Post Date: 5/17/04 7:13 am Ro,
Meditation seems to pose a challenge to all of us accustomed to the fast-paced, overstimulating, everyday western lifestyle. As you said, the surrender, letting go is really the antithesis of how we're conditioned from an early age to respond to the unknown.
My personal meditation practice exists sort of on levels -- like a descending staircase with many landings. One of those landings is, for some reason, very attractive to my pets. Both my dog and my cat -- who couldn't be less interested in other aspects of my yoga or meditation practice -- are somehow quite attracted to a specific level of my meditation practice. When i'm 'there,' they come from wherever they are in the house and get as close to me as they can -- I'll be in downward dog with a cat sitting on my raised sitting bones and my minpin between my palms doing her own version of downward dog. When I move passed that particular level -- either up the staircase or down, they once again loose interest. Occassionally I try to stay at that level for a while, though it tends to be difficult as they are a bit of a distraction.
It took me quite a while to get passed that 'searching' desire in my meditation practice. And I'm guessing that hummingbird, like dragonflies and butterflies, merely wanted to illustrate that he (like meditation) is more likely to light on an outstretched palm than a grasping fist. Sounds to me like you're well on your way!
Namaste,
BrianClt