After a failed attempt, I went back to the MoMa for another chance to sit with Marina Abromovic in her performance piece called "The Artist is Present." On Monday, I had waited in line for four hours along with my friend Judith from Scotland (seated above on the right). We were the next in line and then the museum closed. So we decided to go back on Wednesday, early morning... We waited in line for 2 hours on Wednesday. Judith went first. She sat across Marina for 45 minutes and when she came back, she was so calm. She said that she felt a circular flow of energy going back and forth between her and Marina. Judith has been practicing meditation for a while and her training as an actress, probably prepares her more for going within herself. I was next. And seeing Judith calmed my nerves a bit. And I figured waiting in line for 6 hours qualified me for sitting still for a fraction of that.
When I sat down across from Marina, I immediately felt a vibration. My heart started beating very fast and my throat tightened. Once Marina focused her gaze on my eyes, I became even more nervous. I tried to communicate with her through my eyes. I kept asking her questions: 'why are you doing this? what are you trying to teach us? thank you Marina..thank you Marina...breathe. Calm down or she might get up and walk away'...my mind was racing. I couldn't slow my breathing much and I started to get very uncomfortable. How can she be so still? As if she wasn't even there. I felt like I was in competition with a Zen Master. She is definitely a Zen Master. I stood up after 10 minutes, thanked her and walked away. It was very intense. I'm inspired and motivated to practice meditation regularly now and perhaps one day, I can sit still for longer than 10 minutes..
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