My second meeting with Matt was another one-on-one. Matt warned me that there would be a ceremony to start, during which I would be given a mantra that I was to never tell anyone, and never repeat out loud or write down. "If you love ceremonies, you will enjoy this because there is incense and singing," he said. "If you hate ceremonies, you will enjoy this, because it will all be over in five minutes." I'm the latter, so thought, "You're on, Matt."
There was singing, there was incense (illustrated above), and, as promised, the ceremony went for about five minutes. I was instructed to bring flowers, fruit, and a white handkerchief, and the whole thing was equal parts bizarre and beautiful. Matt then turned to me and said a word which would be my mantra. He then asked me to take a seat, and led me into meditation. He then left me alone for 20 minutes — apparently I was meditating!
This meditation is to be repeated twice a day for, well, the rest of my life.
"Easy," I thought.
