Though not the obvious way of sitting and chanting, I meditate by just bringing mindfulness to an activity I am doing anyway. A run, a stretch, hanging out with my kids, a conversation, a breath. I summon complete attention, at first it feels weird to notice every little sensation, then I try to adapt the experience until it feels better.
Poll: Do you meditate?
131–140 of 233 posts
Re: Poll: Do you meditate?
#132Do you meditate? Yes. If so, how often? 20 minutes in the morning every day. Why do you meditate? To predispose myself to receive the gift of inner transformation. What kind of meditation do you do? Centering prayer, a practice derived from the Benedictine (Catholic) contemplative tradition, oriented specifically to the needs of lay people. Thomas Merton, Thomas Keating, Catholic tradition of mysticism, etc. Key book…
- Used to engage in a range of behaviors such as procrastination to keep a whole catalog of anxiety-producing thoughts tamped down and below the conscious mental radar screen. By now, the anxiety-producing thoughts have by and large come to the surface and evaporated, rendering those avoidance behaviors unnecessary.
yes.
Re: Poll: Do you meditate?
#133I've meditated weekly for about 2 to 3 years on and off, but these past three years, I've meditated almost daily averaging an hour every session, sitting zazen and breathing. For me, there's two types of meditation. One that clears my mind from the day and one that relaxes my mind. a) Clearing my mind - I usually do this when something existential consumes me i.e. I get a bad phone call, someone pisses me off, anxiou…
Could you elaborate a bit more on the details of your breathing exercise?
Do you do:
5 second inhale, 5 second exhale
7 second inhale, 7 second exhale
10 second inhale, 10 second exhale
5 second inhale, 5 second exhale
7 second inhale, 7 second exhale
10 second inhale, 10 second exhale
etc..
5 second inhale, 5 second exhale
repeat 5 second inhale/exhale X times or for Y minutes
7 second inhale, 7 second exhale
repeat 7 second inhale/exhale X times or for Y minutes
10 second inhale, 10 second exhale
repeat 10 second inhale/exhale X times or for Y minutesRe: Poll: Do you meditate?
#134Though not the obvious way of sitting and chanting, I meditate by just bringing mindfulness to an activity I am doing anyway. A run, a stretch, hanging out with my kids, a conversation, a breath. I summon complete attention, at first it feels weird to notice every little sensation, then I try to adapt the experience until it feels better.
This is exactly what I would like to achieve. Being present. Could you share how you learnt and practiced it? I am trying but failing.
Re: Poll: Do you meditate?
#135I used to do it frequently and no longer do it at all.
Maybe I should, but my life it a lot different now.
Re: Poll: Do you meditate?
#136I've seen that meditation comes in lots forms, so I'm guessing some of the people who chose "I have never tried it" might think that it gets done kind of like the movies promote it, where you sit down and chant or hum. Would be nice to get a good starting point resource from someone that has experience on it. One thing that seemed interesting to me is that meditation doesn't have to be on a silent place, and the actual noise around you could also be part of it, so I'd be very interested in knowing more.
Re: Poll: Do you meditate?
#137I've found this series of talks to be very good for enhancing my practice: http://www.audiodharma.org/. Thought I'd share :).
Re: Poll: Do you meditate?
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks for this. I guess the people who've asked me must not know much about meditating. I admit I only have a superficial knowledge of it, as well. The people I've talked to see meditating more of a 'relaxing' experience, I guess. I will look into it more now, though.
Meditation is by no means guaranteed to be relaxing. I've been on several retreats, and wile they were always rewarding , they were rarely relaxing. That's just a popular myth.
This is very true, as it can be hard to sit or focus, and it tends to bring up many uneasy thoughts and emotions. But it is very helpful to find a place of relaxation, since meditation itself is simply a vehicle for self discovery. Meditation is the journey, and the journey is the destination.
The ultimate "goal" is transcendence, which untethers your consciousness from your physical body and is quite a liberating experience.
The catch to it all, is that you can't have a goal while meditating, other than to be present in the moment, which is an admirable goal in itself.
Re: Poll: Do you meditate?
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is 'nothing' to do when I go to sleep. Isn't that enough, and the best time for it? Edit: Sorry, I do not wish to troll. You may wish to read the other post I made in this thread, where I question more elaborately the practice of meditation. My inquiry is genuine, I wish to have a critical discussion on the margin of the meditative practice.
When most people sleep, they typically "fall unconscious". That means, they go mindless. Meditation is being mindful. It is actually possible to enter sleep states while being mindful. This is one of many methods for entering lucid dreaming, and I suppose, some folks might call it dream yoga.
Thanks, but I think you're missing the point of this conversation. The parent said:
>Being 'bored' is the best part - setting a time to do 'nothing' during the day. There's always something to do, something to see, someone to talk to, but there's rarely 'nothing' to do.
implying there is something inherently motivating in finally finding an opportunity to do nothing during the day. For me, that opportunity comes when I'm in bed, ready to go to sleep.
Regarding entering sleep states while being mindful, can I ask what you're using this ability for?
Re: Poll: Do you meditate?
#140I meditate about twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed. Sometimes I get lazy and just meditate in the morning. My typical amount of time is 30 - 40 minutes. I typically use my breath as a concentration object and go into vipassana , though I have done others. I supplement with the teaching from Tsultrim Allione's _Feeding Your Demons_. If I don't meditate, I can feel my mind subtly destabilizing. It ma…
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