding a place to connect with the eternal.  The left side is calculating, working, figuring things out, putting things in order, always buzzing with the chatter that is our constant companion throughout the day, telling us what is right and what is wrong and how we measure up.

I am walking on a path between the two, enjoying the peacefulness of the walk and the palace grounds, actually quite relieved that I am not mixed up in the craziness to my left, yet knowing that I can't stay on this path forever.  I must eventually leave the loop where all is peaceful and quiet and cross the street to get back home. When I do, I find that there are actually trees and cicadas and fragrances on that side of the street too. So I head on home, carrying with me, the quietude from the palace, the connection with others on the same journey, and sense of restfulness as I head into the traffic of the chatter in my mind, telling me that I must write a blog and keep some appointments and do some more studying and make some more contacts. 

I suppose that is what it is like in meditation.  We enter our right brain where all is calm and quiet and peaceful, not to escape from the traffic all around us, but to gain a new footing, a new grounding, and new sense of calm choices.  The traffic and chatter do not have to control my life; I do.  I can carry with me the majesty and grandeur of the palace while I go about the left brain activities of the day. 

Nothing would support the economy, govern our countries, manufacture the goods we buy, or grow the food we eat, if it were not for the traffic side of our brain.  It's nice to visit the right side where the palace resides and carry the image along with us, but we cannot escape forever and avoid participating in the "doing".  If we contribute to the world with our peaceful and strong sense of self, we can be more productive, and less stressed.  We can intermingle the two sides of our brain and straddle the path, walking either with or against the flow of conventional wisdom, but doing so with a calm certainty that we are grounded and thoughtful and productive.  If we try only to walk in the traffic, we get run over!  [Point number 3]

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