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Having your cake and eating it too
Jeffrey
Veteran
in Meditation
Since Nov. 2012 I have meditated every day. But I think I have a tendancy to just think 'oh that's done' like I am punching in my time clock at work. So is there any way to get rid of that tendency to just think of meditation as a job? I mean when you are making sure you do your meditation?
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Comments
Or I want to eat the daily meditation, want to have the excitement that I imagine could be there without the routine.
when the 'trying' will be more frequent it will become a habit
One way to not have meditation feel like a job is to meditate continuously.
You already have demonstrated enviable determination here against huge obstacles just to meditatively be where you now are. I'd wager, you are capable right now of bringing aspects of your formal meditation into every other moment of your life.
All it takes is your development of the habit of just bringing yourself back to the present moment every time you notice that you are elsewhere. Practice this art without judging wherever the last moment found you. Just endlessly return to the present moment.
Good morning, Mr. Hunt.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves the recovery of a missing element designated "awareness." You may select any team members, but it is essential that the third member of your team be Shakyamuni Buddha, a highly capable professional yogi. You have as much time as required.
As always, should any member of your team be caught, die or be enlightened, the Sangha will disavow all knowledge of your actions. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.
Good luck.
I have been meditating daily for only a few months, and I've already gone through a couple of periods of time where I found myself putting off meditation, as if it were an unpleasant task. I'd think "just get it over with already!"
MOST of the time, when my time to meditate approaches, I get a little anxiety. Turning off the lights, shutting down the audiobook or closing the real book, or just stopping whatever I'm doing in order to prepare, I feel some resistance. Once I set my timer and begin, I'm totally fine. But I can't really forget that for the first couple of months, meditation was extremely emotionally painful, often, so that's got to be the reason I feel a little twinge of anticipation. I've been in therapy dealing with post traumatic stuff, and of course it came to visit a LOT at first.
Meditation feels to me like such an important task, in the same way showing up for work or carrying out daily necessities. It is a thing to respect and never just blow off if I don't feel like it. So in a way, to me at least, it IS a kind of 'job' to be done whether pleasant or unpleasant, looked forward to or not.
Gassho
Basically:
You visualise all your favourite cakes and puddings in front of you and dedicate them to the Buddhas, your teachers and all sentient fruit cakes. One by one you imagine eating the deliciousness (it is a hard job but someone has to do it) as slowly and savouringly as possible.
Meditation.
OM mani PEME Yum!
I'd say keep up with the daily meditating, because that's important and it's awesome that you've been doing it. But then maybe meditate whenever else you can, just on a whim. Like, if you see a pleasant spot and think, "it would be nice to meditate there," then drop what you're doing and meditate there, even if it can only be for five minute. Or maybe you think, "I could go for some meditation right about now," then do it! Not because you feel like you should, but because you want to.