One Minute of Zen Meditation Overlooking Lake Baikal, from Olkhon Island

Lake Baikal is the oldest lake in the world, 25 mllion years old. It is also the largest lake by volume, 5 cubic miles, and the deepest, well over one mile deep. The water is so clear that you can see 40 feet down. It holds 22% of the planet’s fresh water, more water than all of the 5 Great Lakes of Canada/USA combined. And Olkhon Island is sacred to millenia of shamans, yogis and spiritual seekers, all attracted to Lake Baikal. So it seemed fitting that, since I had come to honor this sacred lake, I too would honor it with one minute of silence. Eyes wide open, seeing the vastness below. Look at the waves. Are they on the lake? In your eyes? Inside your mind? What about our own mind waves? Over 25 million years, the dust and dirt that may fall into the lake, even make splashes, sinks to the bottom. That is a good lesson. Let the day to day dust and dirt settle to the bottom, so we can see clearly and calmly.