Here in Arillas, Corfu, there is a nudist beach which I have been frequenting during summertime for many years. Yesterday I was whiling away the afternoon there, as I have so often done. Unbeknown to me, something different was about to happen. Wading into the beautiful, clear water to cool off, suddenly I felt my left foot receiving strong electric shocks – three of four zaps within a second.
My sun-induced languor was immediately dispelled. I shrieked and splashed my way through the water for a metre or two. Then I saw the source of my anguish: I had stepped on a marbled electric ray. It had been lightly buried in the sand and had now lifted off from its bed and was swimming leisurely away.
After this shocking treatment, I noticed that I was much more awake and alert. And this reminds me of the value of shock tactics on a spiritual path – the sudden whack of a zen stick, or ‘stop!’ shouted during a moving meditation. Such methods can cause our habitual mind to stall. Suddenly we are fully present, instead of being lost in thought or running on auto-pilot.
For me, the spiritual journey is about being present more and more of the time. I just hope that I don’t need too many electric shocks for that to happen!
