The hardest part of meditation...

[Aspychata]

Think this is why l like jogging or running. This forces me to take a map of my breathing, my feelings and then finish and recalibrate my mind. Mediation with a exercise slant. I do think about things but with zero emotions because l need to stay alert to not falling down. It's like multitasking mediation. So l can clearly observe what l am stressed about then leave it at the gym. Like a bank deposit. Deposit all my bad feelings and leave them behind, recalibrating.

 

[Barymore]

@Aspychata - that's what works for me to - I refer to it as embodied mindfullness. Feeling my body as it runs, my breathing, feet on ground, regularity of it all.....maybe music

It took much longer for me to start being able to stay focused on breathing / feeling my body etc while just sitting, I still prefer a led meditation.

I have started what I think is called forest bathing - walking in a forest, mindfully breathing and 1. scanning my body 2.noting auditory cues 3. noting visual cues.

And box breathing to relieve stress - focus on in breath for 4 hold for 2 out for 4 hold for 2.....supposed to activate the parasympathetic nervous system.

 

[sidd851]

@Aspychata - that's what works for me to - I refer to it as embodied mindfullness. Feeling my body as it runs, my breathing, feet on ground, regularity of it all.....maybe music

It took much longer for me to start being able to stay focused on breathing / feeling my body etc while just sitting, I still prefer a led meditation.

I have started what I think is called forest bathing - walking in a forest, mindfully breathing and 1. scanning my body 2.noting auditory cues 3. noting visual cues.

And box breathing to relieve stress - focus on in breath for 4 hold for 2 out for 4 hold for 2.....supposed to activate the parasympathetic nervous system.

Forest Bathing...
BRILLIANT!
I love it!
It has the smack of the Pali Canon about it.
These guys were talking about very specific mind science.. 2563 years ago, in a language not privy to the specificity that today's technological societies have produced.
And so we find terms like "fetters", "stream", "snare(s)", in the Pali Canon, describing mind states, tendencies, liabilities.

I am surprised to hear of "journaling" as encorporated in "mindfulness meditation" practice.
Indeed, I have never heard of such a thing in the Theravada tradition.
Indeed, the practice isn't necessarily intended to "eliminate" thought, instead, it is to break our slavery to it.
As a result of conditioning, we tend to act, immediately, on emotions, feelings, and thoughts.
MM is practicing watching them arise, watching them abide a while, and watching them dissipate-- all while realizing that we need not act, nor do we need even feel any particular way, save equanimous, about what arises as emotion.
One purpose of observing our emotions is to realize that they all seem very different, but they are all really the same.
Unpredictable and faulty for any executive control purposes-- luckily, there is a better way.
Cognizing.
Practicing equanimity.
Instead of blindly acting in lockstep with our emotions, and our egos, we can examine a situation, and act from wisdom-- for a much better result-- every time.
MM meditation creates the first, razor thin, separation in the "feel/act" equation creating the space, "feel/ / act", for us to begin our understanding and practice of equanimity.
With practice, we successively lengthen the time we are equanimous, until we can do so at will, and indefinitely (At which point, counting breaths is no longer needed).

 

[Barymore]

Forest Bathing...
BRILLIANT!
I love it!
It has the smack of the Pali Canon about it.
These guys were talking about very specific mind science.. 2563 years ago, in a language not privy to the specificity that today's technological societies have produced.
And so we find terms like "fetters", "stream", "snare(s)", in the Pali Canon, describing mind states, tendencies, liabilities.

I am surprised to hear of "journaling" as encorporated in "mindfulness meditation" practice.
Indeed, I have never heard of such a thing in the Theravada tradition.
Indeed, the practice isn't necessarily intended to "eliminate" thought, instead, it is to break our slavery to it.
As a result of conditioning, we tend to act, immediately, on emotions, feelings, and thoughts.
MM is practicing watching them arise, watching them abide a while, and watching them dissipate-- all while realizing that we need not act, nor do we need even feel any particular way, save equanimous, about what arises as emotion.
One purpose of observing our emotions is to realize that they all seem very different, but they are all really the same.
Unpredictable and faulty for any executive control purposes-- luckily, there is a better way.
Cognizing.
Practicing equanimity.
Instead of blindly acting in lockstep with our emotions, and our egos, we can examine a situation, and act from wisdom-- for a much better result-- every time.
MM meditation creates the first, razor thin, separation in the "feel/act" equation creating the space, "feel/ / act", for us to begin our understanding and practice of equanimity.
With practice, we successively lengthen the time we are equanimous, until we can do so at will, and indefinitely (At which point, counting breaths is no longer needed).

Journaling has not made sense to me up to now either (although I see the logic behind it), MM has been the most helpful thing I have found for exactly that tiny, razor thin sliver between feeling/acting.
I definitely need much more practice - without counting my mind becomes quicksand in the dark and the little monkey takes over.. .. counting is a light that leads me :-D

 

[Primrose]

I'm curious if others meditate too?

I'm not a religious person but consider myself spiritual. I listen to Eckhart Tolles's teachings sometimes and got interested in meditation fron there.

I find a daily meditation practice helps to manage stress well and I feel much more peaceful. I currently meditate twice daily and its going well.