I stopped by briefly to check in my buddy Rafi and his fellow meditators as they entered the 17th hour of their 24 hour meditation marathon in the windows of ABC Home on Broadway and 19th. Entitled "Sit Down to Rise Up," the sit-in was organized to raise awareness of their group the Interdependence Project, a nonprofit that combines meditation and civic activism. Over 70 people were expected to participate in the meditate-a-thon, most doing four hour shifts, but four hardy souls including Rafi sitting for a full 24 hour period without sleep!
Rafi was surprisingly lucid and coherent given his tired state when I checked in on him at about 12pm today. I offered to buy him lunch or a coffee, but he said he wasn't hungry or thirsty. He said he was feeling pretty good, although one of his legs has been asleep and hurting for several hours. The hardest part he explained was dealing with the drunk people that passed by the windows starting at around midnight last night. "Someone offered by buy me and take me home," Rafi recounted. "Another mooned one of the other sitters."
More of my pics from "Sit Down to Rise Up" here. Congrats to all the sitters!
UPDATE: Rafi posts his own fascinating reflections on the 24 hour sit on his blog.
Thanks so much for dropping by and taking these pics! The marathon was an incredible success, and I have say easily one of the most interesting public awareness raising practices I’ve ever engaged in. And… my right leg is *still* asleep. 😛