Tonight I went to a meditation center to learn and practice meditating. I've tried before and I guess I haven't done so badly at it. In fact, it is very similar to the daydreaming I do regularly and without noticing except that the idea is to clear you mind and just focus on the present and your presence. I thought there might be something more to it that I didn't know but there's really not from what I can tell. The only problem is that it's hard to meditate at home when dogs are suddenly barking about nothing or pawing at me to play with or cuddle or neighbors are suddenly stomping around upstairs. I thought I'd learn the secret to it and that it would be somehow more profound in a foreign space with many other people meditating, too. One thing of particular note that I wasn't expecting was for the meditation room to be so brightly lit. I also thought it was kind of funny that there's a note on the website requesting that you not wear perfume and yet the room is so full of incense who would notice? Another unexpected bit was that every once in a while the person leading the meditation sounds a gong and announces walking meditation which means everyone gets up and walks around the perimeter of the room with their hands clasped a particular way in front of their belly.  This was fine and actually I really liked it because it just reminds me going for a walk or dancing -no thinking, just moving. But what was funny was my instinct to interact with people as they passed my line of vision as I would if I were out walking with my dogs -to acknowledge them. I managed to stay for nearly an hour but after the walking meditation it was hard for me to get back into the sitting meditation and I'd realized from the start that the bra I was wearing was very tight and the cushion you sit on to help you achieve the correct posture is really kind of hard and perhaps due to one or both of these things I couldn't get comfortable and kept noticing how tight my neck and throat felt which is not relaxing at all. But I think I did achieve something, though I'm not sure what, as I have felt a little floatier since I left but perhaps it's just that the incense clouded my senses.