Meditation in Isolation

Does meditation go better during periods of isolation?

It did for me.

My friend, Roger, pays $75 a month to rent a tiny, rustic cabin in the high desert area of Joshua Tree, California. Talk about a great meditation environment!!!

Since, Roger was going to be out of town for a month, he invited me to stay in his cabin. My only duties were to water his oasis and keep the place clean.

This "meditation retreat center", all 300 square feet of it, had an outdoor rest room and shower. When going from the kitchen to the main room, you had to be careful not to step down too hard on the floor. The boards were about to give way.

The winter wind would whistle through the walls bringing gratitude for my warm clothing. There were four forms of heating in my new found meditation retreat center. 

1. The stove / fireplace in the corner of the main room. A good log would help keep you warm for up to two hours.
2. The reclining chair with the vibrator / heating pad. Wear a warm coat and cover yourself with a blanket. Once you turn on the heat you're all set. You have your own meditation chair.
3. The propane powered stove in the kitchen. This works when you stand next to it.
4. My new best friend. This was a six inch square heating pad in the bed.

Roger was still there for the first three nights of my stay. (We were both assisting Judith Kravitz in a Transformational Breathing training.)

So I slept in the reclining chair. The main challenge was to breathe while keeping my face covered. This was necessary so my eyeballs wouldn't freeze at night. I'm not kidding.

Having left me with detailed instructions for the propane heat and the port-a-potty, Roger drove off on his excursion to Northern California. I was now the sole resident of this high desert meditation center. Since Roger stayed out of town two weeks longer than expected, I enjoyed six weeks at my new found home base.

I was grateful to God for steering me into this wonderful situation. I was grateful to Roger for letting me stay in his cabin. Although the air was cold, you could feel the personal warmth that enveloped the environment.

This was the perfect meditation situation.

Roger had a phone, so I was able to stay in touch with the outside world when appropriate. However, it wasn't appropriate that often.

Steve, one of my releasing partners, kept telling me how much he wished he could be in my situation. He'd like to have a cabin ten miles from mine so we could walk to visit each other. I told him that I preferred a couple hundred yards.

During this meditation period my whole life was a leap of faith. My intuition rocketed. Or at least I listened better without the constant hum drum of every day life.

Taking a shower was a major event. Since I was showering with a hose outdoors, it was important to select a time when there was no cold wind. Also, a car would come by every half hour or so. I managed to head for cover whenever a car was coming.

There were a number of very magical experiences.

Although I was in the middle of nowhere with no car, I managed to get places when appropriate. My intuition strongly told me to take one of my rare showers this one particular morning. About an hour later, my friend ReHanna showed up and invited to drive me to the nearby energy enhancement system. One of the two inventors was there, so I had a chance to talk with him. It was very fascinating to say the least. He's the super intellectual type. He started talking about chaos theory and suggested that I read a popular book on the subject.

(Note: Later I did read the book and figured out how to create my own version of an energy enhancement system. However, my intuition told me to not walk down that particular path.)

There was another very magical experience when I was at my desert oasis meditation center. One morning I decided to see if I could somehow get the shuttle into town. I hadn't made the required phone call the day before.

The driver offered me a free ride into town. Why not! God is with me. It looked like my concentrated meditation practice was paying off.

This was not your typical cab driver. He told that he never waited at a cab stand to get customers. He never accepted new customers via phone calls.

Of course I asked him how he got customers for his cab business. He replied "Magic." Now he really had my attention.

Who the heck was this Michael-Moore-look-alike cab driver in the middle of nowhere? How did I have the good fortune to meet him under such unlikely circumstances? Why am I asking you?

Of course I asked him to tell me more about how he used magic to get customers. He said "Look at that mountain. What do you see?"

"A mountain" I said.

Whoa!!! Here I am in the middle of nowhere. And I'm getting advanced life enhancement training from a cab driver who came out of nowhere squared. Is this cool or what?

Apparently my meditation exercises were opening me to some awesome experiences.

My drive-thru guru dropped me off in town. That was the last time I ever saw him.

Only one question remains. Could that have actually been Michael Moore?

With gratitude,
Jim Kitzmiller

P.S. Here's my translation of this creation process.