Meditation

I started with Eight Minute Meditation over the summer and was really pleased with it. I was surprised by how much it helped me sleep. Now that the fall semester has started (I'm a faculty member), things have been very hectic and I haven't made time for meditation unless I go to yoga. I've been doing that twice a week, so shavasana is the closest I'm currently getting to a meditation practice.

I would personally find two ten minute sessions per day to be too much for my current routine, and I would get discouraged if I didn't do the full amount I had committed to, so I'd probably start with just a 5-10 minute practice once a day. You can always add time as you go.

I meditated regularly in the distant past as part of a (then) consistent yoga practice. I've tried but had trouble adopting a regular meditation practice, just skirmishes with it since. I know it's good for me, but I have difficulty sticking with it.

I do use the techniques moderately often in certain situations (difficulty getting back to sleep, waiting such as in a doctor's office with 'nothing to do', etc.) Usually, that's just some combination/variations of body scan, watching the breath, meaningless mantra (a la the "relaxation response" method, not TM), alternate nostril breathing, extended mindful focus on (something).

Now, I'm sort of trying again to establish a practice, using an app with the hope that it'll help me create some structure/commitment. (So far, I don't really like the app approach, not so much because of the specific app, but because I don't like the "guidedness" of it. It annoys me when calming-voice-guy reminds me to return my attention to my breath, and distracts me from my attention to my breath. 😆 I'm trying to hang in there, though.)

With the caveat that I'm not a very spiritual person, I'll recommend a book I really liked when I read it a while back, Lawrence LeShan's "How to Meditate". It's a short (176pp), readable, no-nonsense intro to a whole bunch of different meditation methods from various traditions (some of them spiritual 😉, including meditation practices of some Christian saints).

I was doing 20 minute sitting meditation sessions daily in my art studio for many years until recently and then its sort of tapered off. I was planning on starting up again during my winter break. The person who taught me to meditate used to always say if you're making excuses about not having enough time to meditate that is when you really need to do it. It's always rang true for me.

As far as strategies...I just make sure to have a dedicated space in my studio with my zafu and zabuton and I use either the Insight timer app since you can set bell intervals and meditate virtually with others or I have an electromechanical chime I can use as well when I don't want a phone near me. I will also meditate when I wake up in the morning if my dogs don't jump all over me but there is risk I will fall back asleep so its not the best option. I just have to do it and keep doing it until it becomes part of my routine.

When I was in class we read a number of books but the one that resonated with me the most was True Perception: The Path of Dharma Art. I can post the others when I get home from work if you like.

Meditating this morning in my car while I wait for an appointment. Pouring rain and cold here.

Completely distracted by a crow walking around the parking lot looking for food, so I stopped meditating, searched the car, opened a packaged snack, and tossed some cheddar cheese cubes to the crow. He/she ate them all, flew off, and returned a few minutes later with another crow friend/mate. I put some dry cat food out at the edge of the lot. The crows are waiting on utility lines but haven't come back down. Alas, this is the story of meditation.

Back to meditation. Relaxing the tension in my muscles, focusing on breathing, listening, dividing my attention equally between my body and a tree outside the car, which takes me out of my head.

The crow flew down and is chowing down on the cat food!

Happy New Year, folks.

Xerogs wrote: »

When I was in class we read a number of books but the one that resonated with me the most was True Perception: The Path of Dharma Art. I can post the others when I get home from work if you like.

Yes, please post the books when you have time.

I used to practice Vipassana meditation in India and would like to get back into it.

https://www.dhamma.org/en/index

I do Headspace every day while doing physiotherapy. I have one stretch, which basically consists of lying flat with my neck on a stretching thing for 15-20 minutes a day, so I put on Headspace and get a 2 for 1 out of it.

Waking Up app by Sam Harris - no brainer (see what I did there) His app is awesome detailed explains how the brain works in relation to meditation and my daily 10mins (morning) really makes a difference. I also use my Oura ring to keep on top of how well I sleep which is a game changer...

I use Insight Timer daily and meditate twice a day (morning - set the tone, late afternoon - let go of everything that happened etc). Love the courses on Insight Timer. My favorite meditations come from davidji and Jason McGrice - "Self Love For the Feminine" - not just for women!! Great for body acceptance). During the first year of Covid I went as far as becoming a certified Meditation Teacher - best decision I ever made. It really helped me deal with the entire Covid World Experience.

Xerogs wrote: »

Hollis100 wrote: »

Xerogs wrote: »

When I was in class we read a number of books but the one that resonated with me the most was True Perception: The Path of Dharma Art. I can post the others when I get home from work if you like.

Yes, please post the books when you have time.

I meant to get back to this and got sidetracked. Here are the other books we used in class. The Meditation in Action book is one I found at Bookmans in Arizona so I didn't use it in class but it helped me better understand True Perception.

The Zen of Creativity - John Daido Loori
Falling Awake: How to practice mindfulness in everyday life - Jon Kabat-Zinn
Meditation in Action - Chogyam Trungpa

Thanks, I'll take a look at these.